Israel's Long War with Hezbollah

The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is now in its fourth decade and shows no signs of ending. Raphael D. Marcus examines this conflict since the formation of Hezbollah during Israel’s occupation of Lebanon in the early 1980s. He critically evaluates events including Israel’s long counterguerrilla campaign throughout the 1990s, the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, the 2006 summer war, and concludes with an assessment of current tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon related to the Syrian civil war. Israel’s Long War with Hezbollah is both the first complete military history of this decades-long conflict and an analysis of military innovation and adaptation. The book is based on unique fieldwork in Israel and Lebanon, extensive research into Hebrew and Arabic primary sources, and dozens of interviews Marcus conducted with Israeli defense officials, high-ranking military officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), United Nations personnel, a Hezbollah official, and Western diplomats. As an expert on organizational learning, Marcus analyzes ongoing processes of strategic and operational innovation and adaptation by both the IDF and Hezbollah throughout the long guerrilla conflict. His conclusions illuminate the dynamics of the ongoing conflict and illustrate the complexity of military adaptation under fire.With Hezbollah playing an ongoing role in the civil war in Syria and the simmering hostilities on the Israel-Lebanon border, students, scholars, diplomats, and military practitioners with an interest in Middle Eastern security issues, Israeli military history, and military innovation and adaptation can ill afford to neglect this book.

An interesting and well-researched book. His compelling and accurate analysis explains different aspects of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah., This book is significant because it describes, in great detail, both the greatest current military threat against Israel as well as long-term threat trends. . . . Israel’s Long War with Hezbollah provides valuable background to this ongoing conflict and a window into what one can expect in the inevitable next round of fighting., Marcus’s own excellent analysis deserves the attention of any informed reader interested in Israel or modern military history. The long war isn’t over, and its underlying dynamic, ably documented by Raphael Marcus, remains unchanged., English-language readers will be rewarded with a clear understanding of current IDF strategy, constraints and planning, particularly as it relates to Hezbollah., The book is a significant contribution to the study of this conflict and of Hezbollah. But it also serves as a case study on how militaries—both state and nonstate—can learn from battlefield mistakes and evolve to match threats. . . . This book is worth the attention of anyone interested in learning the intricacies of the civil-military dynamic and those who seek a deeper knowledge of the military history surrounding the Israel-Hezbollah conflict

Raphael D. Marcus is a nonresident fellow at the Insurgency Research Group in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, where he received his PhD. His research interests include Middle East security issues, terrorism, military affairs, and organizational learning. He is currently working as an intelligence and counterterrorism analyst at a law-enforcement agency.