Hezbollah's Imam al-Mahdi Scout Camps Train Youth for Jihad in Lebanon

Hezbollah operates the Imam al-Mahdi Scout camps in Lebanon, where up to 75,000 male and female Shiite youths are indoctrinated and, for older members, receive paramilitary training. The camps combine typical summer activities with ideological lessons, community service, and, for teenagers, "literacy training" in weaponry and intensive arms instruction. Former scouts often graduate into Hezbollah’s fighting ranks, with the organization commemorating those killed as martyrs – a ceremony described on its website as a "journey in scouting…which culminated in martyrdom."

The recruitment pipeline is seen as a threat to the fragile peace process between Israel and Lebanon following a recent agreement to disarm Hezbollah. The camps are funded largely by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and have organized trips to Iran, including attendance at the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Analysts warn that the youth training undermines the slim chance for lasting peace in the region.