Jamaa Islamiya Resumes Rocket Attacks on Israel

Lebanon’s Jamaa Islamiya announced on Monday that they resumed military actions against Israel by launching rockets at the Beit Hillel military post in the Kiryat Shmona settlement. This marked the end of a pause in their military operations from Lebanon against Israel.

The group stated that this action was a response to recent increases in Israeli aggression towards southern Lebanese villages and was in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine, fulfilling what they described as national and humanitarian duties.

Aligned with Hamas, several groups in southern Lebanon have been engaging Israeli forces in frequent skirmishes since the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalated following Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel on October 7.

Jamaa Islamiya, which is part of a smaller Sunni Muslim faction, has reportedly coordinated operations with Hamas within Lebanon, according to Ali Abu Yassin, leader of Jamaa Islamiya’s political bureau. He mentioned that various groups operating in southern Lebanon align their activities.

In March, following an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, Jamaa Islamiya reported the loss of seven of its medics and noted that Israel had targeted several of its leaders with drone strikes.

Mohanad Hage Ali from the Carnegie Middle East Center described Jamaa Islamiya as functioning as an extension of Hamas in Lebanon, highlighting the organic relationship between the two groups. He noted that Jamaa Islamiya, with an approximate strength of 500 armed individuals, plays a minor political role in Lebanon, holding just one seat in the national parliament.

Both Jamaa Islamiya and Hamas derive their ideology from the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group founded in Egypt.

Jamaa Islamiya established its military faction, the Fajr Forces, in 1982 to counter the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Relations between Jamaa Islamiya and Hezbollah have fluctuated but recently improved, particularly since Jamaa Islamiya elected new leadership more aligned with Hamas in 2022. Despite this, Jamaa Islamiya maintains its independence from Hezbollah, particularly differing over the conflict in Syria, where Hezbollah supports President Bashar al-Assad.

While there are differences with Hezbollah regarding Syria, Abu Yassin affirmed that on the Palestinian issue, Jamaa Islamiya and Hezbollah stand united.