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VISUAL

AUDIO

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Hezballah running through valley

This is Hezballah - The Party of God. These guerrilla fighters are waging a successful hit and run war against the Israeli army in south Lebanon.

Yet this war is taking on a new face as other groups are becoming more actively involved in the resistance to Israeli occupation.

For the Israelis this could mean it will be more costly for them to stay, and yet more difficult than ever for them to consider leaving.

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00:51

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follow Hezballah fighters into bush and disappear.

With a force of several hundred fighters, Hezballah uses speed, mobility and stealth to attack its enemy.

These classic guerrilla tactics have allowed Hezballah to strike at the time and place of its choosing.

Few journalists have ever been this far near the front with Hezballah as they scout around an Israeli position just a few hundred metres on the top of the hill.

01:07

But the fighters are anxious to remain anonymous and we were asked not to film their faces.

01:13

Interview:

Hezballah Fighter # 1

Of course we're going to win this guerrilla war. We own the land and we are the ones who are in the right. We believe our cause is just, and we have a total conviction and faith in God. We are going to carry on fighting because the Israelis are occupying our land - we are not occupying theirs.

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02:10

Amal fighters sitting planning mission.

In another part of south Lebanon fighters of the Amal movement discuss final details of a mission towards the Israeli lines.

Recognising that resistance enjoys popular backing - Amal has increased its attacks in recent years.

We were given special permission by Amal to follow its fighters - the aim of their mission, we were told, was to move up on an Israeli position... and attack.

The fighters say a last prayer before leaving.

02:17

Interview fighter:

Amal Fighter

I don't feel sorry when I'm fighting the enemy because he has taken my land. That's his purpose here, and I want to defend this land.

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02:52

02:59

Drill marching around square

In a Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon history seems to be repeating itself. These well-armed Palestinian fighters are a new generation of die-hard radicals. Born inside a refugee camp, and having nothing to lose, they are actively preparing for their chance to attack and destroy Israel.

We gained exclusive access into the training ground of these Palestinians to see how they have re-armed and are ready to fight.

It was Palestinian fighters such as these who first drew Israel into Lebanon over 20 years ago.

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Archive:

graphic

Israel first invaded Lebanon in 1978 - to strike at the Palestinian guerrillas who were launching attacks on Israel from south Lebanon.

United Nations Resolution 425 passed in that year called for Israel's total, immediate and unconditional withdrawal from south Lebanon.

Israel disregarded the resolution and instead established what it called a security zone on 10% of Lebanese territory to prevent further guerrilla attacks into Israel.

The security zone has remained - 21 years after it was first set up. To this day it is still an area of continual insecurity.

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03:51

04:00

Hezballah moving across rocks

Hezballah guerillas have consistently attacked Israeli troops inside their security zone.

As Hezballah continues to inflict casualties on Israeli troops, the public mood in Israel has swung towards a withdrawal.

For the leadership of Hezballah, this has confirmed the fact that Israel is losing the war in south Lebanon.

04:06

interview

Hassan Nasrallah

The enemy has started to feel he is in a dilemma in Lebanon. There is a large increase in those asking for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon unconditionally. Surveys of public opinion in Israel show this figure is now at 55%. This is how we are winning this war.

04:37

Amal fighters moving down

Attacks against Israeli troops in south Lebanon have become increasingly successful in recent years. The guerrillas have scored numerous successes with ambushes and the use of remote-controlled roadside bombs against passing Israeli patrols.

04:54

Roadside bomb footage - Hezballah TV.

Michael Young

What has happened in past few years the resistance has become more effective in attacks...... the Israelis are being hit.....they are finding it more difficult to travel on roads in the south than in past. Today Israelis are talking of withdrawal - cumulative psychological effect.

05:29

Amal moving up - fighters stop and bend down.

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The fighters of Amal - like those of Hezballah - have proved

an elusive target for the Israelis.

Through constant attacks, the guerrillas have sought to weaken the morale of Israeli army rather than attempting a single knock-out blow.

Many Israelis today refer to South Lebanon as Israel's Vietnam.

The fighters we accompanied have now moved close to Israel's "security zone".

So far they have remained undetected, but the Israelis on a nearby hill are constantly on guard for guerrillas moving below.

06:06

Amal fighters continue to walk.

Hamzeh on camera

Cut back to fighters walking on.

Nizar Hamzeh

The nature of guerrilla warfare is totally different from a war between 2 armies. It doesn't seem that the Israeli army has won over Islamic resistance. It's not question of technology, nature of guerrilla warfare in these rugged terrain makes it difficult to win.

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07:05

Martyr pic to street

cleric

Hezballah man watching

Strawberry man

Woman and kid on balcony.

Khomeini to water tank

Boy at water tank

Amal and Hezballah come from the same community - the Shia Muslims - who are generally recognised as the largest of Lebanon's 17 religious minorities.

The two organisations were established during Lebanon's 15 year civil war and have struggled with each other to win influence among the Shia.

Thousands of Shia live in Beirut's southern suburbs. The poverty and crowded conditions of this area made it fertile ground for a party with a radical message. Young men found meaning and purpose in a new militancy.

Hezballah was able to back its appeal with financial support from the Islamic revolutionary regime in Iran. Money from Iran helped Hezballah establish an extensive system of social welfare services badly needed by the Shia community.

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Amal fighters coming out of the hole, and taking positions in rocks.

Determined not lose out to Hezballah's growing popularity, Amal has been keen to stage military operations of its own.

Amal recognises that resistance against Israel wins popular support among the Shia in Lebanon - which translates into votes during elections.

Amal officials are quick to put the record straight on their party's contribution to the resistance.

07:50

Interview:

Khalil Hamdan

Some people like to say that Hezballah is the only resistance group in Lebanon. They say only part of the Lebanese are defending their land. Moreover they say only part of the Shia are resisting. In fact the whole of Lebanon is resisting.

08:11

Hammoud Hospital: little girl

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All Lebanese today feel outraged by Israel's occupation of their land and the steady rate of civilian casualties.

This two year-old girl was injured by Israeli shelling.

She was playing outside her home in a civilian area several miles from the front line when an Israeli shell exploded nearby.

She has a piece of shrapnel lodged in her head and the possibility of permanent brain damage.

08:44

Amal Fighter

Israel does this sort of thing to incite the locals against the resistance. They think that by victimising the children this will make the parents turn against the resistance.

09:08

Dr Hammoud

Recently we have seen more booby-trap injuries......The children are targeted. These things have bright colours and look like toys, or they are something interesting for the kids - tennis ball; small radio transistor; teddy bear.

09:35

Hassan Nasrallah

We consider the Israeli occupation to be an aggression. We have the right to resist in order to free our land. This is not negotiable. If you want to call that extremism, or radicalism, or terrorism, we don't have a problem.

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Arnoun

Drive

On the top of the hill this 12th century Crusader castle in which the Israelis are based overlooks the frontline village of Arnoun.

Fouad Fawaz has been able to revisit his village since last February when civilians pulled down fences that had kept it inside Israel's security zone. But he can only look at his house which remains inside the Israeli area.

10:18

Fouad Fawaz

That's my house over there.... I can't go there because the Israelis will start shooting on me.

10:44

Driving van

Since this interview, the village has been retaken by the Israeli army following the death of an Israeli soldier, killed by a bomb detonated on this road leading up to the castle.

11:02

Amal firing

The Amal fighters we have followed have now taken up positions.....We learn that this is a decoy attack - the main attack is to come from fighters on an adjacent hill.

11:36

Amal running away

Israeli hilltop position attacked.

Sound of bombs.

Through the haze we see in the distance the Israeli compound come under attack from mortar fire.

An Amal official told us the group had increased the number of attacks it carries out to as many as 30 operations a month.

Having completed their mission, the fighters quickly retreat in case of an Israeli response.

12:31

Cemetery

In this cemetery, families come to visit the graves of their loved ones killed fighting in the resistance.

This mother lost one of her sons who fought with Hezballah. She claims to be ready to sacrifice more of her family.

12:45

Interview: martyr's mother

2^nd woman crying.

Mother

I still have three young boys and I'm willing to offer them to the resistance. I have no fear for them. We want Israel out of our land. They are the occupiers, not us. And I am ready to volunteer our girls. If we don't make these sacrifices who will? If we don't defend our land who will?

13:28

Man singing, women crying.

Woman reading Koran.

While Israel struggles to come to terms with each body bag that comes home from south Lebanon, families of resistance fighters killed in action mix their grief with defiance.

13:44

Amal fighter

We are not scared of death because we know that we will win. Our path begins with sacrifice and ends with martyrdom.

13:54

Hezballah Fighter

Death is always with us, every day, in every place and in every operation. It would be a shame for me to say that I was afraid of dying in front of such an enemy.

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Circle - shooting into ground

Another group also ready to make the ultimate sacrifice is the 13^th September group.

This Palestinian faction takes its name from the date on which PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed a peace accord with Israel in 1993. For these men, that day marked the betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

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15:11

Maqdah to camera

Boy carries Katyusha rocket into class

Mounir Maqdah

We are resistance fighters. Resistance will never stop as long as Israel occupies Palestine, south Lebanon and the Golan. It is our duty to prepare for all kinds of missions, including suicide missions.

We stress there is no peace with the Israeli enemy as long as Israel occupies even one inch of land in Palestine or other Arab lands.

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Classroom

In a hidden location in the heart of Ain el-Hilweh camp, Palestinians are taught military tactics in a school of war.

This 130mm Chinese-made rocket - commonly categorised as a Katyusha - has been the guerrilla's most effective weapon in hitting northern Israel in the past. This classroom instruction suggests that the katyusha will have a role in the future too.

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classroom

The Palestinians appear to have re-armed themselves and are ready to use south Lebanon once again as a launching pad for attacks on Israel.

These radical groups have close links to Syria, which exercises a political and military dominance in most of Lebanon. The guerrilla war is a card for Syria to play in its own confrontation with Israel to win back the Golan Heights which Israel has occupied since 1967.

16:24

Michael Young

The paradox in the south is simply this: Syria is not keen to defeat Israel too soon in south - if Israelis pull out, they will no longer have a terrain to hit Israelis, and so no longer leverage on Golan Heights.

16:56

While Amal has stated that it would only fight until it had secured the withdrawal of Israel from south Lebanon, Hezballah's ideology is altogether more radical.

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Hezballah on rocks

Hezballah considers the whole of Palestine to be occupied Muslim land and contends that Israel has no right to exist.

Such ideology suggests that Hezballah's objective of forcing Israel out of south Lebanon may not be an end in itself but a prelude to an onslaught against Israel.

The party leadership refuses to state whether it would stop attacks if Israel withdrew from south Lebanon.