Israel has carried out devastating attacks on Hezbollah in recent days, taking advantage of its expertise in intelligence and technology.

However, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday, “a ground war between the two, if it occurs, would likely be a different story.”

Hezbollah, considered the world’s most heavily armed terror group, has a massive arsenal of rockets, drones and antitank missiles, including its most dangerous, an Iranian-made guided antitank missile called Almas which is far more precise than any missile Hezbollah used against Israel during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

A ground war would mean that Israel “would have to fight on a battlefield in southern Lebanon that plays to Hezbollah’s strengths” and risks turning into a quagmire, like the war in Gaza.

“It’s a little like saying to the United States in 1980, ‘Let’s go back into Vietnam,’” said Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and former U.S. government official, who co-wrote a recent study of Hezbollah’s arsenal.

In recent months, Hezbollah has expanded its network of tunnels in southern Lebanon and smuggled in more arms, building on its advances since the 2006 war.

“The south is like a beehive right now,” said a former Hezbollah military officer referring to the military preparations. “Everything the Iranians have, we have.”

Since 2006, Iran has transferred thousands of new missiles and drones to Hezbollah, along with guidance kits to attach to older, unguided rockets. Hezbollah terrorists have also learned war tactics from combat in the war in Syria, where they fought along with Russian and Iranian forces against Syrian opposition fighters.

“It’s not going to be a walk in the park” if there’s a full-scale war, said Assaf Orion, a retired brigadier general from the Israeli military. “There’s no way we’re not getting a bloody nose.”

Although Israel could use its air superiority to cripple Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure like it did in 2006, Hezbollah isn’t seeking a conventional victory over Israel but rather wants to mire IDF forces n a war of attrition, the report says.

“Israel can cause destruction in Lebanon, it’s not up for discussion. There is a gap in the military balance,” said Elias Farhat, a retired general from the Lebanese army. “But Hezbollah has asymmetric weapons. They proved their skill in using antitank missiles in 2006. They are well-trained.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)