What is Hezbollah?: A Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and armed movement founded in 1982 with Iranian sponsorship. It controls an estimated 40,000-100,000 fighters and operates as a state within a state.
Did Lebanon ban Hezbollah?: Yes. For the first time, Lebanon's government formally banned Hezbollah's military activities and expelled the Iranian ambassador in March 2026. Hezbollah defied both directives.Source: event
Is Hezbollah fighting Israel in 2026?: Yes. Hezbollah launched a record 63 operations in 24 hours against Israeli positions, including rockets, drones and artillery. Israel responded with ground forces and plans to seize all territory south of the Litani.Source: event
Who funds Hezbollah?: Iran funded Hezbollah at an estimated million annually through the IRGC Quds Force. The 2026 war has disrupted this: IRGC officers fled Beirut and Lebanon expelled Iran's ambassador.
How many people has Israel killed in Lebanon in 2026?: Over 1,000 killed including 118 children and 40 medical workers by late March 2026, with more than one million displaced.Source: Lebanon's Health Ministry
What is the Radwan Force?: Hezbollah's elite special forces unit. Israel killed its commander Abu Khalil Barji in an airstrike on Majdal Selm in southern Lebanon in March 2026.Source: event
Are Lebanese people turning against Hezbollah?: The Washington Post reported that Shiite communities forming Hezbollah's core base are "increasingly furious" with the group for provoking a war Lebanon cannot survive.Source: Washington Post
Is the Lebanon ceasefire still holding between Israel and Hezbollah?: The Lebanon Ceasefire was extended three weeks to approximately 15-16 May 2026 on 23 April. Hezbollah has continued drone operations. Netanyahu stated the Ceasefire does not apply to Hezbollah operations, and IDF troops will not withdraw from the southern Lebanon security zone.Source: event
Who leads Hezbollah now and how has the group been weakened?: Naim Qassem is Secretary-General, the third Hezbollah leader in two years since Nasrallah's 2024 killing. Intelligence chief Hussain Makled and Radwan Force commander Abu Khalil Barji were both killed in Israeli strikes in March 2026. The Lebanese government has formally banned Hezbollah's military operations.Source: Lowdown
Did Hezbollah agree to a ceasefire in June 2026?: On 1 June 2026 Lebanon announced a partial Ceasefire under which Hezbollah pledged to stop attacking Israel, following Trump's intervention to halt planned Israeli strikes on Beirut. IDF ground operations toward the Zaharani river continued; the pledge did not include Hezbollah withdrawal or disarmament conditions.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict 2026
How many Hezbollah fighters are there?: Qassem declared 30,000 fighters committed to the conflict on 14 March 2026. External estimates for Hezbollah's total military force range from 40,000 to 100,000, including reserve and support units across Lebanon.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict 2026
Is Hezbollah a terrorist organisation?: Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organisation by the United States (1997), the United Kingdom, and the European Union. It simultaneously functions as a Lebanese political party with seats in Parliament and runs social services and health facilities in Shia communities.

Background

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist movement founded in 1982 with IRGC sponsorship following Israel's invasion of Lebanon, controlling a parliamentary bloc, a social services network, and an independent military estimated at 40,000-100,000 fighters. It has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, while operating as a state within a state in Lebanon with electoral representation and parallel governance in the south and Beirut's southern suburbs.

Since Iran's war with the United States and Israel began on 28 February 2026, Hezbollah became a co-belligerent, launching a record 63 operations in 24 hours against Israeli positions and sustaining 565+ attack waves between 2 and 18 March. For the first time in post-civil-war Lebanese history, the government formally banned Hezbollah's military activities and expelled the Iranian ambassador — directives Hezbollah defied. Secretary-General Naim Qassem — the third Hezbollah leader in two years since Nasrallah's 2024 killing — simultaneously waged a political war against Beirut's diplomatic track, demanding Lebanon cancel ambassador-level talks with Israel while launching drone salvos on the same day.

On 1 June 2026, Lebanon announced a partial Ceasefire under which Hezbollah pledged to stop attacking Israel, following a direct Trump-Netanyahu call that halted planned Israeli strikes on Beirut. The pledge did not include withdrawal conditions; IDF ground forces continued their advance toward the Zaharani river. Hezbollah's Ceasefire pledge is also the central contested clause in the broader MOU negotiations: Iran's draft demanded Lebanon's inclusion in any Phase 1 guarantee, and that demand has not been met. Hezbollah faces an existential convergence: its Iranian patron is under sustained bombardment, its Lebanese host state has declared its military operations illegal, and two IDF armoured divisions hold ground at the deepest incursion into Lebanon since 2000.