1 Instute for the Study of War and AEI’s Crical Threats Project 2023
Iran Update, October 8, 2023
Johanna Moore and Ashka Jhaveri
The Iran Update provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities abroad that
undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests. It also covers events and trends
that affect the stability and decision-making of the Iranian regime. The Critical Threats Project
(CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) provides
these updates weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For more on developments in Iran and
the region, see our interactive map of Iran and the Middle East.
Palestinian militias in Gaza responded to calls from Hamas to join in fighting against
Israeli security forces on October 8. Hamas and its militant wing, Al Qassem Brigade, called on
fellow Palestinian militias and members of the Axis of Resistance to join in its fight against Israel on
October 7 following its ground incursion into Israel from Gaza.
[1]
Palestinian militias quickly pledged
their support in fighting against Israeli security forces and clashed with Israeli security forces at
border points and within Israeli territory.
[2]
Most clashes between Palestinian militias and Israeli
security forces have been concentrated in southern Israel with Hamas reporting that it rotated new
forces into Israeli territory to continue the fight against Israeli security forces on October 8.
[3]
•
The Al Qassem Brigade clashed with Israeli security forces in Sufa Kibbuts, Holeit Kibbuts,
Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Mordechai, Kfar Azza, Kissufim, Be’eri military post, and Ezre in southern
Israel on October 7 and 8.
[4]
The brigade also conducted two separate rocket attacks on Sderot
and Ashkelon of 100 rockets each, according to the group’s Telegram channel.
[5]
Palestinian
Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also fought against Israeli security forces with the Al Qassem Brigade in
several towns in southern Israel.
[6]
•
PIJ backfilled Hamas’s Al Qassem Brigade in Israel’s South District on October 8, which
allowed the Al Qassem Brigade fighters to rest and refit. Hamas Spokesperson Abu Ubaida
reported that Hamas rotated new forces into Israeli territory to continue the fight against
Israeli security forces in a statement on October 8.
[7]
The Al Qassem Brigade appears to be the
most active Palestinian militia operating in the vicinity of Gaza.
•
Non-Iranian affiliated Palestinian militias also supported the offensive. The Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade conducted rocket strikes into Israeli territory on October 8.
[8]
The brigade previously
coordinated attacks with Hamas and PIJ in 2008.
[9]
The Popular Resistance Committees’
military wing claimed it used one-way attack drones to attack Israeli targets.
[10]
ISW cannot
independently verify either group’s claim.
Lebanese Hezbollah (LH) and Palestinian militias also conducted attacks on Israeli
positions from south Lebanon and the West Bank, respectively, which could expand the
war to a second front. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh claimed on October 7 that the Al Aqsa Flood
Operation began in Gaza and will extend to the West Bank.
[11]
That the Axis of Resistance coordinated
the operation with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and through a Palestinian joint
operations room suggests that LH and the Palestinian militants planned to open a second front.
[12]
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on April 20 that a multi-front war with Iran and its
proxies was more likely than limited conflict and emphasized the threat of a simultaneous attack.
[13]
• The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade reported that its fighters clashed with Israeli security forces on
October 7 in Bat Hefer, Hefer Valley Regional Council, Central District.
[14]
Bat Hefer is located
within Israeli territory, bordering the West Bank.
