Hezbollah has adopted a new field strategy in southern Lebanon centred on close-range engagement with Israeli forces, according to sources close to the group who told The New Arab that the approach was being deployed due to continued Israeli breaches of a ceasefire which theoretically came into effect on 17 April.
The strategy is based on targeting Israeli troop concentrations inside the so-called "Yellow Line", an area declared by Israeli forces as a "security zone" in southern Lebanon, in response to raids on Lebanese border villages. It also includes attacks on areas inside Israel if operations escalate beyond this zone.
According to the sources, Hezbollah has deployed specialised units across the area made up of what they refer to as "martyrdom fighters".
They say these groups are not primarily tasked with carrying out suicide bombings, such as vehicle-based attacks involving explosives-laden cars driven into military targets, although they do not rule out that possibility given past precedent, including a 1995 operation carried out by Salah Ghandour.
Instead, the units are being tasked with "suicide combat" through direct, close-range engagement with Israeli forces without retreat, in battles where the likelihood of death is higher than survival.
The framing echoes recent media leaks suggesting a possible return to some 1980s-era tactics, with references to "martyrdom fighters" raising questions over whether the term reflects mobilisation language or signals a shift in operational thinking.
The sources say fighters undertake these missions voluntarily as part of a broader effort to prevent Israeli forces from maintaining a long-term occupation of Lebanese territory.
Israel's expansion into border villages in southern Lebanon has, according to the sources, created opportunities to inflict greater losses.
They point to ambushes and the use of attack drones guided via fibre optics as part of an effort to force Israeli troops to withdraw and halt ongoing attacks, arguing that increasing Israeli casualties disrupts Israeli military objectives on the ground.
Israeli media reports suggest that while casualties have remained relatively limited, they have been persistent, with one soldier reported killed and around 12 wounded in a single drone strike near Shomera in late April, alongside repeated incidents of injuries caused by Hezbollah drones and fire since the ceasefire took effect.
The developments come as Israel has intensified its military operations in southern Lebanon, stepping up strikes and raids targeting alleged "Hezbollah infrastructure", while reinforcing surveillance and fortifications along the occupied border strip and tightening control over movement in the area.
Israeli officials have publicly framed any potential suicide-style attack as a "red line" that would trigger a wider escalation. However, Israeli media have sought to downplay the immediacy of the threat, suggesting the rhetoric may also serve a deterrent or signalling purpose.
Israeli media appear divided over how far the current approach reflects a revival of past methods, with some arguing that battlefield conditions in southern Lebanon, including displacement and intensive surveillance, make traditional suicide-style operations difficult for Hezbollah to execute, while other reports emphasise that fighters willing to engage "to the utmost limits" reflect an existing capability that could still carry operational weight.
Sources close to the group told TNA that Hezbollah had shifted tactics compared with earlier phases of the conflict and was now inflicting greater damage, including through direct confrontations at very close range in areas such as Bint Jbeil and Khiam. They indicate that this approach will continue to be used in the current phase.
While Israel claims full control over the "Yellow Line" zone, which includes around 55 border villages, the sources dispute this, pointing to the continued presence of Hezbollah fighters and the launch of attacks from the area as evidence that Israeli forces had failed to maintain control there.
They also say Israeli forces had previously established underground infrastructure in border villages, which has since been destroyed. According to the sources, Israeli troops are now taking cover inside homes and among trees, making them more vulnerable to attack.
Preventing Israeli forces from rebuilding defensive infrastructure or securing positions that would reduce their exposure remains a key part of Hezbollah’s current strategy, the sources added.