SouthernWorldwide.com – A recent report from Lebanon’s MTV television network claims that the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, is reportedly using its version of the scout movement to indoctrinate children for “jihadi missions” that ultimately lead to their deaths.
This report, translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) based in Washington, D.C., surfaces amidst ongoing U.S.-brokered peace negotiations between Israel and Beirut.
According to the report, Hezbollah allegedly orchestrates elaborate funerals for these child fighters, portraying them as heroes and publicly glorifying them in front of their peers. This practice is reportedly intended to encourage other children to emulate their actions and embrace a similar path.
The MTV report further suggests that Hezbollah believes that every sacrifice made by these child soldiers brings them closer to achieving victory. This ideology underscores a disturbing pattern of exploitation and manipulation.
The report also claims that Hezbollah utilizes its scout movements to cultivate an entire generation of children who are deeply obedient and prepared for death. This is achieved through a consistent rhetoric that glorifies death and martyrdom.
According to the MEMRI translation, the MTV report states that “Hezbollah child soldiers have been used since the 1980s by this outlaw armed group. Not just as armed fighters but as Khomeini-loyal scouts.”
This practice echoes historical accounts of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He is reported to have exploited Iranian children during the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted from 1980 to 1988.
A Lebanon expert, speaking anonymously, suggested that these children could be classified as “children jihadists,” being groomed to become full-fledged Hezbollah fighters.
The expert further argued that these children are often assigned tasks such as spying and transporting ammunition. They proposed that if these scout groups receive funding from any Lebanese ministry or national boy scout association, they should face sanctions if evidence of their involvement in such activities emerges.
Sarit Zehavi, an expert on Hezbollah from the Israel Alma Research and Education Center, has called for decisive action against the terror group’s alleged exploitation of children.
Zehavi stated, “The only way to bring a change is to designate all of these allegedly civilian activities of Hezbollah and close the movement of its scouts, and enable the Shiites of Lebanon to have a different source of services, whether it is educational, formal or informal, which will be part of the Lebanese state, and not part of Hezbollah.”
She emphasized that this would ensure that loyalty is directed towards the Lebanese state, rather than towards Khomeini and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Zehavi added, “This is only something Lebanon can do with a lot of international pressure, of course, led by the United States.”
Tammy Rahamimoff-Honig, an Israeli diplomat, voiced her strong condemnation on the social media platform X, stating, “Hezbollah sacrifices Lebanese children to further the ambitions of the Iranian regime. This isn’t ‘resistance’. It’s child abuse.”
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The Ambassador of Lebanon to the U.S. reportedly declined to provide a comment for this article.
