The Times: The number announced by Nasrallah about the size of his forces means that they are larger than the Lebanese army

The British newspaper "

" said that if the number announced by the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, about the number of his forces is accurate, this means that his soldiers are more than the soldiers of the Lebanese army, and more than the soldiers of the British army, and it also sends a warning to the groups. competing in Lebanon and to his current political ally, President Michel Aoun.

The newspaper pointed out - in

- that the question of the extent of Hezbollah's ability to defeat the official Lebanese army is one of the biggest unanswered questions in the Middle East and few want to test it.

It was attributed to analysts that the figure (100,000 fighters) - announced by Nasrallah during his violent attack on the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea - likely includes reservists, and others who have no experience in combat and have not received refresher courses.

Reasonable number

And it quoted an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, Muhannad Hajj, as saying that this figure might be reasonable if, in addition to his full-time fighters, it included all the reserve forces, which include members who had previously trained, but did not have combat experience or received refresher courses.

The Times pointed out that there is no doubt that Hezbollah has built a large force with the support of the Iranians, and that other Lebanese factions, including the Lebanese army, may not match Hezbollah's forces in number and equipment.

She said that although Hezbollah insists that its forces exist to defend all of Lebanon's multiple sects against Israel, it is in fact a major obstacle to the Lebanese state as the dominant faction in the country and has gained significant combat experience for the Assad regime in the war in Syria.

weak army

She added that, in contrast, the Lebanese army, which receives training from the Americans, the French and the British, officially has just under 85,000 soldiers, and has run out of money due to the economic crisis and is facing difficulty in paying salaries.

She said that the main threat to Hezbollah is the political repercussions of the port explosion, as among those targeted for investigation by Judge Tariq Al-Bitar, who is handling the bombing case, are two former Shiite ministers, two members of the Shiite Amal Party that is currently allied with Hezbollah, and a Christian minister from a faction also close to Hizb allah.

clear pressure

The Times also commented on the Lebanese president's statement that the principle of separation of powers prevents him from ordering the dismissal of the judge, which puts clear pressure on the alliance between the Free Patriotic Movement - the largest Christian party - led by President Aoun, and Hezbollah.

She added that Aoun is constrained because the explosion occurred in the predominantly Christian east of Beirut, and any indication that he would not defend Qadi al-Bitar would likely send Christian voters into the arms of rival Christian parties, including those allied with Samir Geagea.