First week (2–8 March) On 2 March, Hezbollah launched several projectiles into northern Israel, the first time it had done so since the
2024 ceasefire, targeting a
missile defense site south of
Haifa. In response, Israeli jets struck targets in the Lebanese capital of Beirut at 3am local time, issuing evacuation orders to local civilians in 50 villages across
Southern Lebanon and the
Beqaa Valley. The Israeli military said it carried out "precise and targeted" strikes against "senior terrorist elements of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Beirut area" and "a central terrorist element of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon." Later, Saudi news channel
Al Hadath reported Raad's whereabouts were unknown and stated his body was being searched for in the rubble. The IDF said Hezbollah's intelligence chief, Hussain Makled, was killed in the strikes. On 3 March, Hezbollah fired missiles and drones targeting three Israeli bases,
Ramat David Airbase, the
Meron monitoring base and
Camp Yitzhak. Israel carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds and also targeted
Al-Manar TV's headquarters in Beirut. Later on in the day, Israeli forces were ordered to seize positions within Lebanon. Israel said its military had seized "strategic areas" in southern Lebanon while ordering nearby Lebanese towns to evacuate. Israel struck
Yohmor with
white phosphorus, illegal under international law, causing several homes to catch fire. On 4 March, Hezbollah launched drone and missiles into Israel, attempting to hit military bases and oil and gas infrastructures. Hezbollah anti-tank fire caused moderate injuries to two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, making them the first Israeli injuries of the conflict. Israel launched strikes targeting the communications centres of Hezbollah, during which al-Manar TV station and
al-Nour radio station were struck. More strikes were focused on villages in southern Lebanon used by Hezbollah. UN peacekeeping force reported Israeli soldiers entered several towns and villages in Southern Lebanon, including:
Kfar Kila,
Houla,
Kfar Shouba,
Yaroun and
Khiam. Israel carried out an incursion into southern
Syria on 4 March, shelling the area between
Jamla and Saisoun in
Daraa Governorate, and arrested four civilians. Israel accused Syria of deploying combat units to the Syrian
Golan Heights, stating it will not allow the Hezbollah–Israel strikes to be used as a pretext to "harm the
Druze" in southern Syria and demanded the Syrian government prevent
Iraqi militias from crossing Syrian territory towards the Golan Heights. UNIFIL published on 5 March that since 2 March it monitored over 210 missiles fired by Hezbollah into Israel. Israel killed a Hamas official in a strike in Beirut, as well as several strikes early in the day, including two in the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut. More attacks continued, targeting Hezbollah facilities and operatives, as it renewed its evacuation warning to residence in Southern Lebanon, close to sites it will target. At midday, the IDF published an immediate evacuation notice to the southern suburbs of Beirut, specifically
Bourj el-Barajneh,
Hadath,
Haret Hreik and
Chiyah. Residents were advised by the IDF to move north and east. After Israel ordered inhabitants of the entire portion of Lebanon that is south of the Litani River to evacuate (along with some other areas), Hezbollah issued its own orders to civilians in a five-kilometer-wide strip of Israeli territory bordering Lebanon to evacuate. This message was published by Hezbollah in Hebrew, along with maps of the zone to be evacuated. Israeli sources described Hezbollah's self-described evacuation orders as psychological warfare; Israel said it is not evacuating the area. Hezbollah repeated the supposed evacuation order in the following days and weeks. Hezbollah conducted a series of attacks on Israel and Israeli forces on 6 March, launching rockets and artillery shells toward the
Golan Heights and
Haifa. During the night and morning after issuing advance warnings to minimize civilian casualties, Israel launched a series of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah headquarters located in ten high-rise buildings in Beirut. The strikes also targeted warehouses where drones used in attacks against Israel were reportedly stored. A Hezbollah projectile fired near the Lebanese border caused injuries to 8 Israeli soldiers, five of them severe. Among the injured was the son of far-right finance minister
Bezalel Smotrich. Two Israeli missile strikes hit a UNIFIL battalion headquarters in
al-Qaouzah in
Bint Jbeil, injuring three UN peacekeepers from
Ghana. On 7 March, Hezbollah continued firing missiles and rockets into Israel's northern parts, with no deaths reported. Israel's retaliation action included attacks in the eastern Lebanese town of
Nabi Chit, were reports say an operation to search for
Ron Arad took place. The Lebanese health ministry reported that Israeli military killed over 41 people there, and injured 40 more. The deaths include at least three soldiers of the
Lebanese Armed Forces and one from Lebanon's
General Security Directorate. These evacuation notices were followed by "Save your lives" notices and reminders to residents to stay away from their homes. Israel launched an airstrike on the Ramada hotel building in central Beirut on 8 March, killing four key Iranian commanders of Iran's elite
Quds Force of the IRCG, who were planning terror attacks on Israel. Later the Israeli army stated they killed five senior commanders from the Lebanon Corps of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a precise strike in Beirut. Netanyahu said: "Whoever lays down their arms will save their life, and whoever doesn't, their blood will be spilled." A Hezbollah rocket attack in southern Lebanon damaged a
Puma armored engineering vehicle and then hit a
Caterpillar D9 bulldozer attempting to assist the vehicle, killing two soldiers.
Constantinos Kombos,
Cyprus's Foreign Minister, stated the explosive-packed drones launched from Lebanon towards the island, were launched by Hezbollah, targeting
British bases there.
Airstrike on Ghazali family home () On the evening of 5 March 2026, four members of the Ghazali family were killed by an Israeli airstrike on their home in
Mashghara, southern Lebanon. The attack on the family home occurred while they were gathered for
Iftar, the meal that breaks the fast at the end of the day in
Ramadan. The IDF's Arabic language spokesperson
Avichai Adraee further alleged that Ibrahim Ghazali was in Hezbollah's anti-tank missile unit. In response to the statements by Israel, a Hezbollah spokesperson said that none of the family members were affiliated with Hezbollah. A memorial service was held for the family in
West Bloomfield, Michigan, where other family members lived. According to CNN, the men killed were the brothers of
Ayman Mohamed Ghazali, who on 12 March
attacked a synagogue in Michigan before killing himself.
Second week (9–15 March) A double strike on a house in
Al-Qlayaa killed Lebanese
Maronite Catholic priest Father
Pierre al-Rahi. According to Hezbollah, on 9 March the organization fought Israeli forces that landed once again in eastern Lebanon near Nabi Sheet. This time they were 15 Israeli helicopters that came from the Syrian side of the border. Hezbollah kept firing rocket and missiles in to Israel. During the day Israel targeted strikes on the
Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association, an US-sanctioned institution known for funding Hezbollah. Before mid night, the
Syrian Army informed Hezbollah shelled their positions. The Syrian Army declared they detected Hezbollah's reinforcements at the Syrian-Lebanese border. The Syrian Army said they would coordinate a possible Syrian response to Hezbollah's actions with the Lebanese government side. On the same day, Syria reported early in the morning that artillery shells fired from Lebanon landed near a town 20 miles west of
Damascus. Syria accused Hezbollah of targeting Syrian army positions in the area and said that it had observed Hezbollah reinforcements arriving along the
Lebanon–Syria border, warning that it would respond to any attack on its territory. According to reports Hezbollah and Iran fired missiles on northern Israel. It was reported that residents from Aalma El Chaeb in South Lebanon, left the town towards Tyre, escorted by LAF and UNIFIL forces. Later Israel issued warning to residence of Arnoun, Yohmor, Zawtar El Charqiyeh, and Zawtar El Gharbiyeh residents to evacuate. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, reported about airstrikes over night on 11 March, that were later confirmed by the Israeli military. It was followed by an evacuation notice issued to six villages in south Lebanon. The IDF confirmed Iranian commander Ali Musallam Tabaja was killed during the airstrikes. On 12 March, an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the village of
Ain Ebel killed three men. Lebanon's health ministry said on 13 March that an Israeli airstrike hit a health center in
Burj Qalaouiyah killing 12 people—nearly the entire medical team of paramedics, doctors, and nurses—leaving only one severely injured worker alive. Four others remain missing. Israel continued to conduct airstrikes across Lebanon on 14 March, including areas outside of Hezbollah's operations. An airstrike on an apartment in
Bourj Hammoud in northeastern Beirut killed at least one person and wounded four others. Israel said it have killed Ibrahim Ghazali earlier in March, who it alleged was a Hezbollah commander and the brother of the Lebanese-born Ayman Ghazali who perpetrated the
Temple Israel synagogue attack in
West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, United States.
Third week (16–22 March) , on 18 March on the
Israel–Lebanon border, 21 March The IDF announced on 16 March that it had begun a "targeted ground operation against key targets" in southern Lebanon, aimed at establishing "the forward defense area." Defense Minister
Israel Katz said that such operations would continue until Hezbollah no longer posed a threat to northern Israeli communities, and ruled out displaced Lebanese people returning to their homes in the south until then. He added that the operations will resemble the
Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, "just as was done against
Hamas in
Rafah,
Beit Hanoun and the terror tunnels in Gaza." Hezbollah Secretary-General
Naim Qassem has been designated a target for elimination. Four injuries were reported in northern Israel as a result of Hezbollah rocket attacks on the area, including three in
Nahariya and one in
Kibbutz Kabri. An Israeli soldier from the Givati Brigade was injured during an operational accident. An Israeli airstrike hit a building near Jabal Amel Hospital outside
Tyre killed one person and injured five others. Fighting was reported at the Hezbollah stronghold of
Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon where a "major battle was under way" with at least three airstrikes in the city. Israel also struck targets in
Yatar,
Burj Qalaouiyah,
as-Sultaniyah,
Shaqra,
Qantara, and as-Sawana.
Mahmoud Qamati, Hezbollah's political council vice president, threatened to topple the
cabinet of Nawaf Salam after the war ends, comparing it to
Vichy France's regime. The
Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior said it arrested a 16-member Hezbollah cell with weapons, drone and encrypted communications devices, which planned an attack. On 17 March, the IDF said it had deployed a second division to southern Lebanon, launching a ground invasion. Israel Katz said the operation would be similar to the
Gaza war, suggested that Israel could occupy some Lebanese territory indefinitely and ruled out the return of displaced Lebanese people to their homes as long as Hezbollah remained a threat. In a joint statement, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK said such an operation should be avoided. Syria was pressured to militarily intervene in Lebanon by the United States by sending its troops and striking positions in Lebanon alongside the IDF in order to further weaken Hezbollah; however, the Syrian government refused the offer on the same day Israel Katz declared a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia,
Qatar,
Egypt, and
Turkey discouraged a confrontation between Syria and Hezbollah. Israel conducted extensive overnight strikes in central Beirut on 18 March, which were largely unannounced with no warnings issued, killing at least 10 people and injuring 27. Two Israeli soldiers were wounded by a Hezbollah mortar attack in northern Israel on 21 March. Civilians were also injured as munitions fired by Hezbollah struck civilian buildings in northern Israeli border towns, including Ma'alot. Israel's Defense Minister Katz declared that the IDF would demolish the Lebanese villages bordering Israel and destroy all the Litani river crossings. Following a warning, Israel destroyed the Qasmiyeh Bridge, the main bridge over the Litani river, connecting Lebanon and south Lebanon. The Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Hezbollah's operations are commanded by IRGC officers. The IDF reported that seven soldiers were wounded on Lebanon in separate incidents. IDF Chief of General Staff
Eyal Zamir approved plans "to advance the targeted ground operations and strikes" against Hezbollah, and that this would be a "prolonged operation". The Israeli military said it killed Abu Khalil Barji, a commander in Hezbollah's
Radwan Force, and two other Hezbollah operatives in an air strike in the Majdal Selem area of southern Lebanon. That same day, an Israeli avocado farmer was killed from a misfired artillery by the IDF near the Israeli–Lebanese border.
Fourth week (23–29 March) On 23 March the IDF struck the Dallafa Bridge in southern Lebanon, which it accuses Hezbollah of using to send militants and weapons to fight Israel. Finance Minister
Bezalel Smotrich stated that Israel, following the war, should annex territories up to the
Litani River. Satellite imagery from 23 March showed the remains of the
Khiam detention center being demolished. The Lebanese government declared the Iranian ambassador
Mohammad Reza Sheibani persona non grata on 24 March, giving him time until Sunday to leave. According to news reports, Iran fired a ballistic missile at Lebanon several hours after the announcement. The projectile struck Lebanon's coast. Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz openly stated that the military will take control of south Lebanon all the way to the Litani river, mirroring the claims of Smotrich from the previous day.
Hassan Fadlallah, a lawmaker of Hezbollah, vowed that the group would fight Israel to prevent the plan from coming to fruition, labelling it as one of the goals of the organization during the war. An Israeli interceptor missile shot down a ballistic missile over
Keserwan launched from Iran. Various sources from the US military intel heavily suggest the target was Cyprus. Also on 24 March, an Israeli drone strike targeted the residence of a teacher in
Ain Ebel, but the family members on the ground floor survived unharmed. Israel reported that missile fire from Lebanon killed one Israeli civilian and wounded another two. Isreali Defense minister
Israel Katz states that the military will control a "
security zone" up to the
Litani River in southern Lebanon until the threat of
Hezbollah is removed. Nethanyahu followed Katz's and Smotrich's statement on 25 March calling for the creation of a "security/buffer zone" in Southern Lebanon. Iran asserted that Lebanon must be included as part of a ceasefire deal with the United States and Israel, thereby conditioning a ceasefire in the
2026 Iran war on a cessation of hostilities against Hezbollah. One Israeli civilian was killed by Hezbollah rocket fire in Nahariyah. The IDF said that it was sending more troops from the
162nd Division to join two other army divisions in southern Lebanon to expand the "buffer zone" in the area. The IDF have made relatively rapid advances into southern Lebanon on 27 March, advancing north past the coastal town of
Naqoura toward Bayada. Hezbollah said that it had targeted an Israeli tank in Bayada. An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on 28 March killed two prominent Lebanese television journalists, including Ali Choeib (also known as Ali Shaib) who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated
Al-Manar and Fatima Ftouni, who worked for the pro-Hezbollah
Al Mayadeen. The IDF stated that Choeib had been exposing Israeli military positions, and described him as a member of
Radwan force, Hezbollah's special operations unit. Israeli military posted a photo of Choeib in military fatigues on its
X account and when asked for a source of the image, a military spokesperson said "it was photoshopped". An IDF soldier was reported killed by Hezbollah attack, while another three soldiers were wounded in south Lebanon. Israel killed two Lebanese paramedics in
Bint Jbeil with airstrikes, and later accused Hezbollah of making "extensive military use" of ambulances and other medical facilities. Lebanese military sources told
Al Jazeera that Israeli troops had bypassed
Aitaroun and reached the outskirts of
Wadi al-Salouqi, at the same time entering the town of
al-Bayada, advanced towards the Litani from below the town of
Qantara near
al-Muhaysibat and also east of it. The Iranian diplomatic source told
Agence France-Presse the Iranian ambassador who is declared
persona non grata defied the Lebanese government's order to leave. Syrian authorities launched a crackdown on tunnels along the border with Lebanon used for smuggling arms by Hezbollah. The Syrian defense ministry announced the discovery and closure of two tunnels on the border of Lebanon used for smuggling by Hezbollah. On 30 March,
two more UNIFIL peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed, this time when one vehicle in a convoy was hit by an explosion. In this case, the UN states they were most likely killed by a tripwire-activated explosive device planted by Hezbollah, because another explosive device of this kind was found nearby. Also on 30 March, a UNIFIL patrol was stopped by Hezbollah in
Deir Qanoun an-Naher on its main street and ordered to leave the area, which the patrol refused, resulting in gunfire from both sides. Israeli media reported the death of four IDF soldiers in clashes with Hezbollah, three of whom were the from the Nahal Brigade's Reconnaissance Unit. On 1 April, an
Israeli Navy strike in Beirut killed the commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, Hajj Yusuf Ismail Hashem, whose predecessor
Ali Karaki was killed in September 2024. Hezbollah confirmed Hashem's death, stating that it was their harshest loss since the killing of
Haytham Ali Tabatabai in November 2025. A IDF soldier was killed and another wounded on 4 April after a friendly fire incident in Sheeba southern Lebanon, during a commando raid. The IDF hit a four-story building on 4 April, part of a church-sponsored social housing complex, in Ain Saade, a Christian locality not far from Beirut, killing at least three people including local politician Pierre Moawad (of
Lebanese Forces, a party which currently forms the ruling coalition in Lebanon and is opposed to Hezbollah), his wife, and their female neighbor. The IDF claimed they were targeting a Hezbollah member hiding among local Christians, but ''L'Orient Today'' later wrote that, per an anonymous judicial source, the man was an unnamed Hezbollah official visiting his girlfriend. There has been speculation that Israeli strikes on Christian communities in Lebanon are aimed at inflaming sectarian tensions.
Sixth week (6–12 April) On 6 April, IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee ordered the southern suburbs of Beirut to be evacuated, because Israel will strike "Hezbollah infrastructure" there. The
Israeli Ground Forces deployed the
98th Division into southern Lebanon on 7 April, in addition to the
36th,
91st,
146th, and
162nd divisions already there. The stated goal of their operation was to destroy buildings near the border being used for military purposes and to push Hezbollah members north of the Litani River. According to the Israeli paper
Yedioth Ahronoth, the IDF was preparing a plan to continue the operations and ground occupation in Lebanon even after the Iran war ends. Hezbollah said on the same day that
"fierce clashes" were taking place between its fighters and Israeli troops in Bint Jbeil, and that rocket and drone strikes targeted soldiers and
Merkava tanks in the town, and in other settlements in southern Lebanon or northern Israel. Israeli troops destroyed buildings in
Khiam and other border towns. Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran as part of the 7 April
2026 Iran war ceasefire. Although Pakistani Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif said that the ceasefire includes all fronts of the war, including Lebanon, Israel rejected Sharif's condition, asserting that the ceasefire "does not include Lebanon." The United States has also claimed that the ceasefire does not include Lebanon. Hezbollah said that it had halted attacks on Israel and on Israeli soldiers in Lebanon. The attacks were the largest since the start of the war, The attacks have killed at least 357 people. One IDF soldier was killed and five wounded in clashes with Hezbollah fighters in South Lebanon. In the early hours of 9 April, Hezbollah said it launched a missile attack against northern Israel. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Israeli strikes continued. Later, the IDF announced that it had killed Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem's personal secretary and nephew,
Ali Yusuf Harshi in a strike on Beirut. Hezbollah was also reported to have fired "dozens" of rockets into Israel from Lebanon. At around 17:00
Israel Daylight Time,
The Jerusalem Post reported that the 98th Division of the IDF had almost fully taken control of all of the town of Bint Jbeil, which had become the main site of ground combat between Hezbollah and the IDF. During a visit to Israeli commanders near Bint Jbeil, IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir said that the IDF is in a "state of war" in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire with Iran. On 12 April, a Lebanese security source informed that the Israeli army cut off all main roads leading to besieged Bint Jbeil and kept pounding it with air strikes, artillery shells and white phosphorus bombs, but still hasn't been yet able to capture important sites within the city itself, with fights raging all over the city outskirts. Prime minister Netanyahu and defense minister Katz visited Israeli troops inside Lebanon, with Katz saying that Israel will eliminate the threat "just as we did in Gaza," including with the demolition of homes so that they cannot be used as "terror outposts." and to have successfully encircled the city, stating the complete takeover is expected to take a few more days. One IDF sergeant was killed in combat in Southern Lebanon. On 15 April, Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon engaged in more strikes against each other. A day later, two Israeli airstrikes destroyed the Qasmiyeh Bridge, the last remaining link between the area south of the Litani River and the rest of the country. On 16 April, President Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a
10-day truce, after his conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Aoun. The ceasefire entered into force on the night of 16/17 April local time. Israeli defense minister Katz said that the IDF will hold its positions in southern Lebanon, and the Israeli military warned residents of the area to remain north of the Litani River, while the Lebanese military reported several violations of the ceasefire by Israel. The violations reportedly took place with attacks in Khiam and Bint Jbeil, and shelling in
Dibbin. According to IDF commanders, residents will not be allowed to return to 55 villages that are in its operational zone, and PM Netanyahu stressed that the fight against Hezbollah is not over. On 17 April, Israel killed one Hezbollah member in a drone strike on a motorcycle, and throughout 17 April and 18 April killed other Hezbollah members in several other strikes in Lebanon, in at least two cases stating that the Hezbollah members posed a threat. On 17 April, an IDF soldier was killed in Lebanon after entering a building previously rigged with explosives by Hezbollah. On 18 April, another IDF soldier was killed and 9 others wounded, one severely, when one of IDF bulldozers drove over an explosive device. Israel continued to perform demolitions of buildings in Israeli-occupied areas of Lebanon. Israel continued launching attacks on claimed military targets, in violation of the ceasefire. Artillery bombardment, drone strikes, house-to-house fighting, trap-laying, and forest burning were all used as tactics by the Israeli military post-ceasefire. A French soldier was killed by gunfire and three others injured in an attack on UNIFIL peacekeepers in
Deir Kifa on 18 April. French president Emmanuel Macron attributed the attack to Hezbollah, which the group denied. The Israeli military announced on the same day that it established a "yellow line" in part of southern Lebanon, like it did in Gaza. The zone which Israel intends to control, as marked on a map published by the IDF, covers a larger area than Israeli ground forces controlled at the moment of the ceasefire: a wider belt of Lebanon's southernmost areas, plus new areas of the
Marjayoun District and even some areas north of the Litani River; and an area around the town of
Shebaa (not to be confused with
Shebaa Farms) and northeast of it. Israeli ground forces continued to capture new areas within that zone during the ceasefire. On the afternoon of 19 April, according to Hezbollah, their members used explosive devices against a column of Israeli tanks (between Taybeh and Deir Siryan). Widespread outrage has erupted following the circulation of a viral photograph and video showing an Israeli soldier smashing a statue of
Jesus Christ with a
sledgehammer in the southern Lebanese village of Debel. The incident has drawn condemnation from religious leaders, international figures, and the Israeli government. The incident occurred in Debel shortly after a ceasefire began on 19 April 2026. Videos and photos show a soldier in uniform striking a fallen statue of
Jesus Christ at a small residential shrine.
Eighth week (20–26 April) Israel warned residents of southern Lebanon to stay out of the area, and as of 21 April, Israeli troops were still battling Hezbollah forces in spite of the ceasefire. On the same day, Israeli forces said that Hezbollah violated the ceasefire by launching rockets at an Israeli position in
Rab Thalathin and a drone into northern Israel. It added that it hit the rocket launcher as a response to one of those incidents. Hezbollah said that it fired rockets and attack drones towards a site in northern Israel that it said was the source of artillery shelling towards a town in south Lebanon in retaliation for what it said were Israeli violations of the truce. The second wounded French UNIFIL peacekeeper died on 22 April from injuries sustained during the same assault which had happened a few days earlier. and in Qantara Israeli strikes on April 23 included a drone strike on a car near Choukine. Demolition of still-remaining houses was in progress in Deir Siryan. During the night of April 23/24, the IDF struck Touline (first at 10:30 pm, then during early morning) and Majdel Zoun, using warplanes and artillery. Both are located on the border (the furthest extent) of the "forward defense zone" that Israel claims in Lebanon. The locality of Khirbet Selm was also attacked. Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets at the region of Shtula (Israel) early the same night, shortly after 11:00 pm. During the same night (afternoon in the United States), US President Donald Trump announced the extension of the ceasefire in Lebanon by three more weeks. Just like a week before, the ceasefire announcement came after a meeting between the Lebanese ambassador and the Israeli ambassador in Washington D.C.; these meetings are a departure from the rule not to maintain contacts with Israel, which before the current Israeli military operation (March 2026-onwards) was followed by all major political forces in Lebanon. On 24 April and 25 April, warfare continued, including Israeli strikes in Lebanon, demolitions of houses, and Hezbollah strikes on the IDF in Lebanon. On the evening of 25 April, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an order to strike "with force" against Hezbollah in Lebanon. On 26 April, eastern parts of the Nabatieh District (which is north of the Litani River) – including areas claimed as part of the "forward defense zone" but not currently controlled by Israeli ground forces - came under intense Israeli fire. Other areas in south Lebanon also witnessed Israeli strikes. Throughout the day, Israeli strikes resulted in 14 fatalities. It was announced that an IDF soldier was killed near Taybeh, Lebanon, by an explosive-laden drone launched by Hezbollah.
Ninth week (27 April – 3 May) Israel launched airstrikes on new areas of the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon on 27 April. Also on that day, Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem said that he "categorically rejects" the peace talks between the government of Lebanon and Israel, and that "the resistance" against Israel will continue. Lebanese president Joseph Aoun responded by saying that Lebanon will not sign a "humiliating agreement". On 28 April, an Israeli Ministry of Defense contractor was killed by a Hezbollah drone while performing demolitions in occupied areas of Lebanon. Meanwhile, in Majdal Zoun, an Israeli strike killed three civil defense members working on the site of a previous strike; two other people were killed at the same site. On 29 April, a Lebanese soldier traveling home on a motorcycle was killed by one of the Israeli strikes. Israel expanded its evacuation orders (also referred to as forced displacement orders) to 15 more towns and villages, this time including various towns and villages that surround the larger town of
Nabatieh. Daily death tolls from Israeli strikes increased; over 40 people were killed on 1 May 2026, and again over 40 people on 2 May 2026, then 20 people on 3 May 2026 (according to tallies made on the afternoon of each day, which cover the preceding 24-hour period).
Tenth week (4 May – present) 17 people were killed in total by Israeli strikes on 4 May 2026. Hezbollah claimed multiple attacks on IDF personnel and equipment in Lebanon. Fighting was reported in an area called Wadi Raj, near the Litani River: the IDF apparently tried to advance from Deir Siryan (southern bank of the river) towards Zawtar Sharqieh (northern bank of the river), and came under Hezbollah fire. 6 people were killed by Israeli strikes on 5 May 2026. In an escalation on 6 May 2026, the number of fatalities increased as Israeli strikes targeted, among other places, Zellaya (West Bekaa) and Saksakieh (Sidon District). In the evening, a senior military commander in Hezbollah's Radwan Force was reportedly assassinated in an Israeli strike in Beirut. == Diplomatic efforts ==