Is Hamas planning a strike from Lebanon's refugee camps?
A senior Hamas leader's call to open new fronts against Israel from Lebanon was neither confirmed nor denied by the movement, raising questions about the possibility of forming cells on the ground.
During a Hamas news conference Feb. 5 in the Gaza Strip, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar called, in a surprising move, for the formation of military groups affiliated with Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps. He demanded that the Arab, Lebanese and Syrian fronts to allow Al-Qassam to resist Israel from northern Palestine.
Hamas neither confirmed nor denied Zahar’s call in an official statement, and the movement remained silent, indicating that this idea remains under internal discussion. But internal calls from within Hamas are demanding the immediate activation of foreign fronts to confront the Israeli army, especially on the Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian and Egyptian borders, knowing that this idea might lead to internal problems with these countries.
“When Hamas takes operational and field decisions related to the armed resistance, it does not [publicly] announce it to preserve the element of surprise against Israel,” Doha-based Hamas spokesman Hossam Badran said in a phone interview with Al-Monitor, adding: “Hamas considers that the main confrontation arena against the Israeli occupation is located inside Palestine. This is why it has always focused its past armed operations on the inside alone. But this policy doesn’t necessarily have to remain the same at all times, as Israel targets Hamas and other [movements] outside Palestine.”
A Hamas military leader told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity: “The armed Palestinian forces consider that weakening the Israeli army’s capacities is a priority, to prevent the latter from focusing all its efforts in Gaza. The other Arab borders ought to assume their military role, as Israel has to feel insecure on all fronts.”
