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Updated May 10, 2024
Lebanese Hezbollah
Hezbollah (“Party of God,” also spelled Hizballah) is an
while maintaining dialogue with the latter. U.S. officials
Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia and U.S.-designated
have described this division as a “false distinction,” and one
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Hezbollah is an
not made by Hezbollah itself. Reports estimate that
Iranian partner force, helping Tehran project power across
Hezbollah’s fighters number between 40,000 and 50,000 or
the region, train allied militias (reportedly including
more. That figure includes the Radwan Force, an elite unit
Hamas), and threaten U.S. interests and allies across the
trained to conduct special operations. Hezbollah’s arsenal
region. Formed in the wake of the 1982 Israeli invasion of
of rockets, missiles, and drones is estimated at over
Lebanon, the group has conducted numerous attacks against
150,000.
Israeli and Western targets. In addition to authorizing
Objectives and Operations
sanctions against Hezbollah, Congress has sought to bolster
For nearly two decades, Hezbollah’s stated objective was to
Lebanese state institutions to counter its influence. Clashes
drive IDF forces from southern Lebanon. Since the Israeli
between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have escalated since
withdrawal in 2000, Hezbollah has used Israel’s remaining
the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, displacing
presence in the Sheb’a Farms and other disputed areas in
tens of thousands on both sides of the border and increasing
the Lebanon-Syria-Israel tri-border region (see Figure 1) to
the prospect of a broader military confrontation.
justify ongoing violence against Israel—and its persistence
Figure 1. Lebanon
as an armed militia outside the structure or purview of the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
Hezbollah is aligned with the ideology of Iran’s
government and bolsters Iranian strategic objectives. The
State Department’s 2022 Country Reports on Terrorism
states that Iran provides Hezbollah with “most of its
funding, training, weapons, and explosives, as well as
political, diplomatic, monetary, and organizational aid.”
The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence
Community (ATA) states that, “Hizballah seeks to limit
U.S. influence in Lebanon and the broader Middle East,”
goals it shares with the Iranian government.
Hezbollah also operates a global criminal-financial
network, with reported hubs in Africa and Latin America. A
2022 Europol report stated, “The network of collaborators
built by Hezbollah in the EU is suspected of managing the
transportation and distribution of illegal drugs into the EU,
dealing with firearms trafficking and running professional
money laundering operations.” Other reports highlight
Hezbollah’s role in the trafficking of amphetamine-type
stimulants, marketed as captagon, along the Syrian border.
Hezbollah in Lebanese Politics
Hezbollah has participated in Lebanese elections since 1992
and draws popular support from its vast network of schools,
Source: Created by CRS. UNIFIL = United Nations Interim Force in
clinics, youth programs, and other social services. The
Lebanon; UNDOF = United Nations Disengagement Observer Force.
group entered the cabinet for the first time in 2005 and has
held one to three seats in each Lebanese government
Leadership, Structure, and Size
formed since then. Hezbollah has at times sought to block
Hezbollah’s leader is Hassan Nasrallah, who has served as
cabinet decisions, twice prompting the collapse of the
Secretary-General since the assassination of his predecessor
government by withdrawing from the cabinet alongside its
by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in 1992. According to
political allies. The group is part of the March 8 political
the U.S. government, the External Security Organization
coalition, which also includes the Free Patriotic Movement
(ESO, also known as the Islamic Jihad Organization),
(Christian) and the Amal Movement (Shia). Hezbollah
holds two seats in Lebanon’
headed by Talal Hamiyah, is the arm of Hezbollah
s caretaker government.
responsible for overseas terrorist attacks. Some countries
Hezbollah did not gain additional parliamentary seats in the
and the European Union (EU) separate Hezbollah’s military
2018 or 2022 legislative elections (it continues to hold 13
and political wings—designating the former for sanctions
out of 128). However, since the expiration of President
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Lebanese Hezbollah
Michel Aoun’s term in October 2022, Hezbollah and its
dozens more Hezbollah-affiliated individuals charged with
March 8 allies have obstructed efforts by parliament to elect
non-terrorism-related offenses.
a president by preventing the formation of a quorum and by
Ongoing Conflict with Israel
casting blank ballots in parliamentary electoral sessions.
Hezbollah and Israel, which fought a 34-day war in 2006,
Areas of Military Operation
have exchanged fire since October 2023, raising fears of a
Hezbollah is based in Lebanon and primarily operates in the
broader escalation in which Hezbollah could threaten Israeli
Middle East, though it has conducted attacks elsewhere.
strategic sites and population centers. UNIFIL recorded
nearly 9,000 projectiles fired in both directions across the
Lebanon. According to U.S. government assessments,
Blue Line between October 2023 and February 2024, of
Hezbollah controls access to parts of Lebanon and operates
which nearly 8,000 were fired from the southern side of the
inside the country with relative impunity. The group was
line. Since October 7, 2024, 60 Lebanese civilians and 289
implicated in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese
Hezbollah fighters reportedly have been killed; Israel’s
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a car bombing in downtown
defense minister estimated in April 2024 that Israeli strikes
Beirut that also killed 21 others.
had killed half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) directs the
Lebanon, a claim Hezbollah denied. Hezbollah has
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to
reportedly killed at least 9 Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers.
assist the Lebanese government in establishing an area “free
Israeli officials have threatened wider military action in
of” non-state armed personnel between the Blue Line
Lebanon if Hezbollah’s fighters are not withdrawn north of
(Lebanon’s de facto border with Israel) and the Litani
the Litani. U.S. officials have sought to broker an
River. Hezbollah’s continued operation in this area is a
arrangement that keeps Hezbollah back from the border in a
major factor in ongoing clashes with Israel.
way that mitigates the threat of an October 7-style attack
and permits the roughly 60,000 evacuated Israelis to return
Syria. Hezbollah has a long-standing relationship with the
to their homes in Israel’s north.
government of Syrian President Bashar al Asad, which
facilitates the transit of weapons through Syria from Iran to
Some observers have assessed that the parties have reasons
Hezbollah. Hezbollah has played a key role in assisting pro-
to avoid a broader conflict, including Israel’s continued
Asad forces during Syria’s civil war.
military engagement in Gaza and Hezbollah’s domestic
political constraints. Apparent gradual escalation since
Yemen. Hezbollah also provides weapons and training to
February 2024 has raised some observers’ expectation of
Houthi militants in Yemen, and Hezbollah commanders
such a conflict, as both Israel and Hezbollah seem inclined
have reportedly assisted the Houthi campaign against
to “intensify the conflict to eventually reach calm,” which
international shipping in the Red Sea.
might heighten the potential for miscalculations. In April
Attacks and Threats to U.S. Interests
2024, the United States and other Western powers said they
Hezbollah has been linked to a series of terrorist attacks,
were “particularly concerned by the situation along the Blue
including one in 2012 against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria
Line” and stated the LAF and UNIFIL played an “essential
and two in Argentina during the 1990s. Hezbollah attacks
stabilizing role…in mitigating” the risk of wider conflict.
against U.S. personnel and facilities abroad include the
For it to de-escalate, Hezbollah has insisted Israel first halt
truck bombing of the U.S. Embassy and Multinational
fighting in Gaza, though it is unclear what impact, if any, a
Force barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the kidnapping of the
cease-fire in Gaza would have on Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Central Intelligence Agency chief of station in Beirut, who
Legislation and Issues for Congress
later died while held captive. Hezbollah leaders reportedly
Congress has passed several measures authorizing
armed and trained Shia militias that carried out attacks on
secondary sanctions against persons and entities that
U.S. forces during their 2003-2011 deployment to Iraq.
facilitate financial transactions for Hezbollah, including the
The 2024 ATA states that Hezbollah “maintains the
Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015
capability to target U.S. persons and interests in the region,
(P.L. 114-102), as amended by the Hizballah International
worldwide, and, to a lesser extent, in the United States.” In
Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-
2023 congressional testimony, FBI Director Christopher
272). In the 118th Congress, the House agreed to a
Wray stated, “FBI arrests in recent years also indicate that
resolution urging the EU to designate Hezbollah “in its
Hizballah has tried to seed operatives, establish
entirety” as a terrorist organization (H.Res. 599).
infrastructure, and engage in spying here domestically—
State Department officials have described the LAF as “an
raising our concern that they may be contingency planning
institutional counterweight to Hezbollah,” an assessment
for future operations in the United States.”
some observers dispute. Successive appropriations acts
The Treasury Department reported in 2024 that Hezbollah
have prohibited the availability of funds for the LAF if it is
“members and sympathizers have long been involved in an
“controlled” by a designated terrorist organization. In
array of large-scale criminal schemes, including
exercising oversight of U.S. security assistance to the LAF,
sophisticated money laundering, smuggling, and trafficking
some Members have raised questions about the possible
networks that have involved the U.S. financial system.”
diversion of U.S. funds to Hezbollah.
U.S. law criminalizes support for Hezbollah and authorizes
a number of secondary sanctions against non-U.S. nationals
Clayton Thomas, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
who provide it with material support or facilitate financial
Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
transactions on its behalf. A 2022 study found that 19
IF10703
individuals were charged in federal courts with providing
material support to Hezbollah between 1997 and 2020, with
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Lebanese Hezbollah
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