Middle East tensions flare: What to know about escalating Israel-Hezbollah fighting

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified this week as Lebanon experienced its single deadliest day in decades, escalating a conflict that has been brewing with the Lebanese militant group ? Israel's northern neighbor ? for a year.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a rocket towards Tel Aviv amid Israel airstrikes that killed more than 500 people on Monday, pushing both sides closer to a wider war. The group, an ally of Hamas, has ramped up its rocket fire on Israel ever since its siege of Gaza began following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

An all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel could have devastating consequences. Hezbollah has more military force than Hamas, and it is backed by Iran, whose direct involvement would lead to a much larger and more destructive regional conflict.

More: Israel shoots down first Hezbollah missile aimed at Tel Aviv as group says it targeted spy agency

What is Hezbollah?

Hezbollah is both a militant Shia Muslim movement and a Lebanese political party that has been designated a terrorist organization.

The group officially formed in the early 1980s during Lebanon's civil war to fight against two Israeli invasions of Lebanese territory, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. In a 1985 manifesto, Hezbollah expressed its goal of expelling Western forces from the Middle East and driving Israeli forces out of Lebanon.

Hezbollah operates as a "state within a state," running its own political, military, and social services network in the areas it controls, independent of the Lebanese government. It moved into politics in the early 90's and has maintained seats in the Lebanese parliament, although the group and its allies lost their majority in 2022 elections, according to the Wilson Center.

More: Spiking West Bank violence adds another front to Israel's collection of conflicts

Hezbollah sends near-daily rockets to Israel after Oct. 7

Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas and has vowed to support the group in its fight with Israel.

Hezbollah began firing near-daily rockets across the border towards Israel soon after Hamas' surprise attack on Oct. 7, which killed 1,200 people.

The group says its rocket strikes are revenge for Israel's ongoing siege of Gaza, which has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Israel intercepted many of the attacks, but in July, 12 children and teens were killed on a soccer field in the Golan Heights in an attack blamed on Hezbollah. The group denied its involvement.

More: Israeli airstrikes kill hundreds in Lebanon: Maps show escalation of Hezbollah conflict

What is Hezbollah's connection with Iran?

Iran has provided financial support to Hezbollah since its inception. It counts the group among its "Axis of Resistance," a network of proxy forces across the region.

The State Department calls Iran a state sponsor of terrorism and has slapped sanctions on Hezbollah's financing network.

In 2015, Congress sanctioned foreign institutions using U.S. bank accounts to fund Hezbollah in an effort to combat the group's "criminal activities" and "ability to fund its global terrorist activities." Both the Trump and Biden administrations have implemented additional sanctions targeting Iranian and Hezbollah finances.

Why did pagers and walkie-talkies blow up in Lebanon?

The escalation between Israel and Hezbollah was triggered by the simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies across Lebanon on two days last week. The attack killed 37 people and left many with serious injuries, including lost hands and eyes.

Reports said Israel's Mossad spy agency planted small amounts of explosives in the devices, which Hezbollah used because of their difficulty to track. Israel neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

How powerful is Hezbollah's military?

Hezbollah counts around 40,000 or more fighters among its ranks, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.

The group significantly increased its rocket and drone stockpiles after Israel launched an invasion of Lebanon in 2006 – it now has an arsenal of more than 150,000 rockets, missiles, and drones, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

The 2006 conflict began after Hezbollah fighters crossed into Israeli territory, killed three Israeli soldiers, and took two hostage. The monthlong war left at least 1,100 Lebanese people, mostly civilians, dead, according to a Human Rights Watch report, and levelled huge sections of Beirut.

Almost a million people fled Lebanon. In Israel, 300,000 fled after Hezbollah demolished around 2,000 homes with rocket fire. More than 120 Israeli soldiers were killed.

Who has designated Hezbollah a terrorist group?

The U.S., Israel, and more than 60 other nations and organizations have designated Hezbollah a terrorist group, the Counterterrorism Center says.

U.S. officials say it is responsible for multiple terror attacks, including the 1983 bombings of the U.S. embassy in Beirut and U.S. Marine Corps barracks in the same city, which killed more than 300 people.

Ibrahim Aqil, a Hezbollah commander wanted for his role in the bombings, was killed in an Israeli strike last week, Israel's military said.

The group is also believed to be behind the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985, which ended in the killing of a U.S. Navy diver.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel-Hezbollah fighting intensifies: what to know in latest flare-up