On July 12, a statement published by Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, aka The Popular Resistance Committees, claimed it had cut ties with Liwa al-Tawhid, a small terrorist organization affiliated with the group. While the Brigades, an ally of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations, did not detail the reason for the split, the statement noted that the group would not affiliate itself with entities that did not follow Sunni Islam.
“We announce the abolition of the name ‘Liwa al-Tawhid’ and the preservation of Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades. We urge all those working and dedicated to supporting the religion and strengthening the structure of the Sunnis and the community to stand with us and work under the law of our Lord to reach the good of this world and the hereafter. We also disavow all the religion of disbelief and misguided sects that violate the approach of the Sunnis and the community,” said the statement.
The split comes at a time when the Brigades has been under nine months of intense Israeli military pressure following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on southern Israel. The group acknowledged that it had captured Israeli soldiers on October 7. Furthermore, on January 19, the Brigades published evidence on its official Telegram channel in a claim the group held Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi captive, who they say was killed in an IDF airstrike after they abducted him.
For its part, Liwa al-Tawhid initially published little information about its activities throughout the war aside from posting occasional messages seeking donations to carry out jihad against Israel. However, in recent months, things began to change when a separate Telegram channel bearing the group’s name and logo began publishing scenes of fighters launching mortars and rockets against Israeli military positions. Initially, it appeared that the channel was disingenuous and established by an unknown actor. However, after repeated publications, it was apparent that the channel and the videos were genuine.
While inconsistent media could be evidence that there were issues between the groups before the announcement of a split, it doesn’t explain what caused the rupture. It’s important to note that defections and breakups between affiliated Palestinian terrorist groups occur. Fighters become disillusioned with how organizations are run, or groups disagree on strategy and decide to part ways.
Despite the ongoing war between Israel and approximately a dozen Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) may exploit the current division to gain a strategic advantage. The schism between the Brigades and Liwa al-Tawhid presents an opportunity for Israel to demonstrate the effectiveness of its military campaign—not just on the battlefield but also in the realm of public opinion.
As the saying goes, “War is not only fought on the battlefield but within the hearts and minds of men.” By capitalizing on this public rift, the IDF may use it as a propaganda coup to showcase its efforts to suppress terrorist activity in Gaza and reduce the morale of its foes.
