Hezbollah armed strength

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Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group,^[1][2] has an exceptionally strong military wing, thought to be stronger than the Lebanese Army,^[3][4] and equivalent to the armed strength of a medium-sized army.^[5][a] A hybrid force, the group maintains "robust conventional and unconventional military capabilities",^[7] and is generally considered to be the most powerful non-state actor in the world.^{[8][9][b][7][11]}

Estimates vary widely, but as of October 2021, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah claimed his organization has 100,000 trained fighters.^[12] In 2017, Jane's assessed Hezbollah's strength at more than 20,000+ full-time fighters and approximately 20,000+ reservists.^[13][c] They are financed in part by Iran and trained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hezbollah's military budget is $700 million according to 2018 U.S. official estimates.^[16]

Hezbollah's primary enemy is Israel, and to a large extent its military strength is based on the rockets they use^[17] to attack that country. Hezbollah's strategy against Israel uses rockets as offensive weaponry combined with light infantry and anti-armor units to defend their firing positions in southern Lebanon.^[18] Estimates of Hezbollah's total rocket count range from 40,000^[19] to 120,000,^[20] which is considerably more than most countries.

Hezbollah possesses limited numbers of anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, as well as thousands of anti-tank missiles.^[21] The group does not have manned aircraft, tanks, or armored vehicles in Lebanon, as they cannot counter Israeli air supremacy.^[5][22][d] However, Hezbollah maintains armor in neighboring Syria, including T-55 and T-72 tanks. The group has built a large number of weapons caches, tunnels, and bunkers in southern Lebanon, and has a large intelligence apparatus.

Hezbollah's tactical strengths are cover and concealment, direct fire, and preparation of fighting positions, while their weaknesses include maneuver warfare, small arms marksmanship,^[18] and air defenses.^[23] Though Hezbollah's light infantry and anti-tank squads are well-regarded,^[17][24] Hezbollah as a whole is "quantitatively and qualitatively" weaker than the Israel Defense Forces.^[24]

Sources generally agree that Hezbollah's strength in conventional warfare compares favorably to state militaries in the Arab world.^[25][e] A 2009 review concluded that Hezbollah was "a well-trained, well-armed, highly motivated, and highly evolved war-fighting machine"^[f] and "the only Arab or Muslim entity to successfully face the Israelis in combat."^[18]

Hezbollah typically does not discuss their military operations.^[g] Accurate and reliable information on their strengths and capabilities is often non-existent or classified.^[29] Hezbollah, Israel and others may have reasons to misstate the movement's capabilities. Estimates for Hezbollah's overall strength and manpower vary widely.^[h]

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