A newly released by reporters says Hezbollah plans "to expand and solidify" its future presence in Syria as it continues preparing for a future confrontation with Israel.
Since a U.N.-imposed ceasefire ended the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, Israel has closely monitored Hezbollah's activities, especially south of the Litani River. U.N. Resolution 1701 forbids its expansion there, but that has never been the reality on the ground.
Like many of its terror counterparts, Hezbollah built underground bunkers and weapons warehouses inside residential areas in southern Lebanon.
It also restocked its missile cache after firing some 4,000 rockets on northern Israel nearly a decade ago. Reports at the time indicated the U.N. peacekeeping forces did little to interfere with Hezbollah's activities in southern Lebanon.
Years before Syria's civil war began, the Assad regime helped transport Iranian missiles and other weaponry to Hezbollah. Later, the Lebanese-based Iranian proxy dispatched its fighters to bolster President Bashar al-Assad's troops.
According to the report, Hezbollah is building a military base near the Syrian town of Qusair where it's stockpiling weapons, ostensibly for defense should the Assad regime fall. Some say Hezbollah is building tunnels into Lebanon from there.
However as the now-six-year-long war winds up, Hezbollah plans to keep a few thousand troops on the ground in Syria, in part to provide easy access for its mentor, Iran. Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers are said to inspect the facility regularly, which in the future may house long-range missiles that can hit any of Israel's major population centers.
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