Hizbullah Fighters Return to Civilian Life "For Now

A file photo of a Hizbullah parade.

"I fought, and I am ready to do it again if Israel attacked us," Ibrahim, Hizbullah fighter, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Saturday, September 16.

Israel launched a wide-scale offensive on July 12, on the claim of seeking the release of two soldiers taken prisoner by Hizbullah in a cross-border operation to exchange with Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails.

The Israeli onslaught killed up to 1,287 people, mostly civilians, and displaced a million people before it came to a halt on August 14, under a UN-brokered ceasefire.

"We lost nine men, but there are 900 others ready to replace them," says Ibrahim who have now returned to civilian life after the war.

He joined the Lebanese resistance group when he was still a teenager and underwent training in guerrilla warfare.

Ibrahim rejoined Hizbullah's ranks after having been imprisoned by Israel during its occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.

When Israel launched its major offensive, he took up arms to defend his southern Lebanese town of Aita Ash-Shaab against the invading Israeli forces.

Hizbullah fighters were not easy meat during the 34-day Israeli onslaught in Lebanon.

At least 123 Israeli soldiers were killed and thousands others wounded in fierce battles with well-trained Hizbullah fighters.

Hizbullah also shot down at least four Apache helicopters and destroyed one warship, a fast-speed patrol in addition to around 124 of Israel's pride Merkava tanks, each costing 4.4 million dollars.

At least twelve armored vehicle and personnel carriers were also damaged during the war, according to a tally prepared by IslamOnline.net based on Israeli media and official reports.

End Occupation First

The Hizbullah fighters, however, vow not to give up arms until Israel completely ends its occupation of Lebanon.

"A fighter only gives up his weapons when he is dead," said Hussein Srour, 72, whose son is a member of Hizbullah.

Hussein Alawiyeh, principal of the school in Marun al-Ras, agrees.

"No one will accept Hizbullah's arms being taken away. Our security is our weapons," he says.

"We will decide when to lay down arms, not the United Nations."

"We don't feel that the United Nations will guarantee our security, much less the Lebanese army," which is deploying along with the UN forces as Israeli troops progressively withdraw.

Residents of the destroyed southern Lebanese towns in the Israeli war openly proclaim their loyalty and sympathies for the resistance group.

"It's not just Hassan Nasrallah who protects the weapons of Hizbullah, it's the entire population of the south," says Jana Alawiyeh, a woman who has just returned to Marun al-Ras, another village heavily damaged in the Israeli blitz.

Srour, who has just come back to Aita Ash-Shaab to inspect what is left of his three-storey home, is more direct.

"Don't think that there is a single man under the age of 50 who is not a fighter, either active or in reserve," he says.

"Hizbullah are our brothers, our sons, all the villagers."