The Islamic Group in Lebanon and its Alliance with Hezbollah

Since the beginning of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, one of the Lebanese factions to have come to media prominence amid the flare-up of Israel’s northern front with Lebanon is the Islamic Group (al-Jama‘a al-Islamiya), a Sunni faction that is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and has an armed wing called Quwat al-Fajr (“The Dawn Forces”). Most recently of note, Israel appears to have assassinated a commander in the Islamic Group called Ayman Hashim Ghatma in the Beqaa region (photo below).

In response, however, officials in the Islamic Group have made clear that the group will continue to participate in the Hezbollah-led skirmishes with Israel on the northern front- those skirmishes being intended to pressure Israel to halt its campaign in Gaza. For example, speaking to al-Jadeed TV, Islamic Group official Bassam Hamud highlighted the history of the group’s fight against Israel from the days when Israel was occupying part of Lebanon, and that its assassination of Ayman was a reflection of Israel’s awareness of the group’s readiness to defend Lebanon and aid the people of Gaza. At the same time, he also stressed that the Islamic Group is a Lebanese faction that is independent in its decision-making and respects the Lebanese state’s institutions, clearly aiming to assuage fears among some Lebanese about the armed displays by Quwat al-Fajr during funeral processions for its ‘martyrs.’ In addition today the Islamic Group advertised a meeting between Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Islamic Group leader Muhammad Taqush, in which the two sides affirmed the “importance of cooperation between the forces of the resistance in the battle to support the intrepid resistance in Gaza and its honourable, steadfast people.”