Israel faces a greater threat from Hezbollah than from Hamas: 'Key component of the Iranian regime's terror network'

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has brought the similarities and differences between Hezbollah and Hamas into focus.

The Islamic Republic of Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah, who are engaged in war against Israel and have carried out multiple terrorist attacks against American citizens and military personnel.

Hamas, located in southern Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah, the de facto ruler of Lebanon on Israel's northern border, were the focus of a tale-of-the-tape analysis by Planet Chronicle Digital. Israel has previously fought two wars against Hezbollah, in 1982 and 2006.

According to Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former IDF spokesman, Hezbollah is the most powerful Iranian proxy equipped with nation state capabilities and even has more firepower than several European militaries have today.

Although Iran faces widespread poverty and economic instability, it remains a significant source of funding for Hezbollah, providing the Lebanese terrorist organization with over $700 million annually, according to the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. State Department. Iran's regime has a long history of joint military cooperation with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria, and Europe, with a focus on terrorism and war planning.

According to Conricus, Hezbollah is significantly more powerful than Hamas in every military aspect, including the number of rockets, their range, accuracy, payload size, personnel, armed fighters, training, and equipment.

Hezbollah has an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel, while Hamas has had its supply of 20,000 rockets and missiles degraded by the IDF since the start of the war. Despite this, Hamas was able to launch eight rockets from Rafah into Israel two weeks ago. Last week, Planet Chronicle Digital reported that Hezbollah launched over 200 missiles, rockets, and drones into Israel.

The funding and military training provided by Tehran to Hamas and Hezbollah have both similarities and differences in scope.

According to Edy Cohen, a Lebanese-born Israeli scholar, both Hezbollah and Hamas are funded primarily by Iran and Hezbollah's loyalty lies solely with Iran, while Hamas is open to assistance from all.

According to Cohen, a researcher at the Eitan, Israeli Center for Grand Strategy, Hamas is under a sea blockade and cannot fly to other countries or easily receive goods or arms, while Hezbollah can.

The number of terrorists fighting for both Hamas and the IDF fluctuates. Since the start of the war, the IDF has decreased Hamas' terrorist force by almost 50%, bringing the number of combatants to between 9,000 and 12,000.

"The IDF stated on its website that Hezbollah, led by Hassan Nasrallah, has a troop strength of 20,000 to 25,000 full-time fighters, with additional tens of thousands in reserves. Hezbollah's elite Radwan Unit is particularly noted for its combat proficiency and strategic importance in conflicts across the region. This unit was established with assistance from Iran's Quds force."

According to Walid Phares, co-president of EducateAmerica and a professor of Middle East Studies, the primary distinction between Hamas and Hezbollah is that Hamas is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood organizationally and ideologically, making it a Sunni extremist group linked to the Ikhwan movement in the region.

Ikhwan is an Arabic word for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hezbollah is a Shiite group that originated in Lebanon and was funded and recruited by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, or the Sepah Pasdaran, as early as 1980. They were launched by the Islamic Republic in northern Bekaa and marched south all the way to Beirut before continuing to the south after Israel started withdrawing.

Hamas' ultimate goal is to destroy Israel, establish a Taliban-like emirate or state in Palestine, and have that Islamic entity join a new Caliphate across the region. Hamas is not a nationalist group but a Pan-Islamist organization, as stated by Phares, co-host of the popular "War and Freedom" podcast.

Unlike Hamas, Phrase pointed out that Hezbollah adheres to the same doctrine as the Iranian regime, which is to establish a Khomeinist republic in Lebanon and eventually form a parallel Shia Khomeinist (Jihadist) type of Caliphate, known as Imamate, while rejecting the Sunni Caliphate.

In 1979, the Islamic revolutionary Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini established the Islamic Republic of Iran with the aim of spreading his Shia Islamism globally.

Phares stated that despite being at opposite ends ideologically, they share a common goal of destroying Israel and bringing down Arab regimes that are either with peace or obstructing their jihad. Additionally, they are both enemies of America.

The financing of terrorist movements by the Iranian regime is a key factor in comprehending jingoism in the region and the destabilization of the Levant and the Islamic heartland in the Middle East, according to Mideast experts.

In 2022, the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera network reported that Tehran provides at least $70 million to Hamas annually, two years before the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2022.

In March, Haniyeh stated that Iran is at the forefront of supporting the cause and people of Palestine.

The intense relations between Hamas and Hezbollah stem from the mid-1990s.

According to Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert, in a June 14 article on the Council of Foreign Relations, approximately 500 Hamas fighters were trained in Iran in preparation for the October 7 attacks, indicating Iran's longstanding support of Hamas.

In 1994-1995, hundreds of Hamas cadres and leaders were exiled by Israel to south Lebanon and were hosted by Hezbollah. They were linked up with the regime in Tehran, who funded and armed them. Despite the Sunni and Shia divide, they were told that the two Jihadisms could work together.

Hamas's embrace of the Shia side led to a major crisis for the organization in 2011 when they sided with Assad's pro-Khomeinist regime against Sunni Salafi Jihadi factions. Despite being accused by Sunnis of betraying them, Hamas regained "Jihadi notoriety" in the region when Assad regained ground in Syria and the Islamic Regime shifted the fight to Gaza.

According to Conricus, Hezbollah is currently benefiting from an attrition in Israeli capabilities and a challenging diplomatic situation, despite Israel's military achievements.

"If the international community does not comprehend the gravity of the situation and takes immediate action to negotiate a diplomatic solution that allows Israeli civilians to return home safely, the only remaining option is military action, which Israel may be forced to use to fulfill its duty to protect its citizens' lives. I hope this can be avoided, but it seems unlikely at the moment."

While the U.S. has designated both Hamas and Hezbollah as foreign terrorist organizations, the EU has only sanctioned Hezbollah's "military wing" as a terrorist entity, and France has blocked the full terror proscription of Hezbollah. The EU sanctioned Hamas as a terrorist organization in 2003.