Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon and Hezbollah
On 23 September 2024, Israel began a series of airstrikes in Lebanon as part of the ongoing Israel–Hezbollah conflict with an operation it code-named Northern Arrows. Since then, Israel's attacks have killed over 800 people, injured more than 5,000, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians. The attacks are the deadliest in Lebanon since the end of the Lebanese Civil War, and began five days after Israel performed a deadly pager and walkie-talkie attack on devices intended for Hezbollah members, and three days after Israel performed an airstrike on an apartment complex in Beirut which killed Redwan Force commander Ibrahim Aqil as well as 54 others.
The deadliest day was 23 September, when Israeli attacks killed 558 people, including 50 children and 94 women. Additionally, Israel hit 14 ambulances and fire engines, killing four emergency responders and wounding 16 other medics. The attacks caused chaos among Lebanese civilians, forming traffic jams as they attempted to flee. Hundreds of schools were converted into shelters, where NGOs and volunteers worked to meet the needs of the displaced, as the Lebanese government struggled to provide adequate support. More than 50,000 people fled from Lebanon to Syria.
A US Department of State official said the US did not see Israel's reported strategy of "escalate to de-escalate" as being effective. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called the attacks a "war of extermination" and accused Israel of trying to destroy Lebanese villages and towns. Governments and human rights organizations have called for de-escalation. Israel has rejected these calls and has said it will continue the attacks.
On 27 September 2024, Israel air strikes assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, who was the Secretary-General of Hezbollah. On 1 October, Israel invaded Lebanon. On 27 November, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon went into effect, although some attacks continue.
Background.
A day after Hamas launched its 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel and Israel began its bombing of Gaza, Hezbollah joined the conflict in "solidarity with the Palestinians" by firing on Israeli military outposts in Shebaa Farms, and Golan Heights — both territories under Israeli occupation. Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have been involved in cross-border military exchanges that have displaced entire communities in Israel and Lebanon, with significant damage to buildings and land along the border. From 7 October 2023 to 20 September 2024, there were 10,200 cross border attacks, of which Israel launched 8,300. Over 96,000 people in Israel and approximately 500,000 in Lebanon have been displaced. As of 24 August 2024, there were 564 confirmed deaths in Lebanon, including 133 civilians. Israel and Hezbollah have maintained their attacks at a level that causes harm without escalating into a full-scale war.
Hezbollah has stated it will continue attacking Israel until Israel halts its operations in Gaza, where over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. Israel demanded that Hezbollah implement UNSC 1701 and withdraw its forces north of the Litani River. Both Israel and Hezbollah have outstanding obligations under UNSCR 1701. Diplomatic efforts, led by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein and France, have so far been unsuccessful in resolving the conflict. Late on 16 September 2024, the Security Cabinet of Israel established a new Israel-Hamas war objective: the safe return to the north of residents displaced by the cross-border conflict with Lebanon. This goal was added to the two existing objectives: dismantling Hamas and securing the release of hostages taken during the 7 October attacks.
On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheld pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in a coordinated series of attacks. The explosions killed 42 people and injured at least 3,500, including civilians. Health Minister Firass Abiad said the vast majority of those treated in emergency rooms were in civilian clothing and their Hezbollah affiliation was unclear. Qassim Qassir, a Lebanese expert on Hezbollah, said the attacks mostly struck civilian workers, leaving its military wing largely unaffected. Reuters reported that, according to an unnamed Hezbollah official, 1,500 Hezbollah fighters were taken out of action due to injuries, with many blinded or having lost their hands. Despite Israel denying involvement with the attack, unnamed Israeli sources told Reuters and other media that it was orchestrated by Israel's intelligence service (Mossad) and military. In response, Hezbollah, who described the attack as a possible declaration of war by Israel, launched a rocket attack on northern Israel a few days later. On 20 September 2024, tensions further rose after Ibrahim Aqil was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut, along with other senior commanders from the unit. After advising Lebanese citizens to evacuate, Israel began airstrikes on 23 September.
Attacks.
Lebanon.
23 September in Lebanon.
The IDF said it had attacked 1,300 Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley. One attack hit as far as Byblos, north of Beirut. The first wave of attacks began at 06:30 EEST and hit hospitals and ambulances according to Firass Abiad, the Lebanese Health Minister. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 83 civilians were confirmed killed by Israeli attacks, and 93,881 civilians fled their homes. According to the OCHA, Israeli attacks have damaged civilian infrastructure such as water, electricity, and telecommunications installations. The first wave of attacks focused mostly on At Tiri, Bint Jbeil, and Hanine followed by shelling on Aita al-Shaab, Aitaroun, and Mahrouna and targeted attacks on Shmustar, Taraya, Bodai, Khiyam, the Mahmoudiyah area, and Harbata, Hermel, and other areas.
Shortly before noon, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a second wave of attacks, targeting the areas previously struck in addition to bombardment of Hula, Majdel Selm, Talloussa, Sawwaneh, Taybeh, Deir Qanoun En Nahr, Maaroub amongst other areas. Six people were injured when three missiles struck the Beir al-Abed neighborhood of Beirut. The attack targeted Ali Karaki, whom Israel says is the commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, but Hezbollah said that he survived.
Israel reportedly launched five attacks in Qaliya, in the western Beqaa Valley, one of which hit a residential home, killing a father and his daughter. Ten people were also killed in Taraya, near Baalbek. Sixteen attacks hit the town of Khodor, killing 14 people. An entire family was killed in Bodai. The Al-Qassam Brigades reported the death of their field commander Hussein al-Nader during the attacks in Lebanon.
Israeli attacks continued into the night between 23 and 24 September, but were mostly focused on the Beqaa Valley.
24 September in Lebanon.
On 24 September, the IDF carried out an attack on a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, killing Ibrahim Qubaisi, head of Hezbollah's Missile Corps. Three floors of the building it hit were destroyed, resulting in the deaths of five others, including two United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff, and injuring fifteen. Bombardments also struck Al-Nabi Shayth, Bodai, Jieh, and a region between Shaath and Hermel in the Beqaa Valley. Additionally, an attack targeted warehouses in Duris. In Shaath alone, 12 individuals were killed, including ten members of the Hajj Hassan family.
The IDF said it struck Hezbollah launchers used to launch missiles targeting Megiddo Airfield. It also attacked dozens of other Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. At least 13 people were killed in other attacks in southern Lebanon.
25 September in Lebanon.
On 25 September, the IAF said it had struck a total of 280 Hezbollah sites across Lebanon, including weapons depots and rocket launchers. The Lebanese Health Ministry announced that at least 51 people were killed in the attacks. Four people were killed and 18 were injured after the IDF targeted Maaysara in the Christian majority district of Keserwan for the first time since the beginning of the war. Israeli attacks also targeted villages and towns around Tyre, while rockets were launched at Israel and intercepted by the Iron Dome. An Israeli airstrike in Maaysrah, Keserwan District killed three people and wounded nine others. An Israeli attack in Ain Qana killed three people and injured 13 others.
Al-Manar TV cameraman Kamel Karaki was killed in an Israeli attack on Qantara. An Israeli airstrike in Joun killed four people and injured seven others, while an attack in Bint Jbeil killed four. Two people were killed and 27 injured during the bombardment of Tebnine, southern Lebanon. An Israeli airstrike in Tebnine killed three people and injured 20 others. Several Israeli attacks in Baalbek-Hermel Governorate killed at least seven people and injured 38 others. An Israeli attack in Maroun al-Ras injured two people, while another in Ainata injured one person. An Israeli attack on a house in Byblos killed one person. IDF chief Herzi Halevi said that the attacks in Lebanon were laying the foundation for a ground offensive. An explosion in Tyre caused a nearby building to collapse, killing a French citizen. At least three people were killed in Israeli attacks on Maaysrah, including two woman. Hezbollah said its air defense units forced two Israeli aircraft to return from Lebanese airspace and that it targeted Kiryat Motzkin with rockets and Fadi-1 missiles.
The IDF said it destroyed sixty Hezbollah intelligence directorate targets.
26 September in Lebanon.
The IDF said that it struck 220 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry announced that 92 people were killed and 153 others were injured in the attacks.
An Israeli attack in Aita al-Shaab killed three people. An Israeli attack in Qana killed a Syrian national and injured another person. The IDF said that it struck about 75 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. An Israeli attack on a three-storey building in Younine killed at least 23 Syrians, a majority of them women or children, and injured eight others. Three people were killed and 17 others were injured in Israeli attacks around Tyre area. An Israeli attack destroyed a bridge in the Lebanese side of the Lebanon-Syria border in the northeastern Hermel region and injured five people. The IDF said that it destroyed infrastructure used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons from Syria. An Israeli attack in Dahieh, targeting Mohammed Srur, the commander of Hezbollah's drone unit, killed two people including the target and injured at least 15 others including a woman.
27 September in Lebanon.
Israeli bombardment killed an elderly French woman in southern Lebanon. An Israeli airstrike on a Syrian military position near Kfeir Yabous, on the border with Lebanon, killed five soldiers and injured one. An Israeli airstrike in Shebaa killed nine members of a family, including four children.
Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut, with the IDF saying that it struck Hezbollah's central headquarters. At least four residential buildings were destroyed. Six people died and at least 100 were injured. Hassan Nasrallah, who was the secretary-general of Hezbollah, was killed in the attack.
The IDF employed several tons of munitions, including US-made bunker buster bombs.
Around 11 p.m. UTC+3 (local time), Israel issued evacuation warnings via social media, alerting residents in and near three building complexes in the southern suburbs of Beirut that they are located in an area of Hezbollah targets.
28 September in Lebanon.
The IDF said that it struck over 140 Hezbollah targets. The Lebanese Health Ministry announced that 33 people were killed and 195 others were injured in the attacks.
At around 12 midnight UTC+3 (local time), the IDF struck three buildings allegedly storing Hezbollah anti-ship missiles in Dahieh. At around 3 a.m., Israel issued evacuation warnings via social media for two locations in Bourj el-Barajneh and one in Hadath. At around 4 a.m., the IDF began bombing Bourj el-Barajneh. The IDF also posted on Twitter that it attacked Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. Some people took refuge in Ramlet al-Baida, a public beach in Beirut.
The IDF said that it killed the commander of Hezbollah's rocket unit, Muhammad Ali Ismail, his deputy and other commanders and militants in an attack in southern Lebanon. The IAF said that it struck "dozens" of Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley and other places in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese National News Agency reported that IDF attacks struck civil defense centres and a medical clinic in Taybeh and Deir Siriane, killing 11 medical staff and injuring 10 others.
Lebanese Civil Defense said that one of its staff was killed and another staff member was seriously injured in southern Beirut as a result of an Israeli strike. At around 5:30 p.m. UTC+3, Israel started new attacks on Dahieh. The IDF said that it struck over 140 Hezbollah targets since the evening of 27 September. The IDF carried out a targeted strike in Dahieh killing Hassan Khalil Yassin, the commander of Hezbollah's intelligence division and a senior member