Israeli Brig. Gen Shlomi Binder
The outgoing commander of Israeli forces in the north facing Lebanon says Hezbollah has expanded its offensive capabilities but faces political problems at home.
Brig. Gen. Shlomi Binder was quoted by Haaretz on Thursday as saying that constant vigilance is needed at the northern front, as the army cannot just rely on intelligence to know about its opponent’s possible surprise moves.
He said that in recent years, Hezbollah has moved its special forces known as Radwan unit to the Israeli border region and has expanded its firepower, with more ability to conduct large offensive operations. In other words, Hezbollah has become more of an army than a guerilla force. Binder said.
Radwan forces have a long experience fighting in the Syrian civil war and played a major role in capturing Aleppo in 201602017.
Iran’s Fars news website affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard on Thursday picked up on Israeli media’s reporting and splashed a headline that “The Zionists confess they are scared of Rezvan units,” meaning Radwan, as the Persian pronunciation differs from the Arabic version.
General Binder also claimed that Hezbollah faces political pushback in Lebanon as the country enters its third year of a severe economic crisis and widespread poverty. However, he said, Iran continues its financial assistance to the group, whose fighters earn much more than Lebanese army soldiers and officiers.
Iran’s financial support for Hezbollah and other militant group comes despite its own economic crisis partly due to American sanctions.