Hamas and Hezbollah: how they are different and why they might cooperate against Israel

• The most critical additional threat to Israel is from Hezbollah, the militant group and political party based across Israel’s northern border in Lebanon.
• Hamas and Hezbollah are both backed by Iran and see weakening Israel as their primary raison d’etre.
• Hezbollah has not yet fully entered the current conflict, but the group has exchanged fire with Israel, across the northern border with Lebanon.

What is Hezbollah?

• Its ideology is focused on expelling western powers from the Middle East and on rejecting Israel’s right to exist.
• Hezbollah’s military force continued to develop after the Lebanese civil war came to an end in 1990, despite most other factions disarming.
• In 2021, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group had 100,000 fighters (though other estimates range between 25,000 and 50,000).
• Other Lebanese parties accuse Hezbollah of paralysing and undermining the state and of contributing to Lebanon’s persistent instability.

What is Hamas?

• The group was founded in 1987, in Gaza, as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a prominent Sunni group based in Egypt.
• Emerging during what’s known as the first intifada or uprising of Palestinians against Israeli occupation, Hamas quickly adopted the principle of armed resistance and called for the annihilation of Israel.
• Opposed to the peace process, Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, established itself as the primary force of armed resistance against Israel.

How are Hamas and Hezbollah different?

• What’s more, as a Sunni organisation, Hamas does not share the Shia religious link to Iran that characterises Hezbollah and most of Iran’s proxies.
• As a result, while Hamas no doubt benefits from Iran’s patronage, it tends to operate more independently than Hezbollah.
• In contrast, Hamas has received support in the past from Turkey and Qatar, among others, and operates with relative autonomy.