Conflict over ancient religious grounds has seen a resurgence in recent months between conflicting nations each championing different religions and governmental systems: Israel, a Jewish nation, and various organizations with allegiance to Islam. This conflict has modern roots in the establishment of the State of Israel that was granted sovereignty by the British in May 1948, which was concurrent with the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians from land that would become Israel. The budding nation soon found it engulfed in a war known as the Arab-Israeli War that ended in 1949 after Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria signed an armistice agreement. Further conflict continued to marr the political and geographic history of one of the most coveted lands in the world, such as the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the First and Second Intifadas. The newest in a long line of fighting is Israel’s current conflicts with both Hamas in the Gaza strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hamas
Starting in 2021, the same flames of war have once again been kindled. An Islamic militant group and political party based in Palestine called Hamas reignited conflict with Israel over the evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. The name Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, meaning Islamic Resistance Movement. They saw their beginnings when they took control of the Gaza strip in 2006 after defeating its political rival, Fatah, in elections; Fatah is still in control of the West Bank. While Hamas first won the election in 2006, they solidified their power through shows of military force in 2007. The party has expressly written an intent to destroy the Israeli state, and has received funding and human resources from countries such as Iran, Turkey, and Qatar.
The skirmishes caused by the evictions eventually saw a resolution after the United States stepped in to mediate.The United States has worked with other regional powers in the past to ensure stability in the troubled region. In this case, the U.S. and Egypt worked to broker a cease-fire agreement, urging the involved parties that large-scale, regional violence must be avoided. The peace was short lived, however, as a surprise attack by Hamas in October 2023 led to continuing violence. The Palestinian militant group killed approximately 1,200 people and took 250 hostages during the surprise attacks, according to Israeli officials. Israel was swift to retaliate. Military strikes against Hamas in the Gaza strip, by Israel, have killed more than 42,400 Palestinians and injured more than 99,000. The damage that Israel has caused is catastrophic.
A primary goal of Israel’s during the early stages of the conflict was to obtain the secure release of hostages, and the current disarray that Hamas has been plunged into an exchange seemed highly difficult. However, the recent death of Hamas’ leader, Yahya Sinwar, could reopen the possibility of an end to their conflict and a return of hostages. A re-entrenchment of Hamas has also been seen, with them seemingly doubling down in their commitment to fight against Israel.
Hezbollah
The violence has spread to neighboring countries and corresponding militias. Israel now fights a war on multiple fronts: Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. While the Lebanese government is a distinct entity from Hezbollah, in certain regions the militant and political party Hezbollah functions as an independent state – having been called a “state within a state” in official U.S. government reports. It has been able to gain much traction amongst Lebanon’s populace because of the schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure they’ve established in the countryside, which is evidenced in their holding of several seats in parliament: allowing them to effectively govern southern Lebanon.
Because of these strengths, it has been deemed the most powerful militia in the Middle East, and serves as a proxy for Iran in maintaining influence in Lebanon and antagonizing Israel. Iran has successfully built a network of insurgencies throughout the Middle East all with an anti-Israel tilt–including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and others in Iraq and Syria. Hezbollah also sports a manifesto that declares their intent to destroy the nation of Israel and pledges allegiance to the supreme leader of Iran.
Hezbollah entered into the region’s conflicts in October 2023 when it launched missiles into Israel in an effort to divert their attention from their continual rocket strikes into Gaza, which have now taken over 40,000 lives. Iran followed suit and has also launched missiles into Israel in support of its smaller allies. Smaller skirmishes with the Jewish state have led into a larger, more protracted conflict with each side determined to win. Hezbollah is fighting with a force of over 40,000 fighters and is equipped with an arsenal of rockets, missiles, and drones exceeding 150,000.
However, the September 27th, 2024 death of their long standing leader, Hassan Nasrallah, could prove to change the dynamic in the conflict. Hassan Nasrallah led the group from age thirty-two in 1992 until his death at age sixty-four. He has been credited as a primary driver for shaping small militant groups into what Hezbollah is now: an organization with influence in politics, public health, education, infrastructure, and military capability. Israel’s attacks have killed a large fraction of Hezbollah’s leadership, with questions now arising as to who will lead the organization in its weakened state.
U.S. Implications
Both Hezbollah and Hamas have very close ties with Iran, being major recipients of funding, while Israel has enjoyed the long time backing and support of the United States. This effectively turns the regional conflict into a proxy war. The U.S. has previously taken action against Hezbollah particularly. In 2015 the U.S. enacted sanctions preventing any American banks from financing the organization, and both the Trump and Biden administration enacted additional sanctions.
The U.S. has been a major benefactor of Israel, supplying over 50,000 tons of munitions and arms, which was key in the implementation of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. However, Israel’s handling of the conflict has eroded some of the trust America has had for them. For example, while the U.S. was working with the involved parties to negotiate a twenty-one day cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, Israel was simultaneously planning the operation to kill Nasrallah. The lack of communication has wounded the confidence placed in Israel. The Biden administration has been stalwart in its support of Israel, but the U.S. and the broader international community have started to look less favorably upon Israel’s actions. For example, the U.S. just sent a letter to officials in Israel’s government stating that they would have thirty days to allow humanitarian efforts reach Gaza or they would face decreased funding. The letter created quick progress, with supplies and food now making its way into the Gaza Strip. This interaction is representative of growing tension between Israel and major global players, such as the EU and the UN, and may continue to grow unless Israel’s tact changes.
The events in Israel are concurrent with a very close presidential race in the United States. While President Biden and now Kamala Harris have been extremely supportive of Israel, it has caused them to fall out of favor with Arab Americans, a demographic of voters that Joe Biden won over in his last presidential bid. His approval ratings among Arab voters was at a low of 17% in October 2023, down 42% from when he won the 2020 election. Because of the election, support of Israel could be seen decreasing in order to improve election odds domestically. With both the election’s outcome and the future of the Middle East to be determined, every future action may have dire consequences.