Mass Desertions Among Hezbollah Fighters Reported in Arab Media Outlets

Arab media portals, including the independent online newspaper Elaph, have reported on the phenomenon of Hezbollah fighters deserting their units, throwing away their military uniforms and equipment and putting on civilian clothes to try to flee the battlefield. The first reports of desertions began to surface following the pager and walkie talkie attacks in early September, and the trickle soon turned into a flood following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the subsequent IDF ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

According to the reports, many fighters have abandoned their positions along the border and refused to respond when summoned by their superior officers. This tracks with what IDF troops have found when they enter many of the tunnels and bunkers set up along the border, usually finding them empty and often with evidence that they were recently occupied.

Many of the terrorists have even fled Lebanon entirely, taking their families and joining the throngs of refugees heading to Syria in order to avoid confrontation with IDF troops.

However, the problem is not just abandoned positions along the border. The disruption to communications networks means that Hezbollah is having trouble even getting ahold of many of the reservists it is trying to mobilize and send to the front. There is also a difficulty in communicating between units in the field and between them and headquarters units.

Finally, Hezbollah is also having a difficult time recruiting new members, as many Lebanese see them as in decline and no one wants to join a group that is losing cohesion.