Two Hezbollah fighters relax under a tree in aitroun, a southern Lebanese village, that overlooks several Israeli settlements across the border. It's the third day of an uneasy cease-fire between Israel, Lebanon and the Hezbollah militia that occupies southern Lebanon, and the militia see the cease-fire as a Hezbollah victory.
They call themselves Merkava "hunters," for the role played by their squad in monitoring Israeli Merkava tanks rolling into Lebanese territories, and then firing on them during the 33-day Israeli offensive on Lebanon. Dressed in clean army fatigues, the young fighters in their late teens spoke with relish of sleepless nights and military activities during the onslaught.
"We hunted these tanks like birds," one fighter told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa in the village of Aitroun. "We could have hit more if the war continued," the 18-year-old, who did not want to reveal his name, said with some regret. The two Merkava hunters wore trendy sunglasses and were still clad in their military helmets and carrying their rifles. They refused to say what kind of rockets they fired at Israeli tanks. As one of them looked through his binoculars towards Israel, he spoke to foreign journalists in fluent English, carefully choosing his words when answering questions.
He emphasised the "victory" they achieved in confronting what is believed to be the largest and best-equipped army in the Middle East, echoing the words of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who on Monday declared the cease-fire a "strategic victory." "It was like we were playing a war game on the Play Station," the other fighter said with a shy smile.
According to Hezbollah, around 60 tanks were destroyed during the offensive unleashed by Tel Aviv after Hezbollah snatched two Israeli soldiers from southern Lebanon on July 12.
The more talkative of the two recounted the "harsh days" of relentless bombings by Israel's US-made F-16 war jets "over our heads," and the systematic cannon fire that fell around them as they held their positions. "Look at my helmet," he said, pointing to a shrapnel hole.
"If I did not have my helmet, I would have been a martyr by now." Hezbollah fighters take pride in martyrdom, in the belief that dying while defending their homeland from Israeli aggression promises eternal paradise.
"It is this strong belief in defending the homeland and love for martyrdom that makes the Shiite Hezbollah fighters fearless when confronting an invading army equipped with far more superior weapons," one Hezbollah fighter said.
During the fighting, more than 1,000 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and 120 Israelis died, and much of Lebanon's infrastructure, including roads, bridges and buildings was destroyed.
The United Nations cease-fire calls for 15,000 UN peacekeeping troops to assist 15,000 Lebanese armed forces in reclaiming sovereignty over southern Lebanon, now occupied by the disciplined Hezbollah guerrillas.
Previous United Nations resolutions, such as the one in 2004, called for Beirut to disarm the militia and regain sovereignty over its southern portion after the Syrian army withdrew. Nasrallah on Monday said his group would not be forced to disarm by "intimidation or pressure."
-DPA