By J.M. Phelps (One News Now)
Israel, in preparation for a potential face-off with Hezbollah, is using its intelligence assessments as a warning to the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist group.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, in part of an interview with Fox News, revealed the locations of multiple Iranian-backed Hezbollah ground forces, missiles, headquarters and launching sites. More specifically, a digitally blurred map shown to the interviewer highlighted the locations of the Hezbollah installments within Lebanon.
One News Now spoke to Joe Truzman, Long War Journal analyst and contributor at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), about the conspicuous disclosure of such information. “This is something that Israeli officials, not solely the defense minister, have been talking about in public for several years,” he says.
Ultimately, he explains, the problem at hand is that Israeli officials are dealing with Iran transferring precision-guided munitions to Hezbollah in Lebanon though Syria. This is a considerable threat to Israel because such munitions are incredibly accurate when compared to previous weapons used by Hezbollah in past incidents against Israel, he notes.
“Hezbollah can strike Israeli gas platforms off the Mediterranean,” he offers as an example, adding that the terrorist organization can target sensitive sites in Tel Aviv or anywhere around the Middle Eastern country itself.
Exposing the targeted sites also serves as a warning to Hezbollah that Israel fully understands what’s happening in Lebanon. “What the Israelis have been doing here is making a … public warning to Hezbollah,” Truzman adds, “because they know Hezbollah is watching.”
In addition to keeping Hezbollah in check, Israel is extending its warning for the world to see, Truzman explains, as the terrorist group is clearly using civilian sites to hide ground forces, missiles, headquarters and launching sites.
“The problem is, unfortunately – depending on the way you look at it and which camp you’re in – Israel has to justify their actions when it comes to conflict,” he says. “Israel is justifying itself to retaliate against Hezbollah if rockets are launched into Israel from these sites which are embedded inside the homes of Lebanese citizens.”
‘Really good’ at social media propaganda
Beneath the surface – and unnoticed by most onlookers, according to Truzman – is a serious social media war as well. Hezbollah is working hard to get public opinion on its side, he points out, suggesting this is why the group has such a very large following on Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram.
“Their followers help them spread propaganda – and these followers can be called Hezbollah activists,” he states, explaining that those activists propagate disinformation and often disseminate videos to shape public opinion in their favor, especially during a conflict.
“When there is a skirmish, social media explodes as Hezbollah activists begin tweeting all sorts of wrong information and fakes news to gain support,” he adds.
While these social media posts are fabricated, they do serve a large role in shaping public opinion against Israel – something the research analyst indicates Hezbollah “is really good at.”
J.M. Phelps is a counter-terrorism specialist, suicide bombing expert, and freelance journalist, focusing on national security for OneNewsNow. He is also editor and publisher of the website Lantern of Liberty.
Originally published by One News Now on Friday, March 19, 2021.
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