With signs of Hezbollah’s weakening, IDF lifts security restrictions in northern Israel

About a week after the IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon, except for five strategic points, Hezbollah reportedly instructed operatives in southern Lebanon to evacuate. 

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Monday, a Hezbollah associate said the terror organization circulated an internal memo to its "fighting units," instructing operatives not originally from southern Lebanon, to evacuate to enable Lebanese army units to assume control of the area in accordance with the cease-fire agreement. 

"The organization suffered heavy losses," the Hezbollah source told the WSJ. The source also said that Hezbollah partially replenished its ranks with operatives who had been in Syria. "The organization was weakened, but not defeated," he claimed. 

Two and a half months after negotiating a ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF recently announced its withdrawal from the territory, with the exception of five outposts located in strategic areas in Lebanese territory. These outposts overlook large parts of the border area and will enable the army to effectively defend Israeli territory from attempted attacks. 

Israel was originally required to complete its withdrawal by the end of January, however, it asked for an extension of the deadline, due to failure of Hezbollah to withdraw from the area, and the failure of the Lebanese Army to take control of areas vacated by the IDF. 

While the U.S., under new President Donald Trump, supported the request, extending the deadline until February 18, the Lebanese government protested the extension. After Israel announced its intention to remain in the five strategic locations, current Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem called for the Lebanese government to ensure Israel’s full withdrawal by the deadline. 

Now, the damage suffered by Hezbollah as a result of the war with Israel is becoming clear. The WSJ report states that Hezbollah has been severely damaged, even more than the group wants to admit. 

"Three months after Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire, the damage inflicted by Israel’s armed forces on the Iran-backed Shiite group is becoming clear: Its military has been severely degraded, and its finances are strained to the point that it is struggling to meet its commitments to followers,” the report states. 

Before the war, “Hezbollah...has long operated as a vast state-within-a-state in Lebanon, supplying jobs and social services to members. It also pays relatives of Hezbollah fighters killed as well as followers who lose homes or businesses during conflicts,” the WSJ noted. 

However, the bill of damages from the current conflict makes many of these payments impossible. 

One of Hezbollah’s main financial assets was the Al-Kurd Al-Hassan Bank, which functioned as bank, but also used connections in Iran and elsewhere to help Hezbollah members avoid the effects of sanctions. The IDF targeted the bank’s facilities during the war, and the bank has now frozen compensation payments in recent weeks. 

Hezbollah's economic difficulty also stems from the effects of the war on two traditional partners: Iran and Syria. 

The IDF has engaged in a campaign of targeted strikes against weapons and money transfers to Hezbollah through Syria since before October 7, 2023. However, those strikes increased in intensity as Israel sought to cut Hezbollah aid completely. 

The collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria, and its replacement by an unfriendly Sunni jihadist regime, has further isolated Hezbollah. Additionally, the new Lebanese government, supported by the U.S., has worked to stop cash transfers by Iran via direct flights. 

This has been compounded by Iran’s own economic struggles, especially as President Trump reinstates harsh economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. 

“If Iran’s economy continues to weaken under U.S. sanctions, Hezbollah’s troubles probably will deepen,” analysts told the WSJ. 

Given Hezbollah’s weakened state, the IDF recently announced the lifting of all security restrictions in Israel’s northern communities. 

The decision was made after an assessment of the situation in the Home Front Command and announced Sunday evening. This marks the first time since October 7 that all security restrictions have been lifted in communities near the Lebanon border. 

While some residents rejoiced at the lifting of restrictions, others expressed concern over the fact that Israel was attacking Hezbollah sites in Lebanon as recently as Sunday afternoon. 

“Anyone who thinks that it is possible to declare a 'green plan' and remove all the security restrictions in Metulla is completely disconnected from what is happening here on the ground,” council head David Azoulay told Ynet. 

“Only in the last few minutes an IDF drone dropped grenades across the border, about 50 meters from us," Azouly added. 

Itzik Ben Mocha, chairman of the Moshav Zarit committee, told Ynet that some communities still have unrepaired damage to homes and infrastructure. 

“There are houses here with direct hits that have not yet been fixed at all,” he said. “They are returning the residents to a grim reality of total destruction.” 

Over the weekend, a group of farmers in the border area held an emergency conference to discuss the situation, where they called on the government to provide promised compensation funds to help with reconstruction. 

"The farmers on the Lebanese border have been the defensive wall of the State of Israel since its establishment, and therefore the government must compensate them for the heavy economic damage and stand by them at a time when they are in a personal and economic crisis," Uri Sapir, deputy director of settlement for Hashomer HaHadash, an organization dedicated to protecting agricultural lands in Israel.