To an outsider, Haret Hreik is an unlikely place stronghold of militant organizationThe high-end hotels, foreign-themed restaurants and cafes, spa centers and expensive cars lining the clean, wide streets don’t give away that this area of southern Beirut is home to Israel’s most powerful enemy militia, Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This is the same area where Israel’s air force killed Hezbollah co-founder and chief Hassan Nasrallah on September 27. Regional threats have increased due to this murder War between Israel and Iran-backed militias,
India Today has reviewed Herret Hreik’s Google Street View and several video vlogs, recent and old, to pinpoint locations associated with Hezbollah and get an understanding of the area.
Haret Harik is located about 8 km from central Beirut, Lebanon’s capital – a former French colony popular with tourists for its beautiful beaches and architecture.
The outer edges of Haret Harik do not look much different from other neighborhoods of Beirut. But as you go deeper, you’ll find hoardings of men with guns in camouflage attire, with Arabic texts praising how bravely they served the “resistance.”
Even bigger are posters and billboards of a long-bearded man wearing a black turban – he is Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who has vowed to oppose Israel. These posters and banners are everywhere – hanging in restaurants and cafes, on electric poles, residences, designated promotional locations and in the middle of the road.
In Haret Hareik, tourists are unlikely to find any official offices of Hezbollah, but they are welcome to stroll through the “Square of Resistance Martyrs” and drive down Hadi Hassan Nasrallah Street.
Israeli and Western security officials say Haret Hareik in the Shia-dominated Dahieh, about 4.5 kilometers from Beirut airport, has been home to Hezbollah’s command and control center for decades.
Israel has attacked this area before.
Founded in 1985, Hezbollah has been described as “a state within a state” in Lebanon. Its armed forces are considered stronger and better equipped than Lebanon’s official forces. It has representatives in parliament and has fought on foreign soil, including in Syria.
Since early October 2023, Hezbollah has been conducting low-intensity rocket attacks into northern Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza, displacing thousands of civilians. As of the first week of this month, Israel has responded in kind.
On 17 September, Israel injured thousands of Hezbollah men by remotely detonating pager communication devices. A day later, hundreds of people were killed in similar explosions of satellite phones and other electronic equipment across Lebanon. This was followed by more deadly airstrikes in various parts of Lebanon.
The assassination of Nasrallah has been a significant event in Israeli efforts to force Hezbollah to surrender. However, the organization has vowed to fight. Conversely, concerns are growing that the killing could force Hezbollah and its patron Iran to retaliate and could plunge the entire region into a full-scale regional war.