Hamas Built Northern Front Against Israel in Lebanon Over a Decade with Hezbollah and Iran

A new study based on documents seized in Gaza reveals that Hamas has spent over ten years collaborating with Hezbollah and Iran to establish a military infrastructure in Lebanon aimed at opening a northern front against Israel. The plan, initiated as early as 2012, involved creating combat units, rocket launch systems, infiltration capabilities into Israeli territory, and arms procurement and manufacturing networks. By 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, this infrastructure had become operational, with Hamas firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel with Hezbollah's approval and coordinating through a joint command center in Beirut involving Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian representatives.

Following the 2021 operation, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar significantly expanded the project. Documents from 2022 indicate ambitions to form a force of approximately 2,000 fighters to integrate with Hezbollah's Radwan unit and lead infiltrations into Israel in a broader conflict. Although the plan was not fully completed, during the war triggered by the October 7 attack, Hamas's military wing in Lebanon fought alongside Hezbollah and conducted attacks on northern Israeli communities.

The research traces the roots of Hamas-Hezbollah cooperation back to the early 1990s after hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were expelled to Marj al-Zohour in Lebanon. This period saw strengthened ties between the groups, increased Iranian influence, and Hamas's growing control over Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Strategically, the study suggests that if the Lebanese government enforces disarmament of Hamas, as demanded for other armed groups, it could severely impair Hamas's operational capabilities in Lebanon, reduce its hold on refugee camps, and weaken its political and military standing against Fatah and the PLO.