Lebanon’s Hezbollah makes show of force with tanks, armored vehicles as Israel tensions mount
Hezbollah is facing growing resentment inside Lebanon with several parties accusing the group of dragging the country into an unwanted war with Israel.
BEIRUT — Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah is flexing its muscles amid growing tensions both domestically and with Israel.
Footage of tanks and armored vehicles identified as belonging to Hezbollah circulated on social media over the weekend. The videos were taken in the Bekaa Valley region, in the east of Lebanon, but the exact location is not clear.
According to military analysts who spoke to the Lebanese news outlet Al-Modon, some of the tanks seen in the videos are Russian made, suggesting that Hezbollah could have gotten them during the Syrian war. They also said two armored personnel carriers in the video were American made and may have been acquired as spoils of war from the South Lebanon Army following the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
وَأَعِدُّوا لهُم مَّا اسْتطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ ومِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يعْلَمُهُم وَمَا تُنفِقُوا من شيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُم لَا تُظْلَمُونَ#حزب_الله pic.twitter.com/TMpPPZ1HAQ
