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As Iran-U.S. Tensions Rise, Hizbullah Deploying for War with Israel
(Daily Beast) Jesse Rosenfeld - Hizbullah's forces, battle-hardened in the Syrian civil war, have begun redeploying toward the Israeli border, not only in Lebanon, but in Syria opposite the Golan Heights. "The [U.S.] sanctions now have us preparing for dealing with the Israeli front," says Commander Samir, a Hizbullah officer in charge of 800 fighters on Lebanon's border with Israel. Samir underscores the importance of Hizbullah's positions in the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan, giving it the ability to open a second front there against Israel, and boasts about drone capabilities and new anti-aircraft and anti-naval weapons acquired in Syria. He said that while the pre-war Assad regime placed limits on Hizbullah activity in the Golan, "now there are no red lines." He noted that the sanctions have forced a large reduction in Iran's financial support for Hizbullah. Salaries for Hizbullah fighters have been halved, according to three fighters. "Assir," a seasoned Hizbullah fighter in Syria, says that like the many fighters coming back to Lebanon, he is not being demobilized but rather redeployed south to the Israeli border. "People who finish their mission in Syria go to the south," he says. "There are some units in Syria but a lot go back to Lebanon or to the Golan. Thousands have come back."