Leading Syria’s bloody reconquest of the rebel stronghold in Aleppo was Hizballah, which, according to Yoram Schweitzer, is the “most professional” of the various ground forces fighting to maintain Bashar al-Assad’s rule. (Russia is fighting mainly from the air, and Iranian forces are present primarily in advisory and supporting roles.) Schweitzer argues that Hizballah must no longer be considered a terrorist or insurgent group but an army. (Interview by BICOM; audio available at the link below.)

Hizballah, through its deep involvement in the Syrian civil war, has shifted from a force of “resistance” into an occupying force [and has] totally aligned itself with the Assad regime, having shared in its brutality against the local population. To date it’s quite clear that Hizballah is a very focal player in the Syrian arena. Iran, of course, is running the show; Hizballah is totally committed and subject to Iranian policy. . . . . Hizballah is doing the hard work for the Iranians in Syria and is responsible for establishing new organizations composed of local volunteers and foreign fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. . . .

Hizballah has virtually abandoned its “defensive” role against Israel—which it once boasted of so often—or at least put it aside temporarily. It is mainly focused in Syria and is immersed in this war. Hizballah knows that the results of this war will have concrete repercussions for its future in Lebanon and its connections to the regime of Assad. . . .

[Hizballah’s] experience in Syria has qualified it to become a better fighting force. Hizballah is no more merely an organization, it is an army. . . . In the past, it used to employ guerrilla and terrorist tactics, but now it’s fighting as an armed force with a very clear-cut structure. . . .

As for Israel, . . [it] is looking very soberly at what is going on in Syria. It looks at Hizballah’s expenses, resources invested, number of casualties, and the fact that Hizballah is immersed in the quagmire of Syria which prevents it from bothering Israel. [However], Hizballah is gaining more and more experience, it is being trained, being equipped, it has partnerships not only with Iran and Syria, which of course will guarantee their full support without any limitations, but also with Russia.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.