Outbreak of fighting (October 2023 – March 2024) In the morning of 8 October,
Hezbollah fired rockets and shells at the
Shebaa Farms region in support of
Hamas's attack onto Israel; in response, the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired artillery shells and a drone into southern Lebanon. Two Lebanese children were reportedly injured by broken glass. and Dhayra in the
Bint Jbeil district. This was after numerous Palestinian militants infiltrated the Israeli border, which Hezbollah denied involvement with. The
Palestinian Islamic Jihad militia claimed responsibility for the armed infiltration. The IDF killed at least two perpetrators (likely Palestinians), A Hezbollah media source announced three of Hezbollah's members died in the IDF retaliation. Hezbollah fired rockets and artillery in retaliation. During the clashes, two Israeli soldiers and Lt. Col
Alim Abdallah, Deputy Commander of the IDF's 300th Brigade, were killed and another three were wounded. On 11 October, Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at an IDF position and claimed to have produced casualties. In response, the IDF shelled the area where the attack was launched. The Lebanese-Italian hospital in
Tyre admitted three injured civilians. The IDF ordered residents of northern Israel to seek shelter following reports of drones being launched from southern Lebanon. A
Patriot missile was launched to intercept a suspicious projectile, after which the IDF found that the object in question was not a drone. Warning sirens were activated across northern Israel after reports emerged that up to 20 infiltrators on paragliders had entered Israeli territory from Lebanon before the IDF dismissed the report as a
false alarm. Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh
Naim Qassem said "when time comes for any action, we will carry it out," stating that Hezbollah was ready and would contribute to confrontations against Israel according to its own plan. The IDF fired artillery, into southern Lebanon following an explosion that caused minor damage to a section of the Israel–Lebanon border wall near the kibbutz of
Hanita. The IDF released footage of a drone attack which, according to them, killed three infiltrators from Lebanon near
Margaliot who were members of Hamas. One of them was acknowledged by Hezbollah as one of their members. In the afternoon, Hezbollah fired 50 mortar shells and six anti-tank missiles towards five Israeli outposts in the Shebaa Farms. Further IDF shelling killed two civilians in a Shebaa village; video and photographic evidence showed usage of
phosphorus bombs. On 15 October, Hezbollah launched five anti-tank missiles towards northern Israel killing one civilian and injuring three others in
Shtula.
UNIFIL said that their headquarters in
Naqoura in southern Lebanon was hit by rocket fire with no casualties reported. Lieutenant Amitai Granot, commander of the 75th Battalion of the IDF's
Golan Brigade and son of
Rabbi Tamir Granot, was killed in a missile attack on an IDF post bordering Lebanon. On 13 October, while a group of
Reuters,
AFP and
Al Jazeera journalists were transmitting a live video feed of an IDF outpost in
Aalma ech Chaab, two tank rounds fired directly hit the group. The first killed Reuters photojournalist
Issam Abdallah. The second strike was much more powerful and ignited the Al Jazeera vehicle, a white
Toyota, which Al Jazeera journalists Carmen Joukhadar and Elie Brakhya, as well as their AFP colleague Dylan Collins were standing next to. Reuters photographer Christina Assi was also critically injured. The
Lebanese Army has said the IDF fired the missile that killed Abdallah. Another Reuters reporter at the scene said Abdallah was killed by projectiles fired from the direction of Israel. His last post on
Instagram, posted a week before he was killed, was a photograph of
Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian journalist for
Al Jazeera Arabic who had been killed by Israel in 2022. On 16 October,
Amnesty International reported that the IDF fired
white phosphorus shells into Dhayra, hospitalizing nine civilians and setting fire to civilian objects. Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, described the attack as a violation of international law that needed to be investigated as a war crime, and that it "seriously endangered the lives of civilians, many of whom were hospitalized and displaced, and whose homes and cars caught fire". Lebanese state media reported that Dhayra and other areas along the western section of the border came under "continuous" bombardment overnight. In the early morning it was reported that multiple people were suffering from symptoms of suffocation after the IDF allegedly fired white phosphorus shells on the village. Three people were injured after an anti-tank missile from Lebanon landed in the Israeli town of
Metula. Hezbollah announced that five of its members were killed on the same day but it was unclear if any had involvement in the border infiltration. On 19 October, the
Lebanese Armed Forces said that one person was killed and another injured after a group of seven Iranian journalists were targeted with machine guns by Israel, although Iranian state media denied the claim and said that all its journalists were "alive and healthy". UNIFIL peacekeepers said that one person was killed after civilians were caught in a cross-fire at the border in which the Lebanese Army requested assistance by UNIFIL to deescalate the situation. It was requested to Israel to suspend fire "to facilitate the rescue operation". In the early afternoon of 21 October, several rockets were fired from Lebanon toward the Shebaa Farms; there were no injuries. The IDF conducted a drone strike on the team of militants that launched the rockets. A short while later, anti-tank guided missiles were fired from Lebanon toward Margaliot and
Hanita; two foreign workers were injured. The IDF conducted airstrikes against the missile teams. In the evening, another anti-tank guided missile was fired from Lebanon toward
Bar'am. One IDF soldier was seriously injured and two others suffered minor injuries. The IDF responded with several airstrikes in southern Lebanon, some of which targeted other missile teams preparing attacks. The IDF conducted airstrikes against two Syrian military positions on 24 October in southwestern Syria, marking the first time the IDF publicly targeted the Syrian military since the Israel-Gaza war began. Hezbollah attacked 19 IDF military sites with missiles and artillery shells and fired one-way attack drones at an IDF position for the first time since the conflict began.
November 2023 speech in Beirut, 3 November 2023 In his widely awaited first speech since the start of the war in Gaza on 3 November, Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah said the presence of US warships in the Mediterranean "doesn't scare us". On 5 November, Hezbollah shot down an Israeli
Elbit Hermes 450 drone over
Nabatieh, with wreckage falling over houses in the towns of
Zabdin and
Harouf. One Israeli civilian was killed when anti-tank missiles hit the
Yiftah kibbutz. Four people were reportedly injured after an Israeli bombing that hit two ambulances. Later, an Israeli airstrike hit two civilian cars in Lebanon between the towns of
Aynata and
Aitaroun, killing one women, three of her granddaughters between the ages of 10 and 14, and severely injured her daughter. In response, Hezbollah fired at
Kiryat Shmona, killing an Israeli civilian. The
Al-Qassam Brigades took responsibility for firing 16 rockets from Lebanon targeting areas south of
Haifa. Meanwhile, Israel reported at least 30 rockets being fired in which the IDF fired back at the sources. Hezbollah and Al-Qassam brigades also conducted four cross-border attacks into northern Israel. On 10 November, Hezbollah launched anti-tank missiles into an IDF post in
Manara which injured three soldiers. The IDF attacked the sources of fire in response. Hezbollah conducted three drone attacks into northern Israel targeting IDF positions and civilians. One drone was intercepted while two others landed on Israeli territory. Seven Hezbollah members were killed during the clashes. The IDF shelled
Meiss Ej Jabal Hospital, injuring a doctor. Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health condemned the attack, saying that "Israeli authorities were fully responsible for this unjustifiable act, which would have led to catastrophic results", and called for an investigation. The
Amal Movement, an ally of Hezbollah, announced that a fighter was killed in a missile attack in the village of
Rab El Thalathine which also wounded two other members on 11 November. These were the first casualties from the group since it joined the fighting. On 12 November, Hezbollah anti-tank missile and mortar attacks killed an employee of the
Israel Electric Corporation who was conducting repair work and injured 21 other Israelis, including seven IDF members and six of the fatality's colleagues. Hezbollah also struck an IDF bulldozer in a separate attack. The IDF said it had launched a drone strike at a militant cell that tried to launch antitank missiles near Metula. Further clashes also killed one Hezbollah member. Unidentified fighters fired anti-tank guided missiles that injured two Israelis near
Netu'a. An Israeli rocket struck near journalists in
Yaroun, Lebanon, no casualties were reported. Hezbollah condemned the attack, which happened while the journalists were on a public tour in the town. On 16 November, Hezbollah conducted eight anti-tank missiles targeting Israeli forces and military infrastructure. In the afternoon, Hezbollah attacked numerous towns near the border and targeted military gatherings in Shtula and Hadab Yaron. The IDF responded heavily in southern Lebanon and Israeli warplanes raided Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah announced that two of its members were killed. Four days later, the IDF base of
Biranit suffered heavy damage from a Hezbollah barrage using Burkan rockets. IDF fighter jets struck numerous Hezbollah military targets, and soldiers struck a militant cell near Metula. The historically significant St. George church was heavily damaged in Yaroun after it was shelled by the IDF. The house of Amal Movement MP
Kabalan Kabalan was also hit with rocket fire. Hezbollah claimed an attack on the IDF's
91st Division barracks at Baranit. Another team of journalists were targeted in an IDF strike near
Tayr Harfa which killed three people, including two
Al Mayadeen journalists, a reporter and a photojournalist, and a guide. On the same day, four members of the Al-Qassam Brigades were killed after an IDF strike on a car near
Chaaitiyeh. A Hezbollah member was also killed in a separate attack in
Khiam. Hezbollah told Al Jazeera that it would "respect" the
temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas reached on 24 November 2023. Subsequently, Hezbollah decreased its military operations briefly which also prompted the IDF to decrease its shelling of targets in southern Lebanon. Many displaced civilians reportedly returned to their homes amid the calm. Still, Hezbollah claimed 23 other attacks into northern Israel until the breaking of the ceasefire on 30 November. On 25 November, a UNIFIL patrol unit was hit by IDF gunfire in the vicinity of Aitaroun where there were no casualties. UNIFIL condemned the incident and called on parties to be reminded "of their obligations to protect peacekeepers and avoid putting the men and women who are working to restore stability at risk."
December 2023 On 1 December, Hezbollah claimed five attacks on the Israel–Lebanon border. The IDF shelled
Hula, killing two civilians, and the village of
Jebbayn, killing an additional person. The IDF also struck a Hezbollah site and a Hezbollah cell preparing to carry out an attack near Malkia. Hezbollah announced the death of one of their members, presumably from one of the IDF strikes. The next day, Hezbollah fired several rockets at Israeli army posts along the border. Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery shelling against Hezbollah sites. Hezbollah stated that one of its fighters were killed. On 3 December, Hezbollah fired one anti-tank guided missile targeting an IDF base in
Beit Hillel, injuring 11 Israelis and
Global Affairs Canada announced that a Canadian citizen was killed in Lebanon. On 4 December, Hamas announced the creation of a new unit in Lebanon named the "Al-Aqsa Flood Vanguards" and called on "the youth and men of our people to join the vanguard resistance fighters and take part in shaping the future and liberating Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque." This created a negative reaction by many Lebanese politicians as they said that it would be a threat to Lebanon's sovereignty. The IDF later apologized for the incident, saying that it would investigate. A farm worker from Syria, was killed in an Israeli artillery attack on a poultry farm near
Arnoun that also injured two of his relatives. On 11 December, the mayor of the southern Lebanese village of
Taybeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Two other Hezbollah fighters were killed by Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling in Aitaroun, and three civilians were injured. Other airstrikes were carried out by the IAF, destroying five houses and damaging 17 others. Israeli war cabinet minister and former defense minister
Benny Gantz discussed security in northern Israel in a phone call with US secretary of state
Antony Blinken. Gantz said he conveyed that Hezbollah's heightened aggression and attacks mean that Israel must "remove" the threat from northern Israel. Gantz's statement singled out the Lebanese state, not just Hezbollah, and called for international pressure on Lebanon to stop attacks on its southern border. The IDF said that one in five rockets launched by Hezbollah had landed in Lebanese territory and published an infographic showing failed rocket launches into Israel. On 16 December, a soldier from the IDF's 129th Battalion was killed by a Hezbollah drone strike near Margaliot, which also caused a fire in a building. Two other soldiers were injured. Another drone was shot down by the IDF, which also responded to the infiltrations by shelling targets. The IAF later hit several Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon, including rocket launch sites and military infrastructure. On 22 December, two IDF soldiers of the
188th Armored Brigade were killed by a Hezbollah rocket attack in the Shtula area. On the morning of 23 December, IDF aircraft bombed a house in Kfar Kila and intense artillery fire also took place on the outskirts of
Deir Mimas The IDF conducted a raid near a UNIFL center along the
Khardali River. An
Al-Manar cameraman was injured in the eye after an IDF attack on a road in the al-Khardali area where correspondents of
MTV and the state-owned
National News Agency were also passing. Hezbollah announced that two of their members were killed on that day. On 26 December, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile hit St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in
Iqrit, northern Israel. A civilian suffered serious injuries, and when IDF responders arrived at the scene, another missile was fired, injuring nine soldiers. On 30 December, Israeli airstrikes targeted an Iranian arms shipment in the Syrian border city of
Abu Kamal, killing 25 militiamen.
January 2024 On 2 January, Israel conducted an airstrike in the
Dahieh neighborhood of
Beirut, resulting in the
assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau, and the death of six other members. Al-Arouri was also responsible for the expansion of Hamas's activities in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank, including attacks on Israelis. The assassination occurred one day before Hezbollah commemorated the fourth anniversary of the
assassination of senior Iranian military commander
Qasem Soleimani. On 6 January, Hezbollah launched approximately 40 rockets into northern Israel, describing it as an "initial response" to al-Arouri's killing. According to Israel, the rockets targeted a
Air traffic Control Base near
Mount Meron, causing significant damage to it. On 8 January, Israel assassinated
Wissam al-Tawil, the deputy commander of Hezbollah's
Redwan Force, whom it accused of carrying out the attack on Meron airbase two days earlier. In response to al-Tawil's killing, Hezbollah launched a drone attack on Israel's
Northern Command headquarters in
Safed on the following day, situated approximately from the border.
Ali Hussein Barji, the commander of Hezbollah's aerial forces in southern Lebanon who was reportedly responsible for the attack, was killed by an airstrike, according to Israel, alongside three other Hezbollah members, in
Khirbet Selm shortly before al-Tawil's funeral began. However, Hezbollah denied that Barji was killed. On 11 January, two Hezbollah-linked search-and-rescue personnel were killed and an unspecified number of civilians were wounded during an Israeli air raid on the town of
Hanine. The IDF said that they killed four militants that infiltrated the Israeli border through Shebaa while an IDF unit was patrolling nearby on 14 January. Five IDF soldiers were wounded. A group calling itself the "Islamic Glory Brigades" later claimed responsibility for the attack and announced that 3 of their members were killed and 2 were able to escape. The same day, two Israeli civilians; a man and his 70-year-old mother, were killed by Hezbollah anti-tank missiles in
Kfar Yuval. On 20 January,
Brigadier General Sadegh Omidzadeh, an intelligence officer with the IRGC's
Quds Force in Syria, along with four other IRGC officers, were reportedly killed in an
Israeli airstrike in Damascus. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an Israeli missile strike targeted a four-story building in the
Mezzeh district. The attack resulted in the death of thirteen individuals, including five Iranians, and the complete destruction of the building where leaders aligned with Iran were having a meeting. The next day, in southern Lebanon, Sky News Arabic reported that Fadi Suleiman, a senior field commander of Hezbollah, survived an Israeli attack near a military checkpoint in
Kafra. His bodyguard was killed in the same attack.
February 2024 Between 3 and 5 February, five Amal movement fighters were reported killed: two in airstrikes in
Blida and three in
Bayt Lif. On 8 February, the IDF conducted a drone strike on a car in Nabatieh. Israeli media said a regional Hezbollah commander named Abbas al-Dabs was assassinated in the attack. A day before, two Hezbollah members, including al-Dabs, were named by Israeli intelligence as reportedly working alongside IRGC officers on building Iranian air defenses in Syria. On 10 February, an Israeli drone struck a car near Sidon, killing at least two people and wounding two others. An Israeli security source said the target of the strike was Hamas official Basel Saleh, who was "injured to an unknown extent". Saleh was responsible for enlisting new Hamas recruits in Gaza and the West Bank. On 12 February, another assassination attempt took place targeting Hezbollah official Mohammed Abd al-Rasoul Alawiya in his car in Bint Jbeil. On 14 February, in the deadliest day of fighting, a barrage of eleven rockets fired from Lebanon struck Safed and an army base in northern Israel, killing an Israeli soldier and injuring eight others. Israel responded with widespread airstrikes against targets belonging to Hezbollah infrastructure in Jabal al-Braij, Kfar Houneh, Kafr Dunin, Aadchit and Souaneh, killing a total of ten people. In Nabatieh, an attack on a residential building killed seven members of a family, including a child. Another attack in the town of al-Suwana killed a woman and her two children. The IDF said that it killed a senior commander of the elite
Redwan Force unit along with a deputy and another fighter in Nabatieh which was confirmed by Hezbollah the next day. A total of seven Hezbollah members were announced dead from the attacks. In response to the launch of a UAV toward the Lower Galilee from Lebanese territory on 19 February, Israeli jets targeted Hezbollah militants in Marwahin, two weapons storage facilities near the city of Sidon, and Hezbollah infrastructure in the Meiss El Jabal and al-Adisa areas of Lebanon. On 21 February, an Israeli airstrike on a residential area of Damascus near a fortified compound used by Syrian security forces killed two civilians. On the same day, an Israeli airstrike on the village of Majdal Zoun killed two more civilians, a mother and her child. In addition, Israeli forces struck a Hezbollah observation post in Ramyeh and shelled an area near Aitaroun with artillery to "remove threats." Later on Israeli jets attacked an observation post in Khaim, a military post in Zibqin — from which a missile was fired at Shlomi — and other Hezbollah infrastructure. On 22 February, after a projectile from Lebanon hit a home in the border town of Yuval, an Israeli drone struck an apartment building in Kfar Remen, killing at least two Hezbollah fighters and wounding three others. The next day, on 23 February, an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-linked clinic in Blida killed two civilian paramedics and one Hezbollah fighter and injured an unknown number of people. On 24 February, sirens sounded in Arab el Aramsha, Hanita, Shebaa Farms, and Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel and the Golan Heights due to rocket fire. In response, the IDF struck numerous sites across the areas of Rab El Thalathine, Ayta ash Shab, and Blida. Later an Israeli drone identified a Hezbollah cell entering a military compound in southern Lebanon, leading to an Israeli airstrike on the compound. After the attack, secondary explosions took place, implying the presence of weapons in the building. In addition, fighter jets attacked a Redwan unit operational headquarters near the village of Baraachit, as well as launch posts in the area of Jabal Blat, while Israeli artillery struck to neutralize a threat in the area of
Rachaya Al Foukhar. On 26 February, after Hezbollah shot down a
Hermes 450 drone with a surface-to-air missile, Israel launched its first attacks into eastern Lebanon since the conflict began, targeting Hezbollah air defense sites and killing two Hezbollah members near
Baalbek. Hezbollah said it fired 60 Katyusha rockets at an IDF headquarters in response to the attack. The IDF eliminated a commander in Hezbollah's Nasser Unit who was responsible for multiple attacks into Israel while driving in his car in Majadel.
March 2024 On 4 March, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile strike on Margaliot resulted in seven injuries as well as the death of an Indian national. The next day, an Israeli airstrike on Hula, in retaliation for the previous day's strike on Margaliot, killed three Lebanese citizens, a married couple and their child. Amongst the three killed, Hezbollah announced two as their members. On 9 March, five people, including three Hezbollah members, were killed and at least nine others were wounded in an IDF strike on a house in
Khirbet Selm. In retaliation, the next day Hezbollah fired 37 Katyusha rockets at the
Mount Meron in northern Israel; no injuries were reported. in northern Israel On 12 March, Israeli airstrikes on the town of
al-Nabi Shayth in the
Beqaa Valley resulted in six injuries and the death of two Hezbollah members. On 13 March, an Israeli airstrike on a road near Lebanon's
Rashidieh refugee camp for Palestinians killed a civilian and Hadi Ali Mustafa, the leader of Hamas forces in Lebanon, and injured two others. A week later, two Syrian teenagers (aged 16 and 17) were handed over to Lebanese authorities for allegedly spying for Israel. It was reported that they confessed to have been given an equivalent of US$11 each by a local mosque servant to unknowingly plant a tracking device in Mustafa's car. On 27 March, the IDF reported that its airstrike on a paramedic center affiliated with the group in
Hebbariye killed seven people, whom were reportedly militants. The report was denied by Hezbollah, which said that the casualties were actually rescuers. The victims were later identified as volunteers, and Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health condemned the strike. In response to the attack, Hezbollah launched around thirty rockets towards northern Israel, killing a factory worker in Kiryat Shmona and lightly wounding another. After sunset, Israeli airstrikes were reported in
Tayr Harfa and Naqoura, which each killed five and four people respectively. The strikes killed three paramedics; two from the Islamic Health Society and another from the Amal Movement-affiliated Islamic Risala Scout Association. A local commander of the Amal Movement was also killed, along with at least two Hezbollah members. On 29 March, an Israeli airstrike targeting
Aleppo International Airport killed 38 Syrian soldiers, seven Hezbollah fighters and seven militiamen, Another airstrike in Bazouriyeh, Lebanon killed Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, the deputy commander of Hezbollah's rocket and missiles unit who the IDF said was responsible for planning attacks against Israeli civilians. On 30 March, Reuters reported that an Israeli strike had injured three UN observers and a translator who were monitoring hostilities along the Blue Line. An investigation by the Lebanese Army determined that the explosion was caused by a landmine, which Israel said was planted by Hezbollah. The IDF struck a centre of the Lebanese Ambulance Association at the end of March killing seven paramedics.
Initial Iranian involvement (April – July 2024) On 1 April, an Israeli airstrike targeted an Iranian consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria. It killed eight people, including a senior Quds Force commander of the IRGC, Brigadier General
Mohammad Reza Zahedi. The others fatalities included five members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and two Iranian advisors. On 8 April, Israeli officials confirmed that Hezbollah fighters shot down a Hermes 900 drone, the first of its type lost during the conflict. On 13 April, the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a branch of the
Iranian military, in collaboration with the
Popular Mobilization Forces in
Iraq, Hezbollah, and the
Houthis in
Yemen, launched
attacks against Israel with
drones,
cruise missiles, and
ballistic missiles. On 16 April, an Israeli airstrike on two cars near the town of
Ain Ebel, in southern Lebanon, killed two Hezbollah members, including regional commander Ismail Baz, and one civilian. On 23 April, an Israeli drone strike deep into Lebanon killed an engineer working for Hezbollah's air defense forces as he was traveling in a vehicle. The strike hit the Abu al-Aswad area near the coastal city of Tyre, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the border. The fighter's vehicle was completely burnt out. The IDF said it had killed "two significant terrorists in Hezbollah's aerial unit", the second being a senior member of the elite
Redwan Force, Muhammad Attiya. In response to the attacks, Hezbollah made its deepest incursion into Israeli territory at the time by launching drone attacks into the city of
Acre targeting two IDF bases. On 5 May, an Israel airstrike on a house in the Lebanese village of Meiss Ej Jabal killed four civilians. In retaliation, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. On 6 May, two reservist Israeli soldiers of the
98th Paratroopers Division's 655th Battalion were killed by a Hezbollah drone attack near
Metula, northern Israel, bringing the IDF death toll to 18. Hezbollah also launched 30 rockets at the Golan Heights, damaging houses in
Kidmat Tzvi. The IDF struck 15 Radwan targets in
al-Lwaiza, southern Lebanon, and a Hezbollah compound in Sefri, near Baalbek. Lebanese media said that the strike destroyed a factory and injured three people. On 8 May, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed two Hezbollah and three PIJ members. The next day an Israeli airstrike on a car near the village of
Bafliyeh killed four Hezbollah members. On 10 May, Israeli airstrikes on two villages in the
Marjeyoun District killed a Hezbollah member in
Aedsheet and a PIJ member in Blida, respectively. On the same day, another Israeli airstrike on the town of Tayr Harfa killed two civilians who were carrying out repairs on a local cell tower. On 14 May, an Israeli airstrike on a house in the village of Meiss Ej Jabal killed a member of Hezbollah and injured one other person. Following this, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile strike killed an Israeli civilian and wounded five IDF personnel in the kibbutz of
Adamit. At night, an Israeli drone strike on a car in Tyre killed two people including Hussein Makki, a Hezbollah field commander. In response to the commander's killing, Hezbollah fired 60 rockets at
Mount Meron air traffic control base causing minor damage. They also fired at least one heavy rocket towards the Biranit army base. One IDF soldier was killed and another five were wounded. On 15 May, a rocket launched by the Lebanese branch of Hamas fell short of the intended Israeli target, instead landing on the Lebanese side of the border, killing a Syrian immigrant and wounding four others. A Hezbollah drone crashed in the
Lower Galilee for the first time since the start of the conflict. Hezbollah said it launched several drones targeting a surveillance system at an army base near
Golani Junction, west of
Tiberias. The IDF confirmed that two drones were fired at the Tal Shamayim base, with one being intercepted and the other damaging the
Sky Dew aerostat. Later that day, an Israeli airstrike on a car near Tyre killed one Hezbollah member and wounded two other people. The next day, two other Hezbollah members were in another airstrike on another car near in the same area. In retaliation, Hezbollah launched a drone strike on Israeli positions in Metula, wounding three IDF soldiers. On 21 May, an Israeli airstrike near Tyre killed a high-ranking officer in Hezbollah's coastal missile unit. That night, an Israeli airstrike on a car in the Beqaa Valley killed two members of the Islamic Group. Targeted assassinations continued the same week with an Israeli airstrike on a car in the village of
Kfar Dajjal which killed a Hezbollah member and seriously wounded three children in a nearby school bus. In response, Lebanon issued a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council. On 25 May, an Israeli airstrike on a truck near the Syrian town of
al-Qusayr killed two Hezbollah members. Later that day, a car bombing in Damascus killed a Syrian Army officer with ties to Hezbollah. On 26 May, an Israeli airstrike on a house in Aitaroun killed two Hezbollah members. On the same day, another Hezbollah member was killed, as was another person, following an airstrike on a motorcycle in Naqoura. Later, an airstrike on another motorcycle in Ayta ash Shab killed two civilians. An airstrike on a third motorcycle, in Hula, killed two Hezbollah members and wounded two other people. Two civilians were killed in strikes on the village of Yaroun. On 1 June, an Israeli airstrike on a house in
Aadloun killed a civilian and wounded four others. Later that evening, two Israeli airstrikes on a house in
Ain Qana killed a Hezbollah member and wounded another person. The next day, an Israeli airstrike on a motorcycle in Hula killed two civilians. On 3 June, a pair of Israeli airstrikes on Naqoura killed two Hezbollah members. Another airstrike, this time on a car near the village of
Kauthariyet El Rez, killed another Hezbollah member. In Syria, an Israeli airstrike on a copper plant near
Aleppo killed 16 members of Iran-backed militias. Hezbollah said that it fired drones at the IDF's headquarters in the Galilee. It also claimed a drone attack in Metula. The IDF confirmed that two drones crashed in northern Israel while a third was intercepted. Acting
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran made his first overseas visit as foreign minister to
Lebanon, during which he confirmed that the Iranian government was engaged in negotiations with the United States hosted by Oman. Forest fires in northern Israel were erupted the entire week which reportedly resulted in 2,500 acres of land burnt and the hospitalization of six Israeli soldiers and five civilians due to smoke inhalation. On 11 June, an Israeli strike on a command and control center in
Jwaya killed senior Hezbollah commander
Taleb Abdallah and three other militants. The next day, in response to Taleb's killing, Hezbollah launched a barrage of about 90 rockets into Israel targeting an IDF factory, military headquarters in Ein Zeitim and
Ami'ad, and an air surveillance station in Meron. It increased to 215 by the late afternoon. On 13 June, Hezbollah fired 150 rockets and 30 UAVs at 15 targets in northern Israel and the Golan Heights.
Amos Hochstein, a senior advisor to US President
Joe Biden, arrived in Israel on 17 June to attempt to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Lebanese militias. On 19 June, Nasrallah stated that a Hezbollah invasion of the Galilee "remains on the table" and alleged that the government of
Cyprus was allowing Israeli forces to operate within its country and thus made Cyprus a legitimate target for Hezbollah strikes. Cypriot president
Nikos Christodoulides denied that Cyprus was taking sides in the conflict. On 30 June, Israeli officials reported 18 IDF soldiers were wounded by a drone attack on the Golan Heights. The inability of Israelis to return to settlements and homes in the north of the country led to
Antony Blinken stating that Israel had effectively "lost sovereignty in the northern quadrant of its country". On 3 July, senior Hezbollah field commander Mohammed Nasser was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, and in response Hezbollah fired 100 rockets at IDF positions. The following day, it fired 200 more rockets into Israel. On 9 July, an Israeli airstrike on the Beirut–Damascus highway in Syria killed two Hezbollah members, and Hezbollah fired 40 rockets at the Golan Heights. A week later, at least two people were wounded in an Israeli drone attack in Lebanon, and Hezbollah rocket strikes in Kiryat Shmona damaged residential buildings. On 22 July, drones from Lebanon were intercepted by Israeli forces, and a Hezbollah rocket strike injured two soldiers in northern Israel. The following day and in response, Israel launched artillery strikes on southern Lebanon, Hezbollah launched rocket strikes in northern Israel, and Israeli warplanes and artillery struck southern Lebanon.
Further airstrikes (July – September 2024) On 27 July, an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed four members of different militant groups. A
rocket strike hit the
Druze town of
Majdal Shams in the northern
Golan Heights, killing 12 children and injuring dozens more. In retaliation, the IDF bombed villages and towns in south and east Lebanon the following day. On 29 July, two were killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon. The next day, an
Israeli airstrike struck Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, and one Israeli civilian was killed in a rocket strike from Lebanon to northern Israel. Hezbollah said it fired at Israeli warplanes which entered Lebanese airspace. The IDF said the airstrike targeted senior commander of Hezbollah
Fuad Shukr for his involvement in the
Majdal Shams attack, and Hezbollah later confirmed his death. Four civilians were also killed, while 80 people were injured. On 17 August, at least 11 including a woman and her two children were killed and four were wounded including two serious injuries in
an Israeli strike on a metal warehouse in Nabatieh. The IDF claimed that it struck a Hezbollah "weapons storage facility". A Hezbollah drone strike injured two soldiers in an IDF site near
Misgav Am. One was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in Tyre. The IDF confirmed the death of a commander of the elite
Redwan Force. officials during the 25 August strikes On 25 August, Israel began strikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets. Israel framed its strikes as "preemptive". Hezbollah said that it fired over 320 Katyusha rockets to IDF sites in northern Israel and the Golan Heights as the first phase of response to the assassination of Fuad Shukr. A woman was slightly injured due to
sharpnel from the attack in
Acre. Some homes were also damaged in Northern Israel. Israel sent a hundred fighter jets during its operations. Israeli Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant described the strikes as "very successful", stating that "over fifty percent, maybe two-thirds" of Hezbollah's strikes were prevented. An Israeli drone strike in Qasimia in southern Lebanon wounded two people including one Hezbollah militant. Israel airstrikes struck Khiam, Zebqin,
Yater, Shebaa, Nabatieh, Bir Kalb, Kfar Kila,
Aalma ech Chaab, and Mays al-Jabal, killing a Hezbollah militant and a
Amal Movement militant. Another three people were wounded, namely a Hezbollah militant and a Syrian national. An
Israeli Navy officer was killed by a malfunctioning missile launched by the
Iron Dome on a
Dvora-class fast patrol boat off the coast of
Nahariya, northern Israel and two others were injured. An Israel drone strike struck
Zawtar El Charkiyeh. The Amal movement said one of its fighters from
Khiam was killed. Hezbollah confirmed the death of six militants. Departures and arrivals were canceled at
Ben Gurion Airport until 10 a.m.; two
El Al flights were diverted. Representatives of the United States were monitoring the situation. used to attack targets in Lebanon on 27 September 2024 On 8 September, special forces from the
Shaldag Unit raided and destroyed an Iranian rocket manufacturing facility beneath a branch of the
Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center in
Masyaf, which was used to supply Hezbollah with precision rockets. On 16 September, the
Security Cabinet of Israel approved a new war aim of returning evacuated residents to the north of Israel, adding to the goals of destroying Hamas and liberating the hostages.
Escalation (September – November 2024) September attacks On 17 September, at least 12 people were killed and more than 2,750 were wounded, including Hezbollah members and civilians, after
the explosions of their
pagers in Lebanon and Syria, including in
Beirut. The attack resulted in 1,500 fighters being taken out of action, with many facing blindness or losing their hands. Among those injured was the Iranian ambassador,
Mojtaba Amani. Several drones launched from Lebanon crossed the border. Hezbollah confirmed the death of 12 militants on that day. Also on 17 September, the
Shin Bet claimed that it thwarted a Hezbollah attempt for assassinate a former senior defence official with a
Claymore mine. On 18 September
another series of explosions involving wireless devices was reported across Lebanon, killing at least 30 people and injuring 750 others. Hezbollah said that it carried out four strikes targeting IDF sites including in
Neve Ziv and
Beit Hillel with rockets and artillery. Lebanese media reported that Israeli strikes struck Al-Jbeen, Shama, Majdal Zoun, Kfar Kila, Kfar Shiuba, Houla, al-Taybeh, the forest in the vicinity of Kounine and
Beit Yahoun, and the outskirts of
Yater. The IDF said that it struck Hezbollah sites in Chihine, Tayibe, Blida, Meiss El Jabal, Aitaroun and Kfarkela and a Hezbollah weapons depot in
Khiam in these airstrikes. On 19 September, the IDF said that it started carrying out airstrikes against Hezbollah to destroy its capabilities in southern Lebanon while heavy bombing was reported in
Deir Qanoun En Nahr. The IDF also said that it killed two Lebanese militants attempting to infiltrate the border and plant an explosive at an IDF post. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and nine others were injured in Hezbollah attacks in the vicinity of the Lebanese border. Three rockets launched by Hezbollah to
Metula caused fires and damaged electric infrastructure. The IDF said that its jets struck more than a hundred Hezbollah rocket launchers and other Hezbollah sites in its heaviest air strikes since the Israel-Hezbollah conflict started in October 2023. The Lebanese National News Agency reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Mahmoudieh, Ksar al-Aroush, and Birket Jabbour. On 21 September, the IDF claimed to have "almost completely dismantled" Hezbollah's military chain of command. The IDF claimed that it destroyed thousands of rocket launchers. Four people were wounded in Israeli strikes. The IAF also launched heavy artillery strikes in several areas in southern Lebanon. The IDF said that it launched 400 strikes targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers and other infrastructure. On 22 September, Israeli President
Isaac Herzog denied any Israeli involvement in the pager explosions. Hezbollah made two attacks on the Israeli
Ramat David Airbase using Fadi 1 and Wadi 2 missiles, injuring one person; an additional three people were also injured in
Krayot and
Lower Galilee. Three people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah confirmed the death of two of its militants. Hezbollah claimed that it struck three Israeli targets. On 23 September, the IDF conducted over
1,600 strikes in Lebanon, killing at least 558 people and injuring more than 1,835 others including children, women and paramedics according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Hezbollah fired about 240 rockets into Israel, the West Bank, and Golan Heights, injuring five people. It first fired 35 rockets into northern Israel targeting IDF bases and warehouses, lightly injuring a man in the Lower Galilee. It later fired around 80 rockets, targeting several locations including
Ariel and
Karnei Shomron in the occupied West Bank and
Haifa. The group targeted IDF bases and
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems facilities.
Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh. Hezbollah said that he survived the attack. A Hamas field commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. By 25 September, an army of around 40,000 Iraqi, Syrian, and Houthi militants were concentrated around the Golan Heights, which the
Institute for the Study of War argued was to defend against an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The number of displaced Lebanese people reached an estimated 500,000. On 26 September, an Israeli strike on a three-story building in
Younine killed at least 19 Syrians and a Lebanese person, mostly women or children, and injured eight others.,
Herzi Halevi and
Tomer Bar on 28 September 2024 On 27 September, Israel
struck Hezbollah's central headquarters in Beirut, targeting Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah. Al-Manar reported that four buildings collapsed in the attack. At least five other people died, including Ali Karaki, Hezbollah's commander of the southern front since 1982, and at least 100 were injured. On 28 September, the
Lebanese National News Agency reported that IDF strikes struck civil defense centres and a medical clinic in
Taybeh and
Deir Siriane killing 11 medical staff and injuring 10 others. On 29 September, an Israeli air strike on a home in
Dahr-al-Ain killed at least 11 people. The Lebanese National News Agency reported that at least 17 members of a family were killed and several others were trapped under rubble in an Israeli air strike in Zboud. An Israeli strike in
Ain El Delb killed 45 people and injured at least 75 others. An Israeli strike in Bekaa killed 12 people and injured 20 others. Israeli troops amassed on the border in
southern Lebanon, with Israel stating that they were preparing for a limited ground invasion.
Israeli invasion of Lebanon On 1 October, the Israeli military began an
invasion of southern Lebanon, also known as the Third Lebanon War by some Israeli sources, The IDF announced that it had launched "limited, localized and targeted raids" against targets with strategic importance to Hezbollah. An Israeli strike on a house in Al-Dawoudiya killed at least 10 people and injured five others. Hours after the initial Israeli raids began, Iran
launched ballistic missiles against Israel, citing "terrorist acts of the Zionist regime" such as the
assassination of Hassan Nasrallah as justification for the attack. On 3 October, six days after Nasrallah's assassination, his successor,
Hashem Safieddine, was also assassinated during
an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Israel kept the extent of its campaign vague. On 29 October, IDF officers said that while some Lebanese villages still pose a threat to Israel, most military goals in Lebanon border area were fulfilled and conditions were created to cement Israel's achievements in ceasefire negotiations. On 26 November, hours after IDF troops reached the
Litani River,
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu announced the transfer of a
sixty-day ceasefire deal to the
Security Cabinet of Israel. Support for the deal in the
Israeli government was "unanimous". The deal involved Hezbollah operatives withdrawing to the north of the Litani River, and Israel withdrawing from Lebanon at the end of the sixty days. The deal also stated that Israel would retain "complete military freedom of action" to attack Lebanon in the event of a violation of the agreement by Hezbollah or another entity in Lebanon.
Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati issued strong support for the agreement and urged the international community to help implement the agreement immediately in order to "halt Israeli aggression". On 9 December, four reservists of the
35th Paratroopers Brigade were killed in an accident when unmarked munitions exploded in a tunnel in the
Labbouneh area, which detonated Hezbollah weaponry, leading to the tunnel's collapse. The IDF withdrew from
Al-Khiyam on 12 December in accordance with the ceasefire. On 26 January 2025, a day before the ceasefire's deadline, Israeli forces fired at Lebanese residents en route to communities near the border, killing 22 people and injuring 124. After the ceasefire's initial deadline passed on 27 January, Israeli troops refused to withdraw from southern Lebanon, accusing the Lebanese government of not upholding the deal. The ceasefire was extended to 18 February. On 13 February, the IDF accused Iran's
Quds Force of smuggling cash onto civilian flights en route to
Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport to fund Hezbollah. In response, Lebanon blocked an Iranian passenger plane from entering its territory. The decision sparked protests from Hezbollah supporters, who blocked access to the airport, and on 15 February, attacked a
UNIFIL convoy en route to the airport, injuring deputy force commander
Chok Bahadur Dhakal. On 17 February, an Israeli drone strike hit a car in Sidon, killing Mohammed Shaheen, Hamas's operations chief in Lebanon. On the ceasefire's deadline on 18 February, the IDF withdrew from all of southern Lebanon, apart from five hilltops on the border—namely al-Aziyah, al-Awaida, el-Hamames, Jabal Bilat, and Labbouneh. On 22 March, six rockets were fired at
Metula from southern Lebanon, with three crashing in Lebanon and the rest being intercepted. Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack. The IDF responded with strikes on dozens of Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon, including rocket launchers. On 25 March, an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in
Qaaqaait al-Jisr killed Hassan Kamal Halawi, who commanded Hezbollah's anti-tank missile unit in southern Lebanon. On 28 March, two rockets were fired at
Kiryat Shmona, with one falling short in Lebanon and the other being intercepted. In response, the IDF said that it struck several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including command centers. A strike in
Kfar Tebnit killed three people and injured 18 others. An airstrike also hit a building in
Dahieh that the IDF accused of storing drones from Hezbollah's Unit 127, in the first attack in
Beirut since the ceasefire went into effect. On 1 April, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Dahieh killed four people and injured seven others. Among the dead were senior Hezbollah official Hassan Bdeir, who the IDF accused of planning to attack Israeli civilians alongside Hamas, and his son, who was a Hezbollah member. On 5 June, the IDF said that it struck underground facilities in Dahieh that were used by Hezbollah's Unit 127 to produce thousands of drones with funding from Iran. The strikes marked the largest escalation of the conflict since the ceasefire. On 24 October, two people were killed and two others were injured in an
Israeli
airstrike on a vehicle in
Toul, Lebanon. The IDF said that it struck the head of logistics in Hezbollah's Southern Front Abbas Hassan Karaki whose presence in the south of Lebanon violated the ceasefire terms. On 18 November,
an Israeli strike hit a parked car at the
Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, killing 13 people. The IDF said it hit a Hamas training camp. On 23 November,
an Israeli strike in
Haret Hreik killed five people and injured 28 others.
Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah's chief of staff and second-in-command, was killed in the attack. On the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire,
The New York Times characterized the conflict as still ongoing with "near-daily" attacks by Israel into Lebanon. On 20 February 2026, Israeli airstrikes in the
Baalbek area killed ten people, including eight Hezbollah members, and injured 24 others. Three of the dead were identified as local Hezbollah commanders. A separate strike that day in
Ain al-Hilweh killed two people, which the IDF said hit a Hamas command center. On 21 February, Arab media reported that IRGC officers took responsibility for supervising Hezbollah's activities, increasing its military preparedness in anticipation of an Israeli or American attack amid the
Iran–United States crisis.
2026 Lebanon war (March 2026 – present) On 2 March, Hezbollah fired several rockets at northern Israel, setting off sirens in Haifa and the Upper Galilee. The group said its actions were in response to
the assassination of Iranian supreme leader
Ali Khamenei. One of the rockets was intercepted, while several others hit open areas. Hezbollah later claimed that the attack was a "defensive act" after over a year of Israeli attacks despite a
truce. It added that it restarted fighting to force Israel to stop its aggression and evacuate from
seized Lebanese territories, emphasising that the move was unrelated to the
Iran war. The IAF and Israeli Navy conducted extensive retaliatory strikes across Lebanon, mainly targeting Dahieh and southern Lebanon. The IDF said it struck over 70 targets, while issuing evacuation orders for over 50 villages in the south and east. It added that Hussein Meklad, Hezbollah's intelligence chief, was killed. At least 52 people were killed, 154 were injured, and 29,000 others were displaced, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. In response to Hezbollah's actions, prime minister
Nawaf Salam banned the group from conducting military activities. On 3 March, Israel resumed ground operations in Lebanon and continued conducting strikes. Attacks hit weapons facilities, command centers, and communication equipment, along with the studios of Hezbollah-linked outlets
Al-Nour and
Al-Manar. The IDF said it struck 160 targets since the escalation and announced that it killed a senior liaison to the IRGC in Beirut the day prior. It separately killed Davoud Alizadeh, the commander of the
Quds Force's Lebanon Corps, in
Tehran. In the night, Hezbollah fired rockets at Tel Aviv and Haifa. By 4 March, more than 300,000 southern Lebanese residents had been displaced due to the conflict. Israeli strikes hit residential areas in Beirut and eastern Lebanon, killing at least 11 people. Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in Lebanon after Hezbollah claimed to have struck a
Merkava tank in
Houla. On 6 March, a Hezbollah rocket strike in northern Israel injured eight soldiers, five seriously. Later that night, Israeli commandos raided
Al-Nabi Shayth in an attempt to recover the remains of missing pilot
Ron Arad, leading to a gunbattle that left three Lebanese soldiers dead. Simultaneous airstrikes in the area killed 41 people and injured 40 more. The Israelis withdrew without finding Arad's body. On 8 March, two Israeli soldiers were killed in a separate rocket attack in southern Lebanon. The following day, Hezbollah missiles struck a satellite communications center near
Beit Shemesh and a daycare in
Ramla in central Israel. On 1 April, an Israeli naval strike in Beirut killed Haj Youssef Ismail Hashem, the commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front. On 8 April, Israeli strikes killed 254 people and wounded more than 1,000 others in central Beirut.
Israel Katz said that the strikes targeted hundreds of Hezbollah militants and command centers across Lebanon, in the group's largest blow since the
pager attacks. On 16 April, President Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day
truce. == Impact and aftermath ==