Sporadic fighting had previously escalated on October 8, 2023 – the day after an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen sparked the war in Gaza.
Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions to show solidarity with the Palestinians.
Since then, the group has launched more than 8,000 rockets into northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The country has also fired anti-tank missiles at armored vehicles and attacked military targets with explosive drones.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) retaliated with air, tank and artillery strikes against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
More than 70,000 people have been displaced by fighting in northern Israel, while more than 110,000 people have been displaced on the Lebanese side of the border.
Tensions increased later The missile attack killed 12 children and young people in the Golan Heights on July 27. Israel said Hezbollah carried out the attack but the group denied involvement.
On July 30, the IDF announced that it killed senior Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr during an airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The next day, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran. Israel neither confirmed nor denied any involvement.
On August 25, The IDF said its jets attacked thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchersafter determining that the group was preparing to attack in revenge for the killing of Fuad Shukr.
Hezbollah said it was still able to launch hundreds of missiles and drones into Israel. However, it does not target major cities in Israel and does not deploy more sophisticated weapons.
There was another significant escalation on September 17 and 18, when 39 people were killed and thousands injured following the attacks. Pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded.
Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the attacks and said they had “crossed all red lines”. Israel neither confirmed nor denied being behind the explosion.
Hezbollah suffered another defeat on September 20, when at least 16 members, including top military commanders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi, were killed. killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The dead also included children and other civilians.
Two days later, the group sought to avenge Aqil’s death by firing long-range weapons deep inside Israel, sending thousands of Israelis to bomb shelters and destroying homes near the city of Haifa.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 613 people had been killed as of September 20 – before the IDF carried out hundreds of airstrikes as part of a new “offensive campaign”. Most of those killed since October are believed to be Hezbollah fighters, but at least 147 were civilians, according to the ministry.
In Israel, authorities said at least 49 people were killed as a direct result of the attacks.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued to attack across the border in recent days, while Israel has stepped up its attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s goal is to “defeat Hezbollah” and brought 70,000 displaced Israelis home to the north.
The airstrike on Beirut on September 27 killed Nasrallah also killed at least six people and injured 91 people.
Nearly 800 people have been killed and about 90,000 displaced since September 23, officials said.
