THE growing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel continues to threaten to escalate into a full-blown war with almost daily exchanges of fire along Lebanon’s frontier with northern Israel since Hamas fighters in Gaza staged an assault on southern Israel on October 7.

The situation to the north worsened this month after an Israeli air strike killed a senior Hezbollah military commander in southern Lebanon. 

The Iran-backed Islamist group, a major player in Lebanese politics, retaliated by firing hundreds of rockets and explosive drones into northern Israel.

Israeli officials have threatened a military offensive in Lebanon if there is no negotiated end to push Hezbollah away from the border.

Over the past decade, Iran-backed fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan fought together in Syria’s 13-year conflict, helping tip the balance in favour of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Officials from these groups say they could also join together again against Israel.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech last week that tens of thousands of fighters from across the region have said they are willing to fight, but Mr Nasrallah said that Hezbollah already has more than 100,000 fighters.

“We told them: thank you, but we are overwhelmed by the numbers we have,” Mr Nasrallah said.

The Hezbollah leader said that the battle in its current form is using only a portion of its manpower, an apparent reference to the specialised fighters who fire missiles and drones.

Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement this past week that since Hezbollah started its attacks on Israel on October 8, it has fired more than 5,000 rockets, anti-tank missiles and drones toward Israel.

“Hezbollah’s increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation, one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region.” 

“Israel will continue fighting against Iran’s axis of evil on all fronts,” Mr Hagari said.