1) At the ITIC Dr Igal Shiri reports on how Hamas Exploits the War in Iran to Tighten Its Civilian and Security Control of the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas is exploiting the situation to tighten its security control using violence and force against those who are critical, labeled “collaborators” or members of militias receiving Israeli support. Hamas’ growing confidence is reflected in the public presence of armed operatives from the military wing and the security forces.
Hamas is also continuing its efforts to rebuild its military capabilities by smuggling arms from Egypt and independently developing weapons which pose a threat to IDF forces in the Gaza Strip and to the State of Israel.”
2) At the INSS, Orna Mizrahi discusses Hezbollah’s War for Survival.
“Hezbollah’s decision to open an additional front against Israel after the attack on Iran was meant not only to relieve the military pressure on Iran but also to strengthen the organization’s own standing at a time when it has been weakened militarily and politically and is facing growing criticism at home and abroad. Hezbollah is now waging a war of survival, seeking to shift the balance of power with the IDF and improve its position within Lebanon. It is doing so by employing its full arsenal of missiles, rockets, and UAVs and by deploying the Radwan Unit against IDF forces in southern Lebanon.”
3) At the Long War Journal, David Daoud explains recent events in Lebanon.
“On March 24, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi announced that he had instructed his ministry’s secretary-general “to summon the Iranian Charge d’Affaires in Lebanon,” Tufiq Samadi Khoshkhou, and inform him that Lebanon had withdrawn its tentative approval of Mohammad Reza Shibani’s status as “the designated Iranian Ambassador.” Raggi said that Shibani would consequently be “persona non grata” and set a deadline for him to leave Lebanese territory “no later than” March 29.
The Lebanese official did not specify the reasons for expelling Shibani, but the decision may relate to his possible involvement in claiming protected diplomatic status for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel operating in Lebanon, the IRGC’s claims of joint operations with Hezbollah, and his unapproved contacts with the organization.”
4) At the JISS, Dr Avi Davidi analyses Influence Operations Disguised as Cyber Operations.
“Despite the ceasefire between Israel and Iran following the twelve-day war in June 2025, Tehran continued to target Israeli interests through cyber operations, intelligence activity, and influence campaigns. A central component of this effort has been the use of hacker groups and cyber personas that present themselves as independent actors but in practice advance the interests of the Iranian regime.
One of the most prominent groups in this context is “Handala,” which has portrayed itself as a pro-Palestinian activist collective with only a vague connection to Iran. However, shifts in its operational pattern—alongside intelligence disclosures and analyses by cybersecurity firms—have pointed to a close link between the group and elements within Iran’s security apparatus, particularly the Ministry of Intelligence.”
5) Also at the Long War Journal, Joe Truzman reports on the latest claims of responsibility for attacks in Europe by an Iran-linked group.
“On March 23, a shadowy Iran-linked organization called Ashab al Yamin claimed responsibility for setting a vehicle ablaze in Antwerp’s Jewish Quarter. The day before, the group said it was behind an arson attack on four ambulances owned by a Jewish non-profit in London. The incidents add to the growing number of claims of attacks by Ashab al Yamin against Jewish and Western targets in Europe.”
6) Zineb Riboua explains why Iran Lost the Arab Street.
“After all, the populations most receptive to Iran’s framing of the conflict as a civilizational assault on Muslim dignity are those furthest from Iranian regional power, Western audiences free to receive Tehran’s propaganda on its own terms. The Islamic Republic forfeits the Arab street and finds, as consolation, the sympathy of a Western progressive milieu that the regime would imprison without hesitation were it ever to encounter them at home.”
7) Oren Kessler tells the story of Israel and Lebanon: Once almost-allies, now at war … again.
“The first decade and a half of the Mandate period – Britain’s in Palestine and France’s in Lebanon – was the golden age for Maronite-Jewish relations. Thousands of Jews from Mandate Palestine would vacation annually in the land of the cedars, especially in summer. […]
Jewish newspapers in Palestine regularly carried ads for resorts in the Lebanese mountains – some with kosher kitchens – and in 1935 Lebanon’s government published a tour guide in Hebrew.”
