Israel–Hezbollah Clashes: 24 November 2023 – 1 January 2024

Hezbollah began attacking Israel's northern border on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas's massacre inside Israel.[1] Yoni Ben Menachem writes that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah opened his campaign against Israel on that date.[2] A separate analysis by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs describes Nasrallah's decision as a deliberate choice to join the war Hamas had initiated and characterizes Hezbollah's stated posture as that of a "support front" — a war of attrition designed to divert Israeli attention and forces northward rather than an outright invasion.[3]

From October 8 through the end of the year, Hezbollah carried out "near-daily missile and rocket attacks" against Israel, apart from a general stoppage during the November Gaza ceasefire.[4] The cross-border fire killed Israeli civilians and put residents of southern Lebanon at risk from Israeli return fire, while threatening a broader escalation of the conflict.[4] Ben Menachem further argues that Hezbollah did not order the anticipated invasion of northern Israel on October 7 and that the IDF had reinforced the border by the time Nasrallah recovered from the initial surprise.[2]

Sources disagree over the extent of the pause during the Gaza ceasefire. Although several accounts describe a general stoppage in Hezbollah attacks, Globes reported that sirens for rockets and missiles fired by Hezbollah continued inside Israel at a rate of five to eight alerts per day, in contrast to the complete halt of Gaza rocket sirens during the truce.[5]

A hostage-and-prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas produced a Gaza truce beginning November 24, 2023.[6] Hezbollah was not a party to the Qatar-mediated agreement, but indicated it would also hold its fire during the initial period of the truce, even though Israel had not publicly stated whether it would refrain from targeting Hezbollah in return.[7]

On November 24, Lebanon's southern border was reported calm.[7] Sources differ modestly on the precise duration of the lull: the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center describes it as spanning November 24 through December 1, while also stating elsewhere that attacks stopped beginning November 22. The Institute for National Security Studies places the hiatus from November 24 through November 30, describing it as a six-day pause parallel to the suspension of fighting in Gaza.[6][8] These accounts conflict with a Globes report that rocket and missile sirens attributed to Hezbollah continued at a rate of five to eight per day throughout the truce, while Gaza-origin rocket sirens stopped completely.[5]

The Gaza ceasefire ended on December 1, and Hezbollah resumed attacks almost immediately.[6][8] At 16:00 that afternoon, Hezbollah said it had fired at Israeli soldiers.[9] Rockets were directed at Israeli military posts near Rosh Hanikra and Margaliot and toward Kiryat Shmona; two rockets aimed at Kiryat Shmona were intercepted by air defenses, and no injuries or damage were initially reported in that city.[10][9]

The IDF responded on multiple axes: it struck a cell operating near Zar'it, attacked a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon using aircraft and artillery, struck a cell preparing an attack near Malkia, and shelled the source of fire.[10] Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several of the day's attacks and announced that one of its members had been killed.[10] The border area had been largely calm during the preceding week of the Gaza truce, making December 1 a marked return to hostilities.[11]

On December 3, The Jerusalem Post reported that an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon struck a vehicle in the Beit Hillel area of northern Israel, wounding eleven soldiers and one civilian; physicians described the injuries as light.[11] A separate Meir Amit Center update counted 12 IDF soldiers wounded in that incident and three more wounded by mortar fire toward an IDF post in the Yiftah area overnight on December 3–4, yielding a total of 15 soldiers wounded in its overview.[12] The IDF said it responded with artillery and airstrikes on Hezbollah facilities and military targets.[12]

December 7 brought a sharp spike in attack tempo, with Hezbollah strikes recorded in the morning, around noon, and again in the afternoon.[13] An anti-tank missile struck and killed an Israeli civilian in Mattat — an attack for which Hezbollah later claimed responsibility, a claim also recorded in the U.S. State Department's terrorism report.[13][4] Attacks on that day also targeted Margaliot and the Bedouin community of Arab al-Aramshe.[13] The IDF said fighter jets struck Hezbollah infrastructure, launch posts, military posts, and military sites in Lebanon, with helicopters, tank fire, and artillery also employed.[13] The following day, December 8, sirens sounded in Ma'alot-Tarshiha for the first time since the war began.[1]

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 35 attacks between the afternoon of December 7 and the morning of December 10, employing anti-tank missiles, rockets, artillery, and Burkan rockets.[14] An armed-drone attack on an IDF base in Western Galilee on December 10 wounded six soldiers: two suffered moderate shrapnel wounds and four were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.[15]

On December 11–12, Hezbollah claimed seven attacks employing artillery, guided missiles, and heavy-warhead Burkan rockets, including a strike on the border town of Metula.[16] Hezbollah stated the Metula attack was in retaliation for Israeli operations in south Lebanon and for the killing of Hussein Ali Mansour, mayor of the Lebanese town of al-Taybeh, who was reportedly killed when an IDF shell struck his house; eight other people present on a balcony were reported uninjured.[16] Mansour's son, Abbas Mansour, eulogized his father as a "martyr on the way to Palestine."[16] The IDF said it responded with artillery and airstrikes on Hezbollah squads, firing positions, and a military site in south Lebanon.[16]

Also on December 12, a Hezbollah cell fired an anti-tank missile at Israel Electric Corporation workers repairing power lines near Moshav Dovev, killing company employee Shalom Avody and seriously wounding five others.[1]

For December 13–14, Hezbollah again claimed seven attacks using artillery, guided missiles, and a Burkan rocket; several rockets launched at Israel reportedly fell inside Lebanon instead.[17] Hezbollah reported three of its operatives from south Lebanon killed during those two days.[17] A reported airstrike on a house in Yater killed two people and wounded one and destroyed the building; the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center assessed that one of the reported dead Hezbollah operatives may have been killed in that strike.[17]

On December 16, an explosive drone attributed to Hezbollah struck near Moshav Margaliot, killing Yehezkel Azaria, a 53-year-old reservist in the Armored Corps' 8th Brigade from Petah Tikva.[1] The following day, December 17, the IDF said it struck a Hezbollah anti-tank missile squad preparing to attack near an Israeli army post in the Yir'on area and also hit rocket-launch sites after fire from Lebanon.[18] That day's reported exchanges included a projectile toward Mount Dov, rockets toward Rosh Hanikra, and rockets and missiles toward Arab al-Aramshe and Sasa; a missile hit the auditorium at Kibbutz Sasa, causing damage but no injuries.[18] The IDF described strikes by aircraft, a tank, and a drone against Hezbollah buildings, operatives, weaponry, an observation post, and a launch site.[18] Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reservists that day that if Hezbollah escalated further, Israel would respond more forcefully, while saying Israel preferred restoring security through an agreement but retained the option of force.[18]

December 20 saw Hezbollah claim responsibility for a salvo of at least eight Katyusha rockets aimed at Kiryat Shmona, saying it was responding to Israeli attacks on villages and civilian homes.[19] Five rockets were intercepted and three landed in open areas; a building was damaged and no injuries were reported.[19] The IDF reported strikes on a Hezbollah command center and other sites including military buildings, launch sites, and a weapons depot, as well as tank and artillery fire along the border.[19] Two surface-to-air missiles were also fired from Lebanon at an Israeli aircraft that day; neither connected.[19]

On December 20–21, Hezbollah claimed seven further attacks including Burkan rockets with reported 300–500-kilogram warheads aimed at the Nurit post, rockets fired at Kiryat Shmona, and incendiary rockets reportedly fired at Biranit Grove.[20] Anti-tank missiles struck the northern community of Avivim, damaging civilian property including a parked car.[21] Four rockets launched from Syria that day drew an IDF artillery response.[20]

Between December 21 and 24, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 19 attacks using anti-tank missiles, rockets, artillery, Burkan rockets, and UAVs.[22] Rocket fire at an IDF post near Shtula in the Western Galilee killed one IDF soldier and seriously wounded another.[22] Specifically, Sgt. Amit Hod Ziv, 19, of Rosh Ha'ayin, was killed on December 22 in the Shtula region by artillery fire from Lebanon, and Staff Sgt. Daniel Nachmani, 21, of Kfar Saba, died on December 24 from wounds sustained in that same exchange.[23] The IDF responded with artillery and airstrikes against Hezbollah facilities, compounds, and a military headquarters in Lebanon.[22] Hezbollah reported six of its operatives killed during December 21–23.[22]

On December 24, rockets and missiles from Lebanon targeted several northern Israeli communities.[24] An anti-tank missile hit a home in Avivim, causing significant damage but no injuries, while rockets were fired toward Keren Naftali.[24] The IDF said fighter jets struck Hezbollah military buildings, rocket launchers, and other infrastructure in what it described as "wide-scale" strikes.[24] The scale of cumulative damage to civilian communities was becoming apparent: the community manager of Kibbutz Manara counted 86 homes damaged by Hezbollah rocket and missile fire during the conflict, with some described as completely destroyed and the kibbutz largely evacuated.[24]

On December 25, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps whose rank was equivalent to brigadier general, was killed in a strike in Syria attributed to Israel.[1] Mousavi was described as one of the IRGC's veteran advisers in Syria who had accompanied Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.[1]

December 26 brought one of the most striking individual incidents of the period. An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon struck St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in the northern village of Iqrit, near Shomera, moderately wounding a civilian man in his eighties who had come to pray for Christmas.[1] As Israeli soldiers arrived to evacuate the wounded civilian, Hezbollah fired additional missiles at them; nine soldiers were wounded, one seriously and eight in good-to-moderate condition.[25][26] The IDF said it struck a Hezbollah site and the building to which the missile launcher had fled, and shelled additional launch sites after projectiles were fired toward Yiftah and Mount Dov.[25] The State Department lists what appears to be the same guided-missile attack under December 27 rather than December 26 and reports that two civilians were injured.[4]

On December 27, Hezbollah launched what the Jewish Virtual Library describes as its heaviest barrage to that point in the conflict. Hezbollah claimed a 30-rocket attack on Kiryat Shmona; local authorities reported at least 11 rockets, with four impacts causing damage to homes and infrastructure, three interceptions, and no injuries.[25] The Jewish Virtual Library records six rockets damaging residential buildings and infrastructure in the city, with three additional rockets intercepted by Iron Dome and the remainder landing in open areas.[27] Hezbollah also claimed to have fired at least 18 rockets toward a military position near Rosh Hanikra and launched three explosive-laden drones toward the Mount Dov area.[25][24]

Hezbollah said the Kiryat Shmona barrage was in response to attacks on civilian homes in Bint Jbeil and in support of Gaza.[28] An Israeli airstrike on a home in Bint Jbeil on December 26 had killed three people, including Ali Bazzi, whom Hezbollah identified as one of its fighters; an Australian official confirmed that two of those killed, Ibrahim Bazzi and Shorouk Hammoud, were Australian citizens.[24][28] By December 27, a source quoted by Haaretz and relayed by the Jewish Virtual Library said Hezbollah had fired more than 2,500 missiles and mortar shells since October 8, calling the sustained fire "nothing less than a declaration of war" and noting that Israel had consciously refrained from a full-scale retaliatory response.[29]

On December 28, Hezbollah directed rockets and anti-tank missiles at communities across the northern Galilee, and a drone triggered air-raid sirens in the Krayot area north of Haifa before being intercepted by air defenses.[30] The IDF reported that many launches originated from Ayta ash Shab and Ramyeh in southern Lebanon, and said aircraft, tanks, and artillery struck Hezbollah infrastructure there, including a military compound and squads preparing to launch anti-tank missiles.[30]

Between December 28 and 31, Hezbollah claimed 19 attacks using anti-tank missiles, rockets, artillery, and UAVs against IDF positions, troop concentrations, and civilian targets.[31] The IDF stated that 80 percent of Hezbollah launches on December 29 fell inside Lebanese territory rather than crossing the border.[8] Footage published by Hezbollah on December 30 showed an anti-tank missile hitting surveillance equipment at Dovev farm and another missile striking a communications post at the Tsurit outpost.[31] An Israeli strike in Bint Jbeil on December 30 killed Ali Ahmed Saad, known as Jibril, whom Hezbollah identified as one of its fighters.[25]

December 31 saw the tempo of Hezbollah attacks decline somewhat: Hezbollah claimed two anti-tank missile and rocket attacks, both around 3 p.m.[32] Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah buildings and sites in Ramyeh, and that evening IDF tanks and helicopter gunships attacked three squads operating in Lebanon.[32] A Times of Israel tally at the close of December 31 put the cumulative toll since October 8 at four Israeli civilians and nine Israeli soldiers killed in the border skirmishes, while Hezbollah had publicly named 133 of its members killed in Israeli strikes; the tally also included deaths among other armed-group members, at least one Lebanese soldier, and civilians in Lebanon.[25]

On January 1, 2024, several projectiles fired by Hezbollah at the Adamit area lightly wounded five Israeli reservists.[33] The IDF responded with strikes on Hezbollah sites, rocket-launch positions, and other infrastructure across southern Lebanon, including targeting a cell near Houla.[33] Israeli air defenses shot down a suspected drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, and the IDF struck a Hezbollah cell that it said was preparing to launch additional drones, including an attempted launch from Maroun el-Ras.[33] Hezbollah said three of its operatives were killed in Israeli strikes that day.[33]

The January 1 exchanges did not end fighting on the northern front. On January 2, Globes reported Israeli airstrikes from the previous night against Syrian army infrastructure in response to rockets targeting the Golan Heights and against Hezbollah infrastructure near Yaroun in Lebanon.[34] That morning, two anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon struck a building in Shlomi; no one was injured, property damage was described as slight, and IDF artillery fired at the missile source.[34]

Several factual details in the available reporting rest on attributed claims or carry inconsistencies across sources. The precise timing and extent of Hezbollah's pause during the Gaza truce are disputed: accounts give the lull as November 22–December 1, November 24–December 1, or November 24–30, while Globes reported that Hezbollah-related alerts continued during the truce.[6][8] The cited State Department list is explicitly described as only a small fraction of all incidents, meaning the dated attacks documented here should not be treated as a complete chronology.[4]

Reporting on the church attack differs on both date and casualties. FDD reported two civilians wounded on December 26, while the Jewish Virtual Library described one civilian wounded before nine soldiers were hit by additional fire.[35][26] The State Department dated a guided-missile attack near Shomera to December 27 and reported two civilians injured.[4]

Casualty totals also vary by scope and methodology. A December 31 liveblog counted four Israeli civilians and nine soldiers killed in the border skirmishes, whereas the State Department's annual summary reported nine IDF soldiers and six civilians killed in Israel during the 2023 clashes and about 200 Hezbollah fighters killed by IDF strikes.[25][36] The annual figures should not be treated as specific to the November 24–January 1 period.

Hezbollah's stated justifications for attacks — including claimed retaliation for civilian deaths and attacks on homes in Lebanon — are attributed claims by the organization rather than independently established facts. Similarly, IDF descriptions of Hezbollah activity in civilian areas and Hezbollah's accounts of its operations are conflicting party claims that should be read as such. The attribution to Israel of the December 25 strike that killed IRGC commander Mousavi was reported as an attributed claim; Israel did not publicly acknowledge responsibility.[1]