HOW IRAN IS USING ITS PROXIES TO AVOID A WAR WITH ISRAEL

The war in Gaza has given Iran the opportunity to showcase the capacity of its newly restructured network of allied militias, or proxies, which together demonstrate Teheran's strategic reach.

- JOHN DOBSON

I never expected to reach this age, so I am living on borrowed time”, said Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of Hamas just days after the terrorist group’s bestial rampage on Israeli citizens on 7 October. “It’s not strange for the commanders and cadres of the movement to be martyred”, he continued in an interview with Beirut-based AL-Mayadeen, the pan-Arabist satellite news TV channel.

Last Tuesday, Arouri’s prophetic words came true. His “borrowed time” was up when an Israeli drone struck Hamas’ offices in Dahiyeh, an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs which is also a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, killing him and three other members of the terror group. In a chilling response to the attack, Iran’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, declared that “martyr’s blood will undoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and motivation to fight against Israel”, leaving many to wonder if the much anticipated escalation of the three-month conflict will now happen.

Tuesday’s explosion in Beirut came after more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. Hezbollah is by far a more formidable foe for Israel than Hamas. With up to 150,000 missiles, many of them precision guided and able to reach any target in Israel, together with about 100,000 fighters, Hezbollah dwarfs Hamas in both size and sophistication. Many Hezbollah troops have also been battle hardened by fighting in Syria. Hezbollah also enjoys a close relationship with Iran, which gave it life in 1982 and which views it as a proxy.