The Strategic Landscape: Hezbollah and Emerging Military Actors in the South

In the south, the primary military player is Hezbollah. Secondary players that have emerged since the outbreak of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood include the Al-Qassam Brigades affiliated with Hamas, the Al-Quds Brigades affiliated with the Islamic Jihad Movement, the Al-Fajr Forces affiliated with the Islamic Group, and the Resistance Brigades associated with Hezbollah. 

These players execute military operations from the border region. They reject, as well as Hezbollah, discussions about these operations or any coordination or not between them and Hezbollah.

However, observers of the military developments say that the course of border clashes with Israel indicates that Hezbollah is not interested in deterring any party seeking to resist Israeli occupation and responding to its actions in occupied Palestine across the Lebanese border. 

These secondary players' operations may serve as a substitute for a comprehensive war. Still, notably, they have revived military groups that Lebanese had forgotten, such as the Al-Fajr Forces affiliated with the Islamic Group.

Founded in 1982, the Al-Fajr Forces consist of Sunni fighters adopting the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

They launched attacks against Israeli occupation forces, particularly in the Sidon region. The Al-Fajr Forces continued attacking the Israeli army until its withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 and participated in the 2006 July War.

The military wing of the Islamic Group, the Al-Fajr Forces, has experienced ups and downs in its relationship with Hezbollah. The relationship was at its best in the 1980s but deteriorated with the outbreak of the war in Syria. However, it appears to have returned to some semblance of normalcy now.