A dangerous turn: Hezbollah hints at tactical shift

Report by Petra Abou Haidar, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

A shift in strategy by Hezbollah toward "1980s tactics" has revived concerns about a potential escalation in its confrontation with Israel.

Statements attributed to Hezbollah sources suggest the group is considering reactivating so-called "martyrdom operations" to prevent Israeli forces from consolidating control in areas it describes as occupied. The remarks have drawn attention to a controversial chapter in the history of the conflict involving Lebanon, Israel, and Western powers, particularly the United States.

"Martyrdom operations," as described in the report, refer to attacks in which the perpetrator knowingly undertakes a mission unlikely to be survived. Historically, such operations have taken the form of car bombings, explosive belts, or direct assaults on military or security targets, aiming not only to inflict casualties but also to raise the cost of military presence in contested areas.

According to the sources, the current reference is not limited to traditional suicide attacks but includes fighters already operating inside the "yellow line," areas under Israeli control in South Lebanon. These units are described as engaged in high-risk combat with a strong possibility of death, particularly in towns such as Bint Jbeil and Khiam. Additional groups are said to be positioned outside these areas and ready to deploy if needed.

The sources indicated that while operations resembling those carried out in the 1980s and 1990s remain a possibility, replicating them today would be more difficult due to Israel's technological superiority, aerial dominance, and tightened control over operational areas.

The tactic itself is not unique to Hezbollah. 

During the 1980s, the Lebanese National Resistance Front—a coalition of leftist and nationalist factions—carried out similar attacks, later followed by Hezbollah as it rose to prominence in the mid-1980s, as well as, to a lesser extent, the Amal Movement.

Hezbollah has previously acknowledged carrying out 12 such operations between 1982 and 1999 targeting Israeli forces. Some of the most significant attacks of that era were claimed by a group calling itself the Islamic Jihad Organization, widely believed to be linked to Hezbollah, including the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and the barracks of U.S. Marines and French forces participating in the multinational force in Beirut.