The flag of Hezbollah flies in Syria, where Hezbollah has become an active element in a civil war that has claimed the lives of 80,000 people. Photo: Hezbollah Flag/Wikimedia Commons.

Hezbollah continues to entrench itself in the Syrian civil war, despite facing a string of radical Sunni bombing attacks in their Lebanese strongholds. The terrorist organization is also facing renewed international backlash regarding its alleged role in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

These challenges contribute to the group’s deterioration in popularity within Lebanon and across the Arab world. Despite these pressing and overlapping challenges, Hezbollah continues to enhance its presence along the Israeli border, the Times of Israel reports. Its activity in bordering villages can be seen by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, passed at the conclusion of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

For instance, IDF has witnessed a “TV crew” arrive in the area but not act as a TV crew, and has witnessed three “shepherds” unsuccessfully move around with only 15-20 sheep. These facades are meant to cover Hezbollah fighters attempting to re-establish bases in border villages.

While hundreds of Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Syria, the organization still has more than a third of its capacity prepared for another round of war with Israel. There are massive excavations underway in Shi’ite towns in southern Lebanon, hosting tens of thousands of rockets aimed at the Jewish state. Bulldozers and other engineering equipment are working overtime in these villages, building shelters inside villagers’ homes in order to convince them to remain during the next conflict.

The IDF believes that Hezbollah intends to confront Israel in built-up civilian areas as opposed to the more open fields in 2006. By building bases of operations amongst civilians, while targeting Israeli civilians, the terrorist organization is in effect committing a double war crime. These recent developments further emphasize that the group remains committed to Israel’s destruction in spite of the other challenges it faces.