Are you having difficulty finding your way in the conflict that is igniting the Middle East? Here is a summary of the main forces currently opposed to Israel.
Iran
Photo provided by ADOBE STOCK, JACKF
The Islamic Republic is opposed to the very existence of Israel.
Although the country has its own army, it usually avoids officially attacking Israel because it fears a response from the Jewish state and its main ally, the United States.
Iran therefore set up the “axis of resistance”, a network of intermediary groups (proxies) whose main objective is to oppose Israel militarily in its place.
Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and various militias in Iraq: many groups are armed and financed by Iran in order to defend its interests in the region.
However, recent attacks by Israel have greatly weakened the network. The leader of Hamas was eliminated in July, while that of Hezbollah was killed at the end of September.
The 1is October, Iran responded by firing nearly 200 missiles toward Israel.
The Iranian regime, however, would not have the military capabilities necessary to engage in direct war against Israel, experts believe.
And Hezbollah
Hezbollah means “Party of God” in Arabic. It is one of the most important Islamist movements in the Middle East. It is described as a “state within a state”, since it is both an influential political party and an armed militia that is not controlled by the Lebanese government.
Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by many Western states, including the United States and Canada.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by Israeli bombs in September.
Photo AFP
To fully understand its involvement in the conflicts against Israel, you should know that it was created by the Revolutionary Guards of Iran during the Lebanese civil war in 1982.
One of the main purposes of its creation was to combat the Israeli forces then occupying Lebanon.
Even today, the group is financed and armed by Iran. It would have up to 100,000 fighters.
Hezbollah is also the ally of Palestinian Hamas in its fight against the Israeli occupation. For this reason, he has been orchestrating rocket attacks towards Israel since the Jewish state invaded the Gaza Strip on October 27, 2023.
However, the group has weakened in recent weeks.
Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, died under Israeli bombs on September 28. Several of its members were also reportedly killed or injured when Israeli secret services blew up thousands of pagers across Lebanon on September 17.
Hamas
Hamas is both a military and political group. He has been in power in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, since 2006.
Like Hezbollah, Hamas is classified as a terrorist group by many Western states.
With Iran’s support, it has waged several wars against Israel in the past 18 years. Its armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, numbered up to 30,000 men in Gaza a year ago.
However, its means remain limited and its fighters are generally content to fire rockets towards Israel from their territory. The vast majority of these attacks are intercepted by the Israeli defense system.
Israeli bombings on Gaza, a few days after the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
Photo AFP
However, on October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a bloody attack which left 1,200 victims on Israeli territory. This is the worst offensive orchestrated against the Jewish state in 50 years. In response to this attack, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip, promising to “crush and destroy Hamas.”
– With information from AFP, Guardianof Washington Postfrom France 24 and the BBC.