On April 11, Hezbollah supporters protest in Beirut, Lebanon, against direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. [Photo=Reuters]

The Lebanese front that shook the ceasefire—why are explanations always half-hearted? When reading the recent Middle East situation, there are fundamental common senses that must be understood in advance. One of them is the correlation between Israel and Hezbollah, and Hezbollah and Iran. Shortly after the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States began on the 8th, Israel launched a massive strike on Hezbollah strongholds throughout Lebanon, citing "conditions outside negotiations."

Even when the high-level meeting between the US and Iran in Islamabad broke down on the 12th after 21 hours, the issue of the Lebanese ceasefire remained a key point of contention. Most domestic and international reports only highlighted Israel's preemptive strike and the resulting damage. It is difficult to find explanations as to why Israel cannot afford to ignore Hezbollah, and why Iran cannot let go of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, the ‘Outer Heart’ of the Iranian Regime

Iran's inability to let go of Hezbollah is significantly influenced by its sense of supremacy as the guardian of Shia Islam. It is also an identity that supports the legitimacy of the regime.

Since the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), established separately from the regular army to maintain the regime, reports directly to the Supreme Leader. Through its Quds Force, responsible for external operations, it has nurtured armed groups in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq. A significant portion of the national budget that should have been allocated to public welfare has been poured into supporting these so-called ‘Axis of Resistance.’ Hezbollah in Lebanon is the most successful of Iran's overseas proxy forces.

Hezbollah is an armed political party that has grown amid Lebanon's turmoil and is Iran's 'greatest ally' outside its borders. In 1982, Israel entered Lebanon ostensibly to expel the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was threatening its northern border, and to defend the border, but the situation worsened.

As Lebanon's civil war intensified and state functions weakened amidst power distribution and cooperation between Christians and Muslims, Iran stepped in. It sent approximately 1,500 IRGC personnel to organize, train, and support Shia armed networks. Hezbollah, born from this, achieved entry into the Lebanese parliament, increasing its seats and rapidly growing as Iran's overseas asset.

Therefore, for the theocratic regime of Iran, abandoning Hezbollah is synonymous with abandoning its "strategic depth." The Iranian leadership has long created a structure that expands its ideology, armed organizations, land supply routes, and missile networks beyond its borders to absorb pressure from the United States and Israel from afar.

The core of this is Hezbollah in Lebanon. As long as Hezbollah exists, Israel must constantly be mindful of the northern front, and the United States cannot limit its containment of Iran to attacks on its mainland. Conversely, if Hezbollah is defeated, Iran loses both its hand reaching towards the Mediterranean and a symbol of its "export of revolution."

Hezbollah, Israel’s Constant Frontline

The reason Israel cannot let Hezbollah go is equally simple. Hezbollah is a massive missile and rocket military force located just beyond Israel's northern border. It was Hezbollah that attacked northern Israel during the Gaza War, influencing the course of the conflict.

The intention is to annihilate Hezbollah, whose capabilities were significantly weakened after the so-called "Pipi Terror," to a level from which it cannot recover. In 2006, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 proposed a long-term solution requiring the absence of armed personnel, weapons, and military assets other than the Lebanese Armed Forces and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River, but it has not been properly implemented.

From Israel's perspective, the situation where residents of border villages live within constant range of short-range fire cannot be accepted as normal order. Therefore, the objective of Israel's current military action is also presented as "ensuring the long-term security of northern residents."

Grief over the damage caused by Israel's current attacks should not lead to silence regarding the military and political structures that are the backdrop to such tragedies. If the fact that Hezbollah is an armed force that stands above the Lebanese state, with the IRGC behind it, is omitted, and only Israel is put on trial, the cause and effect will be reversed.

An International Order That Tolerated Abnormality, Media That Tells Only Half the Story

Reporting that only condemns Israel without also stating that Hezbollah is a permanently armed force targeting northern Israel is partisan moralism that remains silent on the structural truth.

The maladies of the Middle East are a catastrophe created by the confluence of neo-theocratic military powers masquerading as sovereign states, external proxy forces like Hezbollah, and an international order that has long tolerated such abnormal structures. The irresponsibility of the media, which has only spoken of half the problem and only the surface, cannot be overlooked.

◆ Dr. Lim Myung-shin

Ph.D. in Chinese Studies, Northeast Asia Researcher

Former Deputy Director of International Affairs, Sky Daily