By Nohad Topalian | 2023-11-01

BEIRUT -- Since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on October 7, a new crop of armed groups has joined Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, where they have been launching rockets towards Israel from Sunni villages and towns.

Among them are Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Quwat al-Fajr, the military wing of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, which announced it has joined Iran's so-called "axis of resistance."

Analysts note that in southern Lebanon, these armed groups operate under the command of Hizbullah, which is seeking to reestablish its relationship with them after a period of estrangement.

This estrangement came about as Hizbullah has been fighting on sides opposed to these groups in various regional conflicts, notably in neighboring Syria.

By working with these armed groups now, analysts told Al-Fassel, Hizbullah seeks to secure Sunni cover for its involvement in the Hamas-Israel war.

"No one can operate in southern Lebanon without coordinating with Hizbullah, and no security or military action can take place without permission from Hizbullah, which controls the arena," journalist Ahmed al-Ayoubi told Al-Fassel.

He noted that Hizbullah has long dominated this area, in violation of United Nations (UN) Resolution 1701, "which stipulated that its elements move back from the border beyond the Litani River."

The Iran-backed party now has a presence "directly on the thorny border strip," he said.

The entry of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and Quwat al-Fajr into the field of operations in the south, alongside Islamic Jihad and Hamas, "stemmed from a political decision by Hizbullah," al-Ayoubi said.

Hizbullah "wanted to show that the Sunnis of Lebanon are partners in these operations, after it had refused until now [to permit] any participation in these operations by any Sunni faction," he said.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya seeks to open "hot spots on the southern front to preoccupy Israel and relieve pressure on Gaza and Hamas, while Hizbullah wants to use the group's participation for political propaganda purposes," he said.

Limited operations by Hizbullah

Meanwhile, al-Ayoubi said, Hizbullah "is not standing idly by."

"It is carrying out limited operations" and deploying largely unprofessional armed groups comprised of elements of Palestinian armed groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad who are "newly and insufficiently trained," he said.

Hizbullah has no qualms about "sacrificing Islamist and leftist groups [such as the Palestinian factions]," he said, as it is a pragmatic party "that operates flexibly and tactically" in service of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and the Iranian regime.

He emphasized that the Palestinian factions "operate under the direct guidance of Hizbullah, which does not want a wide southern front but rather limited areas within which it has operated so far."

Hizbullah "does not want to be embarrassed by appearing to be slow and letting down Hamas in its confrontation with Israel," he said.

But expanding the front and drawing Israel into a large-scale war with Lebanon would anger Hizbullah's base (Lebanon's Shia community), especially those in the south, who strongly oppose expanding the war, he said.

He noted that the Amal movement -- the other part of Lebanon's so-called "Shia duo" -- prevented Hizbullah fighters by force of arms from carrying out any military operation from the towns and villages the movement controls.

Mobilization of Palestinian elements

"Hizbullah obligated Hamas to pressure al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and Quwat al-Fajr to cooperate with it, and recruited Sunni youth to give itself cover," Lebanese Center for Research and Consulting director Hassan Qutb told Al-Fassel.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya "was hesitant to accept the party's attempts to get closer to it and drag it to the front, but some of its ardent members were drawn to Hizbullah’s designs and entered its game," Qutb said.

Some fired rockets towards Israel "from the Sunni areas of Arqoub," he said.

Meanwhile, Qutb said, Hizbullah "began recruiting Palestinian members from outside Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Quwat al-Fajr, and transporting them to the Lebanese border to perform a jihadi role and excavation work."

This work was carried out "under the supervision and monitoring" of Hizbullah elements, he said.

Hizbullah's attempts to drag Sunni Islamist groups to participate in the Israel -Hamas war are part of an "attempt to reformulate its relations with the Sunnis after it was alienated from them," he said.

The Palestinian armed groups are "under the direct command and sponsorship of Hizbullah, which has control over the number [of their fighters] and their weapons, and controls the entire front," Qutb said.

Hizbullah controls southern front

The entry of Islamist groups into the southern front "serves the interest of Hizbullah, which for the first time will not fight alone," writer and security analyst Youssef Diab told Al-Fassel.

"The party does not want to bear responsibility for the consequences of any war," he said, pointing out that "the entry of these groups into the front gives legitimacy to what Hizbullah is doing."

It underscores that Hizbullah "is the master of the land and the strongest in terms of number and weapons," Diab said, adding that "we all know that no armed group enters the south without a green light from Hizbullah."

"Therefore, it is in the party's interest now to create a network of Sunni armed groups, including Quwat al-Fajr, even though al-Jamaa al-Islamiya is not allied with it, unlike Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are," he said.

Diab said the entry of these groups into the arena on the southern front "confirms that Iran has not decided to involve Hizbullah in the war."

"Iran is still reluctant to involve Hizbullah in a wide-scale war, because that means its involvement could expose it to military strikes," he said.