Hezbollah alpine skill video goes viral on Lebanese social media

The Libyan social media saw an avalanche of comments Wednesday after the Hezbollah and the Lebanese military showcased their alpine skills in two near-simultaneously released propaganda videos.

Some users were even jokingly referencing the ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Iran-backed Hezbollah looked keen to demonstrate it was undeterred by recent heavy snowfall in a slick two-minute production released late Tuesday that soon started trending on social media.

Hezbollah fighters, having swapped their usual colors for all-white snow camouflage gear, are seen doing target practice on skis and snowmobiles near Lebanon's southern border with Israel.

Also Tuesday, Lebanon's army released a video showing its alpine unit performing drills in the snow.

Hezbollah is often described as a state within the state, and the rival videos rekindled the debate on whether the Shiite paramilitary organization could outgun the national army.

Many on social media volunteered comparative analysis and style marks, while others drew parallels with the biathlon events at the Winter Olympics currently underway in Beijing.

Some even suggested Hezbollah was preparing to assist Russian troops in an invasion of Ukraine.

The Jerusalem Post broadened the contest to include the Israeli alpine unit and asked, albeit without answering the question, whether Hezbollah's snow fighters were a match.

Israel and the Shiite movement fought a short but devastating war in Lebanon in 2006.