As Israel gears up for a third war against Hezbollah, experts on the Hamas and Hezbollah alliance outline the similarities and differences between the two Islamist terrorist movements
JERUSALEM — With Israel on the verge of a third full-blown war against Hezbollah because of the Lebanese organization’s constant firing of deadly missiles, drones and rockets, the differences and similarities between Hezbollah and Hamas are now under the microscope.
Despite widespread poverty and economic instability in Iran, the Islamic Republic is also a generous funding source of Hezbollah, providing the Lebanese terrorist organization with over $700 million a year, according to the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. State Department. Joint military cooperation between Iran’s regime and Hezbollah has been a longstanding feature in Lebanon, Syria and throughout Europe with respect to terrorism and war planning.
Cohen, a researcher at the Eitan, the Israeli Center for Grand Strategy, said 'Hamas is under a sea blockage and cannot fly to other countries and cannot receive goods or arms easily. Hezbollah can.' The number of terrorists fighting for both organizations varies. The IDF has reduced Hamas’ terrorist force by nearly 50% since the start of the war to between 9,000 and 12,000 combatants.
The intense relations between Hamas and Hezbollah stem from the mid-1990s. Counterterrorism expert Bruce Hoffman also noted in a June 14 article on the website of the Council of Foreign Relations that 'some five hundred Hamas fighters were trained in Iran in preparation for the October 7 attacks, a reflection of Iran’s longstanding support of Hamas.
As long as the international community fails to understand the severity and acts with urgency in order to facilitate a diplomatic deal that will return Israeli civilians to their homes safely, the only other option that remains is the military one, which Israel, unfortunately, will have to use in order to implement the responsibility of any government to safeguard the lives of its civilians. I hope that can be avoided, but currently that does not seem to be the case.' The U.S.
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