Hezbollah emerged during Lebanon’s civil war with the intention of ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. With the backing of Iran, it has become the strongest military force in Lebanon, and one of the strongest militias in the region. But the group also has a political wing and charitable activities. Four decades after its founding, some say that it is a state within a state. From Beirut, Rebecca Collard first reported in the fall about how the group’s history and present status plays into the possibility of going to war with Israel.