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THE ISSUE
Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s information technoloy (IT) strategies heavily reect their roles in governance. Terrorist
organizations like al Qaeda and the Islamic State eschew nationalism in favor of a broad pan-Islamist vision and focus media
operations primarily on recruitment and at times operations. In contrast, Hamas and Hezbollah are nationalist as well as
Islamist in orientation and favor traditional forms of communication over social media in order to legitimize their political
power—a preference reinforced by the policies of technoloy companies and, in general, the limited capacity of these terrorist
groups to use social media without considerable risk. Because Hamas and Hezbollah govern and provide goods, services, and
information to their constituents, it is harder to target their IT infrastructure without risking humanitarian consequences.
JULY 2023
CSIS BRIEFS
By Daniel Byman and Emma McCaleb
H
amas and Hezbollah are among the world’s most
important and multifaceted terrorist groups. In
addition to conducting terrorist attacks, they run
hospitals and schools and otherwise engage in social and
political activities that make them important in the daily
lives of many Palestinians and Lebanese, including those
who do not support their ideologies. Perhaps their greatest
inuence, however, is through governing. Hamas is the de
facto government of Gaza, and for many years Hezbollah
has been part of the Lebanese government, eectively
governing southern Lebanon, occupying cabinet positions
directly and via its allies and often acting as a kingmaker, or
at least veto player, for the country’s prime minister. These
roles stand in contrast to the aims of groups like the core of
al Qaeda, which has focused primarily on terrorism, or in
the case of the Islamic State, war. Today core Al Qaeda and
the Islamic State play little or no role in governing.
Governing shapes how Hamas and Hezbollah use
communications technologies. Although both groups
use social media and other technologies to recruit and,
at times, support operations, their primary focus is using
more traditional media to gain support from Arab and
Muslim populations and bolster morale within their
organizations, with their constituents in the Palestinian
territories and Lebanon comprising their most important
audiences. Counterterrorism also shapes this focus: social
media–run operations are highly vulnerable, and Israeli
counterterrorism can exploit this to disrupt attacks.
This paper describes how Hamas and Hezbollah
use information technoloy (IT), highlighting their
similarities and dierences and comparing them with
groups like the Islamic State. The paper concludes by
identifying the implications for counterterrorism.
HAMAS’S IT STRATEGY
Hamas has fought Israel and sought dominance in the
Palestinian national community for over 30 years.
Although the militant Palestinian movement has faced
Understanding Hamas’s and
Hezbollah’s Uses of
Information Technoloy
