5.3. Other groups

5.3. Other groups

In Lebanon, several other armed groups have been active in recent years including Al-Fajr Forces, 341 the military wing of the Lebanese Sunni group Jamaa al-Islamiya.342 Al-Fajr Forces were created in 1982 and reemerged during the early months of 2024 joining the fight against Israel,343 in coordination with Hezbollah.344 Jamaa al-Islamiya, which after the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990) and during the years of Syrian tutelage (1990–2005) positioned itself as a political and social movement, later reasserted a military role through its armed wing, the Al-Fajr Forces. The group fought alongside Hezbollah against Israel in the 2006 war, and since then has been linked to Hamas in Lebanon, marking its transformation from a primarily political actor focused on education, welfare, and Islamist advocacy into an armed faction integrated into the broader Iranian-backed ‘axis of resistance.’345 On 22 April 2025, an Israeli drone strike south of Beirut killed the commander of al-Fajr Forces.346

Daher stated that ‘some other Sunni Islamist armed groups operate mainly in Tripoli and along the northern coast and include former fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’.347 ISIL, which entered Lebanon as a consequence of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, exploited the country’s 375 kilometre porous border with Syria to move fighters, recruit, and launch attacks, without being able to maintain a significant territory.348 Some armed groups linked to ISIL have a covert presence in Lebanon, particularly in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where security forces have recently arrested suspects connected to such networks.349

No information could be found on the direct impact of non-state armed groups on the Lebanese civilian population within the time constraints of this report; however, for detailed information on the impact of the conflict on civilians and infrastructure, see section 6.4 Impact on civilian population and infrastructure.