●The Lebanese Brigades founded

On 3 November 1997 Hezbollah announced the formation of the "Lebanese Brigades for Resisting the Occupation" to bring volunteers from every sect into the fighting in the South. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed in January 1998 that applications had exceeded two thousand from the various sects and that the cadre prepared was "smaller than the turnout", and that the party "does not need men" but wanted to open the door of participation to those outside its own ranks; at the start of 1999 he announced that the Brigades had completed their first stage and begun operations on the front lines, with a plan to select a full-time elite.