An open war on two fronts.
A few weeks ago, Israel began a series of attacks in Lebanon while its siege on the Gaza Strip continues.
In the Lebanese nation there is currently an escalation of Israeli bombings and operations against Hezbollah after thousands of communication devices used by the militia exploded in mid-September.
The synchronized attack caused dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries, and was attributed to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
This Friday, the Israeli army bombed Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, in an offensive in which other buildings in the Lebanese capital allegedly linked to the militia’s activities were attacked.
The Israeli offensive is a new chapter in a decades-old conflict, but which was reactivated on October 7 when the Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, leaving 251 hostages and 1,200 dead.
This was followed by a response from Israel that does not stop: nearly 41,500 Palestinians have died in the Israeli offensive since October 7.
At the same time, from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s military branch began launching attacks towards northern Israel demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel’s response leaves, for now, more than 500 Lebanese dead.
According to Israel, The target of their offensives in both Gaza and Lebanon is called Hezbollah and Hamas. And for these Islamist groups, their target is Israel.
But, although they have a common enemy, there are several differences between both armed groups. So much so that it even leads them to confront each other outside their borders.
The origins
Both Hamas and Hezbollah were born as a response against Israel in the 1980s.
Hamas has its origins in another Islamist organization that emerged in Egypt. This is the Muslim Brotherhood, which was born in 1920 with the aim of spreading Islamic morality and good works, and then becoming a political actor.
Hamas is the largest of the various Palestinian Islamist groups and its name is an Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement (Harakat al Muqawama al Islamiya).
It was founded by Ahmed Yassin in 1987 as the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza, coinciding with the outbreak of the first Intifada, the uprising of the Palestinians against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
In the beginning it had a moderate role, but from the 90s onwards its role was reinforced.
It was the moment of the founding of his armed wing, the al Qassam Brigades militia, created in 1991 and led by Commander Mohamed Deif.
In the case of Hezbollah, although its origins are not so clear, it is clear that its precursors, born from the split of the Amal Movementappear after Israel invaded a part of southern Lebanon in 1982 in response to a series of attacks by Palestinian militants against Israel.
The Israeli strategy, in the hands of then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, was intended to purge the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from southern Lebanon and stop the group’s incursions across its border.
In between, Shiite groups in Lebanon wanted, in turn, to provide a military response to the Israeli invasion. To do this, they separated from the aforementioned Amal Movement, a political group that became one of the most important Shiite Muslim militias during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990).
The split was called Islamic Amal, a Shiite military movement that received military and organizational support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Shortly afterward he allied himself with other groups and created Hezbollah.
Hamas, or in some cases the al Qassam Brigades, was designated as terrorist group by Israel, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other powers. It was the military wing of Hamas that led the attacks against Israel on October 7 last year.
In the case of Hezbollah has been accused since its founding of carrying out a series of attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets.. It is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and other Arab League countries. Likewise, its military arm appears on the list of terrorist organizations of the European Union.
religious differences
With just their names, Hezbollah, which means God Partyand Hamas, which means fervorboth show their links with religion, and present themselves as Islamist groups, that is, their actions are governed, in their opinion, according to the principles of Islam.
However, they are related to different currents within Islam and this also determines their alliances and quarrels, although always with the focus on Israel as a common enemy.
The great division of the Muslim world is that between Shiites and Sunnissomething that dates back to the year 632 and the death of the Prophet Muhammad, which led to a struggle for the right to lead Muslims that, in some ways, continues to this day.
Although both branches have coexisted for centuries, sharing many beliefs and practices, Sunnis and Shiites maintain important differences in matters of doctrine, rituals, laws, theology and organization.
Sunnis are the majority among Muslims; In fact, it is estimated that 90% belong to this current. They are classified as the most traditional and orthodox branch of Islam.
The Shiites, who were born from a split in political principle in favor of Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law, represent 10% of the faithful, around 120 to 170 million people.
They are the majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and, by some estimates, Yemen. Although there are also important Shiite communities in countries such as Afghanistan, India or Lebanon.
Precisely, the Lebanese group Hezbollah defines itself as a Shiite resistance. On the other hand, Hamas is Sunni.
Territory and political control
Hamas became relevant when its political arm won the legislative elections in 2006 in Gaza, a territory of just 365 km² where more than two million Palestinians live.
Although he has sympathizers in the West Bank, It is in the Strip where it exercises its largest area of influence and currently has control.
In the case of Hezbollah, it also has an Islamist political party. In 1992 it participated for the first time in the national elections, obtaining more seats than any other party and in 2009, together with its allies, it managed to enter the Executive with 10 positions.
Since then, it has gradually gained influence on the political system of Lebanon and has veto power in the cabinet.
In both organizations there is no certainty as to what their real military muscle is, both in combatants and arsenal.
In the case of Hamas, it is estimated that it has between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters.
Hezbollah, led since 1992 by Hassan Nasrallah, is the most powerful military force in Lebanon.
As BBC Beirut journalist Carine Torbeya tells it, Hezbollah’s military strength and the relative weakness of Lebanon’s national army mean that many people – even outside its main base – believe it needs to remain armed.
But even further, “Hezbollah is currently the most powerful non-state military force in the world“Firas Maksad, an expert in Lebanese politics and Middle East geopolitics at the Middle East Institute (MEI) think tank based in Washington DC, told BBC Mundo last October.
According to the figures that Nasrallah gave in 2021, Hezbollah would have 100,000 fighters. Other sources estimate that it has between 20,000 active combatants and another 20,000 reservists.
The organization is considered by some Lebanese to be a threat to the country’s stability, but remains popular among the Lebanese Shiite community whom it represents.
Support and financing
As an example of the great Shiite power it is in the Middle East, Iran has supported Hezbollah since its inception.
According to the United States Department of State, Iran provides Hezbollah with “most” of its funding, as well as training, weapons and explosives. It also provides “political, diplomatic, monetary and organizational aid,” Washington denounces.
Both US and European anti-drug agencies accuse the Lebanese group of benefiting from drug trafficking, something Hezbollah repeatedly denies because it says that for them religion “prohibits the manufacture, sale, purchase, smuggling and consumption” of drugs.
Other sources of Hezbollah’s financing, according to the US State Department, are merchandise smuggling, passport forgery, money laundering, and credit card, immigration, and bank fraud.
In the case of Hamas, despite being Sunni, also receives support from Iranwhich provides him with financing, weapons and training.
Its leaders have publicly thanked Iran several times for its support.
In its branch as a political and social organization, it collects taxes and receives international aid from like-minded foreign governments and charitable organizations.
The Islamist group also has an obscure international investment portfolio that often uses cryptocurrencies as a vehicle to circumvent international sanctions, according to BBC Mundo journalist Paula Rosas.
In addition, it receives support from Qatar, one of the richest countries in the world. It is not only financial support, but also political.
According to analysts, Qatar has allowed Hamas leaders to settle in Doha since 2012, after they had to abandon their historic headquarters in Damascus due to the Syrian civil war.
It’s right here, in Syria, where Hamas and Hezbollah clash.
Although Hamas for a time had strong ties with Syria and the country was a refuge for Palestinians, even with its headquarters in Damascus, it distanced itself from Bashar al Assad after his government’s brutal repression of pro-democracy protests in 2011 and that led to a bloody civil war still ongoing.
On the other hand, Hezbollah has an ally in Al Assad and has fought in the Syrian war by training and supporting pro-Iraq and Yemen militias.
Both armed groups are now directing their efforts again against Israel in a conflict that escalates for days with an increasingly bloody outcome.
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