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On January 21, 2025, the online portal of Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya Network published a report containing remarks by a Hizbullah officer admitting, in a small forum of Hizbullah members, that the organization was surprised at the level of intelligence Israel gathered, enabling it to destroy most facilities and tunnels Hizbullah had built since 2006 preparing for war against Israel.[1]
"Most Sites And Tunnels Destroyed"
According to the report, there is much talk in Lebanon recently, not only about the reconstruction effort, but also about the future of Hizbullah, after its military defeat and the human and material losses it sustained as a result of its support for Hamas's war with Israel.
Citing sources from Hizbullah's "inner circles," the report claimed an officer from Hizbullah's elite fighters, the Al-Ridwan Force, disclosed that Hizbullah had been preparing for war against Israel since 2006, building hundreds of facilities and tunnels.
In his remarks, the officer claimed that after the war started, Hizbullah was surprised at the level of Israeli intelligence - specifically, the ability to identify and successfully destroy much of Hizbullah's structures using drones and high-precision technical tools. The officer also stated that Israel used spies and recruited agents among Hizbullah's cadres.
"We Misjudged Israel's Strength"
The biggest blow to Hizbullah's military and logistical body, which paralyzed its military backbone, according to the officer, was the pager blasts, which neutralized about 3,000 of its cadres from Beirut to the southern suburbs, noting that Israeli intelligence detonated all pagers used by Hizbullah before the party's relevant circles discovered issues with the devices.
The officer was also quoted as saying that Hizbullah was prepared for a long war with Israel regardless of the timing of Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, noting that the "irony" is that Israel also had been preparing since 2006 to "fire the first bullet," armed with detailed data on all of Hizbullah's sites and military facilities in the southern region, the Bekaa Valley, and southern region, all the way to Hizbullah's gathering centers and missile storage sites in Syria: "Evey one of these became a target bank."
"Israeli warplanes and drones were able to destroy most sites and hundreds of tunnels in the border towns, some of which were close to reaching several Israeli settlements," he added.
Difficult To Rebuild, But Hizbullah Will Be Active Again
He also affirmed that it has become difficult for Hizbullah to rebuild its capabilities again, especially after its presence was banned south of the Litani River under the provisions of United Nations Resolution 1701. Additionally, Hizbullah cannot obtain weapons through Syria, following the fall of the regime in Syria:
"Things have become difficult for us, and yes, we misjudged Israel's strength."
Additionally, the officer argued that Hizbullah would be active again north of the Litani River and other areas in the southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, stressing that "it will not easily hand over its weapons to any party, even to the Lebanese army."
[1] Alarabiya, January 21, 2025.
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