Israel continued operations in Lebanon between April 14 and April 20, 2025. This week witnessed an uptick in Israeli strikes against Hezbollah, including several assassinations of the group’s operatives and commanders.
Israel killed Hezbollah Unit 4400’s new deputy commander, Hussain Ali Nasr. The Israel Defense Forces alleged that Iran and Unit 4400 continue to oversee weapons smuggling to Hezbollah, including through Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivered his first speech thoroughly addressing Hezbollah’s vision for a national defense strategy. He said the group was ready for a dialogue, which remained premature, but would refuse to disarm even after a strategy is set.
Israel continued operations in Lebanon between April 7 and April 13, 2025, repeating a lower-intensity pattern from the previous week. The Israel Defense Forces targeted 10 areas and killed one mid-level Hezbollah commander and one Hezbollah operative.
Al Manar hosted Naim Qassem for his first lengthy interview as Hezbollah’s secretary-general. Qassem threatened to resume attacking Israel if it didn’t withdraw from south Lebanon and explained Hezbollah’s vision for the future, including the group’s intention to retain its arms and freedom of action from the Lebanese state.
A “Western security source” told Al Arabiya that Hezbollah is using the Port of Beirut to smuggle weapons into Lebanon from Iran. In early March, Israel assassinated a Hezbollah commander in charge of maritime weapons smuggling, saying his activities had continued after the November 27 Lebanon-Israel ceasefire.
Israel assassinated senior Hamas official Hassan Ahmad Farhat in Sidon on Friday. The Israel Defense Forces said Farhat was responsible for attacks on Israel during the recent war, including the February 14, 2024, strike on Tzfat and continued planning attacks against Israel in recent months. Farhat’s son Hamzah, also a Hamas operative, and his daughter, Jinan, were killed alongside him.
Israel continued operations in Lebanon between March 31 and April 6, 2025, though there was a noticeable drop in number and intensity. However, Israel conducted two targeted killings in Lebanon: one in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood killed a Hezbollah commander and operative, and another in Sidon killed a Hamas commander and operative.
Naim Qassem delivered two speeches last week to mark Quds Day that touched on similar themes, including Hezbollah’s alleged victory in the recent war with Israel. Qassem also vowed Hezbollah would not disarm and cryptically threatened to resume attacking Israel if Israeli operations in Lebanon continued.
The Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, the second in two weeks and since the November 27 ceasefire, that killed Hezbollah commander Hassan Badeer, his son (another Hezbollah member), and two others. Israel said Badeer was helping Hamas plan an imminent attack against Israeli civilians.
Israeli operations in Lebanon continued on a near-daily basis last week. On Friday, Israel struck in Dahiyeh, Beirut for the first time since the November 27 ceasefire, destroying a Hezbollah drone storage facility. Lebanese officials made equivocal statements on reining in Hezbollah.
Israel conducted a series of operations in Lebanon between March 18 and March 23, targeting Hezbollah personnel and assets. On Saturday, in response to rocket fire from Lebanon, Israel launched its most expansive series of attacks in Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire went into effect.
Israel conducted several military operations in Lebanon between March 13 and 17, 2025. The operations targeted Hezbollah activity, operatives, and infrastructure. Hezbollah announced the deaths of five of its fighters last week without directly specifying the cause.
Israel conducted two sets of airstrikes in south Lebanon on March 11 that targeted Hezbollah operatives. The first targeted a senior Hezbollah aerial defense operative, whose fate remains unknown. The second set of strikes targeted Hezbollah members in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated media announced two of the group’s fighters were killed.
A review of the new Lebanese government’s policy statement reveals some positive changes from the positions of previous governments regarding the official posture on Hezbollah and its arms. Nevertheless, the statement contains subtle but significant loopholes that Hezbollah can exploit to ensure its survival and eventual regeneration.
Israel assassinated Khodr Hashem, the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force’s seaborn forces, in south Lebanon. Hashem was involved in armed activities and maritime weapons smuggling to Hezbollah before and after the November 27, 2024, Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement, activities which constituted a violation of the deal.
Lebanon seized $2.5 million in cash destined for Hezbollah carried by a man arriving from Turkey. This development follows Israeli accusations that Turkey is being used as a conduit for Iranian funds to reach Hezbollah and may be facilitating the transfers.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivered a speech on February 16 addressing regional and domestic developments, Beirut banning Iranian flights from landing at Hariri International Airport, and Nasrallah’s upcoming funeral. Qassem called for massive participation in the funeral to deter Hezbollah’s domestic political opponents from targeting the group or its weapons.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem gave a speech to mark the onset of the month of Shaban, in which he announced the date of Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral, sought to counter the group’s domestic detractors, and condemned provocative behaviors by Hezbollah’s supporters.
On January 27, Naim Qassem insisted Hezbollah had emerged from the fight with Israel victorious, despite painful and unprecedented setbacks, and was unwilling to concede the group’s domestic position. Qassem also expressed Hezbollah’s satisfaction with Lebanon’s post-war political direction and said his group had a productive and positive relationship with Lebanon’s new president and prime minister-designate.
In his first speech after Assad’s downfall, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem completely reversed the organization’s position on the Syrian dictator’s removal. Qassem extended an olive branch to groups that, the week prior, he described as takfiri agents of Israel. He also insisted Hezbollah’s position in Lebanon would remain unchanged.
Israel’s Bashan Arrow operation in Syria continues. The Israelis have strengthened their presence in the Golan Heights DMZ and targeted more critical assets belonging to the former Assad regime.
After the collapse of the Assad regime, Israel embarked on a widescale operation in Syria to neutralize potential emerging threats. Dubbed “Operation Bashan Arrow,” the massive undertaking resulted in Israel decimating 70–80% of the former regime’s military and the destruction of its chemical weapons facilities and caches.
Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) cannot be counted upon to restrain Hezbollah. Beirut continues to demonstrate a lack of will to act against the group—and the more time that passes, the more difficult Hezbollah will become to rein in or disarm.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem gave two speeches after the November 27 ceasefire that discussed Hezbollah’s next steps. In his first, he didn’t mention Hezbollah’s withdrawal from south of the Litani River. However, he made an about-face in his second speech, perhaps under Israeli military pressure and due to the situation in Syria. Qassem also discussed cooperating with the Lebanese government to reconstruct areas damaged during the war.
Naim Qassem delivered his second speech as Hezbollah’s secretary-general on the 40th day since Hassan Nasrallah’s passing. Qassem repeated many of the themes and claims from his previous speeches and stressed that Hezbollah will continue fighting.
On October 30, Naim Qassem delivered his first speech as Hezbollah’s new secretary-general. Qassem stressed his intention to continue in Nasrallah’s footsteps and that Hezbollah would continue its war with Israel until a ceasefire was reached on the group’s terms.
Naim Qassem became Hezbollah’s new secretary-general on October 29. His last speech as the group’s deputy secretary-general, given two weeks earlier, indicates that Nasrallah’s successor intends to continue in his predecessor’s confrontational path.
A specious argument fueled by DC-based Lebanese activists is gaining traction. It alleges that UN Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004) takes a stronger stance against Hezbollah than its successor, Resolution 1701, adopted after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. This entire argument, however, rests on misinterpretations of Resolution 1701’s meaning and intent and demonstrates ignorance of international law.
With Israel’s September 27 assassination of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s voice has been subdued. But it has not, unfortunately, been entirely silenced. The mantle of Hezbollah’s spokesman is a heavy one to take up, made all the more difficult by Israel’s continued elimination of the group’s top leadership cadre. For now, however, Hezbollah seems to have settled on Nasrallah’s deputy, the soft-spoken philosopher-idealogue Naim Qassem. An intellectual, Qassem lacks any of the charisma or presence around which Nasrallah’s hold over Hezbollah’s flock and cult of personality were built – and therefore his ability to inspire and rouse the base remains in question. But for lack of any other options, he now appears to be Hezbollah’s placeholder voice.