Hezbollah–Israel Conflict (2023–Present)

On October 8, 2023, one day after Hamas's mass terrorist assault on southern Israel, Hezbollah began launching rockets, anti-tank guided missiles, mortar shells, and drones at Israeli communities and military positions along the Lebanon border.[1][2] Hezbollah described its campaign as a "support front" for Hamas — an effort to wage a war of attrition and divert Israeli military attention and resources from Gaza to the north.[1] Israel responded with artillery and airstrikes into Lebanon, and the two sides began an exchange that would continue for more than a year without interruption.

Early weapons used by Hezbollah included sniper and small-arms fire, artillery and mortars, anti-tank guided missiles, and Grad rockets. After roughly three weeks the arsenal expanded to include explosive drones and heavy Burkan rockets.[1] Between October 2023 and March 8, 2024, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center counted 959 Hezbollah-claimed attacks — an average of approximately 10 attacks per day — directed mostly at military sites in northern Israel.[1] The Jewish Virtual Library, citing the Alma Research and Education Center, reported 2,295 Hezbollah attacks on Israel between October 8, 2023, and June 2024.[11]

The human and civilian costs were significant from the outset. By early 2024, the Meir Amit Center estimated that roughly 80,000 residents of northern Israel and around 100,000 people in southern Lebanon had left their homes.[1] The Congressional Research Service separately reported that approximately 60,000 Israelis evacuated border-area communities, partly because of fears of a Hezbollah ground assault resembling October 7.[2] The Meir Amit Center reported that the attacks killed 10 Israeli soldiers and six civilians between October 2023 and March 8, 2024.[1]

The conflict widened through targeted killings and large retaliatory barrages during the first months of 2024. On January 2, Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Beirut in a strike attributed to Israel.[1] Hezbollah responded on January 6 by firing 62 rockets and missiles at the Israeli air-control installation on Mount Meron, describing it as an initial response to the killing. Two days later, after the IDF killed senior Radwan Force commander Wissam Tawil, Hezbollah directed an explosive drone at the IDF's Northern Command base in Safed.[1]

As Israel entered Rafah in May 2024, Hezbollah intensified its rocket and drone activity along the northern front, according to the Meir Amit Center.[12] On June 12, an Israeli airstrike killed Taleb Sami Abdallah, commander of Hezbollah's al-Nasr Unit. Hezbollah responded the following day with 30 drones and approximately 150 rockets aimed at military headquarters and bases across the Galilee and Golan Heights. After Aziz Unit commander Muhammad Naama Nasser was killed on July 4, Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets and approximately 20 explosive drones — what the center described as the largest attack since the conflict began.[12]

The deadliest single incident of this phase came on July 27, 2024, when a rocket struck a soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, killing 12 children and wounding dozens more.[13][3] The IDF and U.S. government identified it as an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket fired from the Lebanese town of Chebaa and attributed the attack to Hezbollah, which denied responsibility.[13] Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut airstrike on July 30 in an operation Israel linked to the Majdal Shams attack.[3]

On August 25, Israel said it had detected preparations for a Hezbollah retaliatory strike and preemptively hit launch sites in Lebanon. Hezbollah then launched rockets and drones into Israel in a sharp escalation, though fighting returned to more regular levels the following day.[3] Hezbollah also extended its fire beyond border communities to cities in central and northern Israel.[14]

Israel's military campaign shifted dramatically in September 2024. On September 16, Israel's cabinet formally added the return of displaced northern residents to the country's official war objectives.[2] The following day, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives exploded across Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing at least 12 people and injuring thousands.[15] On September 18, walkie-talkies and other handheld communication devices also exploded; Britannica reported at least 37 deaths from the second wave.[3] Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah denounced the attacks in a September 19 speech.[15] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later confirmed that Israel carried out the pager attacks.[16]

On September 20, senior Hezbollah figure Ibrahim Aqil and other Radwan Force commanders were killed in a strike in Beirut.[17] The IDF launched Operation Northern Arrows on September 23 and said it struck more than 1,300 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon on the first day.[18][17] On September 25, Hezbollah fired a missile toward central Israel, aiming at Tel Aviv; Israel intercepted it.[3] Two days later, the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah's headquarters complex in the Dahieh neighborhood south of Beirut, killing Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for more than 30 years, along with senior commander Ali Karaki.[18][3] Britannica described the subsequent two months of destruction in Lebanon as exceeding that of the 2006 Lebanon War.[3]

Israel also struck Hashem Safieddine, identified as a potential successor to Nasrallah, on October 4.[2] On November 23, 2025, an Israeli strike in Beirut's Dahiyeh killed Hezbollah's acting chief of staff, Haitham Ali Tabataba'i. Hezbollah called the killing a red line and reserved the right to respond, though the Meir Amit Center reported no subsequent attack on Israel; Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the group would determine the timing of any response.[19]

Israeli ground forces entered southern Lebanon on October 1, 2024, with the IDF announcing limited, localized, and targeted raids against Hezbollah infrastructure it considered an immediate threat to northern Israeli communities.[20] The IDF said the operations were based on precise intelligence and that smaller raids had already been conducted before the public announcement.[20] An unnamed Israeli official described the objective as creating a security perimeter rather than occupying southern Lebanon long-term.[2] Israeli troops encountered combat as they moved through southern Lebanon, and the fighting contributed to Hezbollah withdrawing some fighters from Syria, where the organization had supported the Assad government.[3]

By the November 2024 ceasefire, the IDF reported striking more than 12,500 Hezbollah targets, including more than 1,600 command sites and over 1,000 weapons depots.[4] The IDF reported approximately 2,500 Hezbollah operatives killed; other estimates ranged as high as approximately 4,000, including a figure attributed to sources familiar with Hezbollah's internal assessments.[4]

After fighting resumed in March 2026, Israeli ground operations expanded significantly. On March 24, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced plans for Israeli forces to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River — a move Britannica characterized as effectively reversing Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000.[3] In late May, Israeli ground forces crossed the Litani River and captured the Beaufort Ridge and Beaufort Castle in southeastern Lebanon, in an operation the IDF said was intended to destroy Hezbollah launch infrastructure and address threats to Israeli communities.[21]

One of the most significant ground engagements of the post-March 2026 phase centered on Ali al Taher Ridge. On July 29, the IDF accused Hezbollah of launching an explosive drone at an Israeli engineering vehicle near the ridge, calling it a ceasefire violation; the vehicle was reportedly hit with no casualties.[22] By September 3, the IDF said it had cleared Hezbollah personnel from two underground routes beneath the ridge and achieved operational control above and below ground, though Hezbollah disputed that claim.[23]

On September 10, the IDF announced that it had destroyed more than two kilometers of underground infrastructure beneath Ali al Taher Ridge, identifying the network as a central command complex for Hezbollah's Badr Unit. It said the wider Ali al Taher–Beaufort network extended more than 5.4 kilometers, while Israeli reporting described the use of more than 1,100 metric tons of explosives to demolish two routes.[23] Israeli forces subsequently withdrew from the ridge to positions near Beaufort Castle, with Israel stating that it would monitor the area remotely. Hezbollah-linked media disputed the extent of the Israeli success and portrayed the outcome as part of a continuing battle of attrition.[23]

A cessation of hostilities took effect at 4:00 a.m. on November 27, 2024, under an understanding brokered by the United States in coordination with France and grounded in UN Security Council Resolution 1701.[5][6] President Joe Biden announced the agreement on November 26; Israel and Lebanon formally accepted it, while Hezbollah reportedly gave informal assent.[2] Hezbollah was not a formal party to the agreement.[5]

The written commitments required Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah and other armed groups from attacking Israel and to deploy the Lebanese Armed Forces across southern Lebanon, with a target of 10,000 troops, to dismantle unauthorized military positions and arms-production facilities.[24] Israel was required to halt offensive military operations against targets in Lebanon and withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line within 60 days.[24] A monitoring mechanism hosted by UNIFIL, chaired by the United States, and including France was established to receive and process reports of alleged violations.[6] Each country retained its inherent right of self-defense under international law.[6]

Implementation proved contentious. The original withdrawal deadline fell on January 26, 2025; Israel did not complete its withdrawal by that date, citing incomplete Lebanese army deployment and Hezbollah withdrawal.[25] The deadline was extended to February 18. Israel then withdrew from most positions but retained troops at five strategic locations in southern Lebanon, which it said it would hold until conditions permitted departure.[25] Hezbollah characterized the continued Israeli presence as occupation.[26]

On December 2, 2024, Hezbollah fired two rockets toward Mount Dov. The rockets fell in open areas, and Hezbollah described the launch as an initial warning against alleged Israeli ceasefire violations.[26] The Meir Amit Center reported that Hezbollah did not claim further attacks on Israeli targets during the period immediately afterward.[26] The Jewish Virtual Library chronology records Hezbollah's March 22, 2025 launch of six rockets as its first acknowledged attack since December 2024; Israel responded with strikes and killed Hassan Kamal Halawi, identified as chief of Hezbollah's southern anti-tank unit. On March 28, two more rockets struck northern Israel in an attack Hezbollah denied.[11]

Israel continued airstrikes in Lebanon against targets it identified as ceasefire violations or active threats. During the renewed ceasefire period in 2026, an IDF spokesperson reported that the Israeli Air Force had struck more than 1,100 Hezbollah targets and killed more than 350 operatives since the applicable ceasefire understandings took effect.[27] Other post-ceasefire operations targeted infrastructure in southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley, and Beirut's Dahiyeh, along with smuggling routes and sites associated with Hezbollah's efforts to rebuild its capabilities.[19] Israel, Hezbollah, and the Lebanese government continued to exchange competing accusations of violations.[28]

The fragile November 2024 ceasefire effectively collapsed on March 2, 2026, when Hezbollah fired rockets and drones into northern Israel following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28 during U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran.[7][8] Hezbollah described the attack as retaliation for Khamenei's death and as a warning to Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory.[7]

Israel responded immediately and on a large scale. The IDF said it conducted nearly 200 attacks against Hezbollah military, media, and financial assets on the first day.[7] Israeli forces soon began an expanded ground campaign, and by late March Defense Minister Katz had announced plans to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River.[3] By the end of March, more than 1.1 million people had been displaced in Lebanon — nearly one-fifth of the country's population.[3]

Lebanon's cabinet responded with an unprecedented step: it formally prohibited Hezbollah's military and security activities, called for the group's disarmament, and directed security agencies to prevent further attacks from Lebanese territory.[28] The Congressional Research Service characterized the ban as unprecedented but largely symbolic because of the state's limited capacity to enforce it.[28] Hezbollah rejected the directives and, on March 4, claimed its fighters had clashed with Israeli ground forces near Khiyam and Dhayra.[7]

The Congressional Research Service reported that Israeli ground operations established a buffer zone in southern Lebanon covering around 5 percent of the country's territory.[28] It also reported more than 4,300 deaths and more than one million displaced people in Lebanon during this phase, with hundreds of thousands subsequently returning to the south as fighting subsided.[28][29] A State Department report, using an earlier cutoff, recorded more than 2,600 people killed and 1.2 million displaced by May 2026.[29]

A U.S.-announced cessation of hostilities began at midnight local time on April 17, 2026, following an understanding announced on April 16 after six weeks of renewed fighting.[30][31] It established an initial ten-day pause, with Lebanon committed to taking meaningful steps to prevent Hezbollah attacks and Israel limited to self-defense measures against planned, imminent, or ongoing threats.[31] Lebanon's president described the moment as a new phase in which the country could move from pursuing a ceasefire toward permanent agreements.[30] The parties extended the pause by three weeks on April 23, though targeted hostilities continued.[3]

The ceasefire was immediately tested. On April 18, Hezbollah attacked a UNIFIL force, killing a French peacekeeper and wounding three others. On April 21, it fired rockets at Israeli troops and launched a drone; Israel struck the sources of fire. On April 25, Hezbollah fired missiles and drones at Israeli cities, and Israel struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley. Israeli officials later issued evacuation warnings for villages south of the Litani River.[11]

On May 15, the United States announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend the cessation of hostilities by 45 days, while noting continued Hezbollah attacks undertaken without Lebanese government consent.[32][33] Prolonged fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in Haddatha and Bint Jbeil on May 19–20 was described as the first such engagement since the April cessation began.[11] Israeli forces had reportedly been close to taking Bint Jbeil when the April pause took effect.[34]

After a fourth round of U.S.-hosted talks on June 2–3, Israel and Lebanon produced a declaration of intent conditioning a ceasefire on a complete halt to Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of its operatives from areas south of the Litani River; Hezbollah rejected the arrangement.[35][11] Another lull was arranged on June 19 by U.S. and Qatari negotiators with Iranian assistance and was scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. local time.[10]

On June 26, Israel, Lebanon, and the United States established a trilateral framework in Washington, D.C.[36][9] It created a reciprocal, sequenced process under which the Lebanese Armed Forces would restore state authority across southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces would progressively redeploy as the Lebanese army verified that Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups had been disarmed and their military infrastructure dismantled.[9] The framework called for pilot zones under exclusive Lebanese army control, Lebanon's disarmament of all non-state armed groups, and Israel's declaration that it had no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.[9][37] Its security annex was classified at Lebanon's request, and there was no provision for automatic Israeli withdrawal independent of verified progress.[11]

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah rejected the framework shortly after its signing, saying the group would oppose implementation and hold more firmly to its weapons.[36] Hezbollah also characterized the agreement as a surrender and declared that it would not be bound by a framework from which it was excluded.[38] Several Lebanese political factions opposed the arrangement as well.[36]

The Lebanese Armed Forces began operations in three designated pilot areas — Zawtar al Gharbiyeh, Froun, and Srifa — as part of the framework's implementation plan.[10] On September 9, 2026, the LAF reported that its activities included checkpoints, patrols, road clearing, and weapons seizures. It said it had confiscated approximately 1,818 weapons and pieces of ammunition, including 10 rocket-launch platforms, seven rockets, six drones, and 51 rocket-propelled projectiles.[10] The LAF did not specify how many seized items had belonged to Hezbollah or state that Hezbollah operatives had been personally disarmed. It also called for an end to Israeli attacks as a condition for completing its deployment and framework tasks.[10]

Lebanese forces deployed to Froun and Burj Qalaouiyah on July 17, 2026.[11] By August, however, only the northern of two initially designated pilot areas had been handed over to the Lebanese army. Lebanon indicated that it might need another two months to assume responsibility for additional areas, while Israel had not established a withdrawal timetable.[11] The State Department described the negotiations as making limited progress as of August and said continuing Israeli strikes and localized security incidents demonstrated the ceasefire's fragility.[29]

U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack played a central role in the diplomatic effort during 2025. On his third visit to Lebanon, he described the November 2024 ceasefire as having failed, citing Hezbollah's refusal to disarm and the Lebanese government's inability to enforce disarmament.[39] Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem maintained that the group would not disarm while Israel occupied southern Lebanese territory.[39]

Barrack presented a phased U.S. disarmament proposal to Lebanese officials on June 19, 2025.[40] Lebanon formally responded on July 7. On August 7, the Lebanese cabinet approved the proposal's objectives and instructed the army to prepare a militia-disarmament plan for completion and implementation by year's end; five Shiite ministers did not participate in the vote.[40] The proposal linked Lebanese disarmament steps to Israel halting military activity and withdrawing from five strategic positions. On August 18, Barrack said Lebanon had fulfilled its obligations and urged Israel to halt operations and withdraw. Speaker Nabih Berri reportedly proposed a 15-day ceasefire on August 24, and Barrack returned to Lebanon on August 26 after meeting Israeli officials.[40]

Lebanon's cabinet separately tasked its army in August 2025 with beginning a plan to bring armed groups' weapons under state control, a measure aimed primarily at Hezbollah.[41] Hezbollah rejected the government's four-month plan for the second phase of disarmament.[41] The June 2026 framework subsequently formalized the linkage: Lebanese army deployment and verified disarmament would enable sequential Israeli military redeployment through U.S.-supported verification mechanisms.[9][37]

As of October 5, 2026, the Hezbollah–Israel conflict remained unresolved despite successive ceasefires and a framework agreement. Israeli forces continued operating inside southern Lebanon and maintaining positions in what Israel described as a security buffer zone. Exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah-linked elements continued during nominal ceasefire periods.[22][42]

On September 6, Israeli forces struck targets in southern Lebanon after the IDF accused Hezbollah of launching explosive drones at Israeli engineering vehicles operating in the security zone. Lebanese authorities reported four people killed and 20 wounded in the Israeli strikes.[42] On September 27, the IDF said it struck Hezbollah weapons-storage sites and other targets after another drone was launched at troops, with no Israeli injuries reported from the drone itself. The IDF also said two soldiers had been lightly wounded earlier that week when their engineering vehicle struck an explosive device.[43]

Casualty totals depend heavily on the reporting period. For the fighting through the November 2024 ceasefire, the Congressional Research Service reported more than 2,500 people killed in Lebanon and more than 70 in Israel.[2] For the renewed 2026 phase, it reported more than 4,300 deaths and more than one million displaced people in Lebanon.[28] The Times of Israel separately reported between 45 and 46 Israeli civilians killed by Hezbollah attacks since October 2023, with the discrepancy between its reports unexplained.[44]

The June 2026 framework remained the primary diplomatic architecture for a possible long-term resolution, but implementation was halting. Israel had not set a complete withdrawal timetable, while Hezbollah continued to reject the framework and insisted that it would not disarm.[38][39] The framework's security annex remained classified, and questions persisted about how verification would function in practice.[11] Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah continued to hold competing interpretations of the ceasefires and their obligations.

Casualty figures, strike tallies, and displacement estimates vary by source, time frame, and methodology. IDF figures for Hezbollah operatives killed during the 2023–2024 phase included a reported figure of approximately 2,500, while other estimates reached approximately 4,000; these figures were attributed to the IDF or sources said to be familiar with Hezbollah's assessments rather than independently verified totals.[4] Lebanese casualty and displacement estimates likewise differ between Congressional Research Service and State Department reports because they use different cutoffs and formulations.[28][29]

The attribution of specific attacks is sometimes contested. The July 27, 2024 rocket that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams was attributed to Hezbollah by the IDF and U.S. government, but Hezbollah denied responsibility; Britannica reported that assessments largely blamed the group.[13][3] Responsibility for some attacks during nominal ceasefire periods has also been disputed.

A House resolution introduced in March 2026 asserted that Israel had committed more than 15,000 documented ceasefire violations over 15 months, including near-daily attacks that killed more than 370 people. This was a claim made in a legislative resolution, not an independently adjudicated finding.[45] The IDF's accounts of its operations and Hezbollah's characterization of Israeli actions as violations similarly represent the parties' competing positions.

Some apparent date discrepancies reflect different stages of the same events. The November 2024 cessation was signed on November 26 and took effect at 4:00 a.m. on November 27.[6] Sources describe the 2024 Israeli ground operation as beginning on the night of September 30 or being publicly announced on October 1.[18][20] The IDF's claims concerning its destruction of Hezbollah's underground network at Ali al Taher were disputed by Hezbollah-linked media, and aspects of the IDF's account had not been independently verified when reported.[23]