The Take: Why Israel’s war on Hezbollah keeps returning

Israel has tried for decades to weaken Hezbollah through wars and assassinations. Why has the group endured?

A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes. [Ibrahim Amro /AFP)
A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 9, 2026. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes [Ibrahim Amro/AFP]

Israel’s latest attacks on Lebanon come after decades of conflict with Hezbollah. Wars, assassinations and pressure have failed to break the group, which continues to launch rockets and fight Israeli forces. Why has Hezbollah endured, and what does the latest escalation reveal about the long war between Israel and Hezbollah?

In this episode:

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Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Noor Wazwaz and Tuleen Barakat with Monah Hamade, Gerard Baldadad, Adhil Veetil, Shreshtha Sanghvi and our guest host David Enders. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.

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