What is Hezbollah, the militant group threatening wider war against Israel?

The assassinations of two leaders of Islamic militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah are fanning fears that the Gaza war will spread into a major conflict in the Middle East.

Israel and Hamas have been at war in Gaza since Hamas invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.

Following Israeli retaliation, Hezbollah, a powerful ally of Hamas, has conducted strikes against Israel. Its involvement is significant because it's more powerful than Hamas and its full entry would mean a two-front war for Israel.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in an explosion in Beirut on July 31. Israel has neither confirmed or denied responsibility.

Senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr died in airstrikes by the Israel Defense Force conducted airstrikes in Beirut on July 30. Shukr was believed responsible for a rocket attack that killed 12 children and teens and injured 44 people on July 27.

Where have attacks taken place?

The rocket attack targeted a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The children were playing on a soccer field at the time.

The attack is considered the deadliest against Israel since the Hamas invasion. Hezbollah denied responsibility.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed organization with deep ties to Hamas, is based in Lebanon, north of Israel. The group has said it will keep attacking Israel to force it to withdraw from Gaza.

Hezbollah initially threatened further escalation in Israel’s war with Hamas on Nov. 3, but the militants – designated a terrorist group by the U.S., Israel, and other nations – stopped short of formally declaring war on Israel.

The militant group is notorious for its attacks worldwide, says the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. That includes the October 1983 suicide bombing that killed 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, in the American military barracks in Beirut.

Where is Hezbollah attacking Israel?

Since the Gaza war began, Hezbollah has been attacking Israel along its border with Lebanon.

Militant groups backed by Iran are supporting Hamas in the Gaza war. Hezbollah is considered to be the most powerful member of the Iran network, known as the Axis of Resistance, Reuters reported.

How powerful is Hezbollah?

Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, but Hezbollah is believed to have 100,000 rockets, some with precision targeting. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said Hezbollah has 100,000 fighters, but outside estimates say it's 20,000 to 50,000.

Hezbollah is religious, militant – and political

Hezbollah, which translates to "Party of God" in Arabic, is a Shia (or Shiite) Islamic group that was formed in Lebanon in 1982. Shi‘a is the second-largest branch of the Islamic faith. Sunni Islam is the largest.

In 1985, Hezbollah released a manifesto stating its goals, including the destruction of Israel and the expulsion of Western influences from the Middle East. It moved into Lebanese politics starting in 1992.

Today, Hezbollah is known as a “state within a state.” It's part of the Lebanese parliament and government as it operates its own political, military and social services network, The Wilson Center says.

Hezbollah has attacked Americans

Hezbollah's attacks against Americans, Israelis, and others have shocked the world.

In the assault on the military barracks at Beirut International Airport on Oct. 23, 1983, suicide bombers drove two trucks loaded with explosives into buildings housing U.S. and French forces, who were in Beirut as part of a multinational force during the Lebanese Civil War. 

In addition to the 241 Americans who were killed, at least 58 French paratroopers also died. The U.S. withdrew from Lebanon after the attack. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.

But there have been other attacks as well.

April 1983: 63 people, including 17 Americans, died in a suicide bombing on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut by Islamic Jihad, an early alias of Hezbollah.

June 1985: Hezbollah hijacked TWA Flight 847 in Athens, Greece, and held 146 hostages for 17 days. They killed Robert Dean Stethem, 23, a Navy diver and a Seabee. The hostages were released in exchange for 300 Lebanese prisoners in Israel.

SOURCE Paste BN Network reporting and research; Reuters; Council on Foreign Relations; U.S. Department of Defense; Congressional Research Service; Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University; The Wilson Center