Hezbollah has warned it will deploy large units of suicide bombers in Southern Lebanon as tensions with Israel grow. The Iran-backed militant group issued the chilling threat as it signalled a dramatic shift back to its most extreme wartime tactics.
In comments to Al Jazeera, a senior Hezbollah commander said the group is preparing to activate so-called “martyrdom squads” to destabilise Israel forces operating near the border. The commander claimed that large numbers of these fighters are already positioned across what he described as “occupied” Lebanese villages, ready to launch close-range attacks. He said the units have been specifically tasked with engaging Israeli soldiers and officers in direct combat, raising fears of brutal urban warfare in the region. The uneasy ceasefire, which began on April 16, was extended for a further three weeks last Thursday amid ongoing tensions.
In a stark warning, the commander said Hezbollah is prepared to revive the asymmetric warfare methods that defined its early years.
“We will use the tactics of the 1980s and activate groups of martyrdom seekers to prevent the enemy’s stabilisation,” he said.
The term “martyrdom seekers” is widely understood to refer to suicide attackers or fighters assigned to high-risk missions with little chance of survival.
The Hezbollah commander claimed these are not just threats but an operation already underway.
He said “large groups of martyrdom seekers are deployed in the occupied area according to pre-prepared plans”, adding that the units are specifically tasked with engaging Israeli officers and soldiers in close-quarters combat inside occupied Lebanese villages.
The warning signals a shift towards direct and highly lethal urban warfare, with fighters expected to confront troops at close range in a move designed to destabilise any Israeli presence on the ground.
The group’s threat to deploy such units will heighten fears that the conflict is entering a far more dangerous phase, with the risk of intense ground fighting and wider regional escalation growing.
The warning comes as fresh revelations continue to emerge about the scale of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure inside civilian areas.
As part of an exclusive with the Express, the Israel Defense Forces said troops recently uncovered a hidden underground command centre beneath a clothes shop in southern Lebanon, packed with weapons, ammunition and supplies.
A military official said: “At first it looked like a regular clothing store… inside the hole we found a lot of weapons and ammunition,” adding the discovery was “very out-of-the-ordinary” and underscoring how Hezbollah operates within populated areas.
The official said the tunnel was uncovered this month after around three weeks of fighting with Hezbollah terrorists.
