2026 Lebanon war

Since 2 March 2026, there has been an ongoing war in Lebanon between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, with Israel invading parts of Lebanon. It is a resumption of major fighting in the Hezbollah–Israel conflict, and part of the wider conflict in the Middle East. The war has precipitated a humanitarian crisis, resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 people from Israeli strikes in Lebanon, and seen the forced displacement of over 1 million.

Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8, 2023, one day after Hamas' October 7 attacks at the start of the Gaza war, which led to the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. After an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement in November 2024, Israel still conducted airstrikes, saying that Hezbollah breached ceasefire conditions. Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel on 2 March 2026, in response to Israel and the United States launching a war against Iran, Hezbollah's main backer, and assassinating its supreme leader. Israel resumed airstrikes across Lebanon on a larger scale and, on March 16, began ground operations in southern Lebanon. The main bridges on the Litani River were blown up by Israel to cut off the south from the rest of Lebanon; Bint Jbeil became a site of intense ground combat. Israel announced it would demolish Lebanese border villages and occupy Lebanon up to the Litani. Lebanon moved to ban Hezbollah's military activities; it also condemned Israeli attacks on Lebanese civilians. Iran called for an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon as a condition for a ceasefire in the wider war.

After a ceasefire halted the Iran war, Hezbollah halted its attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire did not apply to Lebanon, contradicting Iran and the Pakistani mediator, and launched the largest airstrikes of the war. On 16 April, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, later extended more than once. On 3 June, Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement, facilitated by the US. On 4 June, Hezbollah rejected the Lebanon-Israel deal and demanded a full ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Speaker of Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri suggested that Hezbollah and Israel both withdraw from south of the Litani.

On 15 June, the Islamabad Memorandum was agreed between the US and Iran, including a ceasefire in Lebanon. Israeli forces remained in occupied areas of Lebanon. On 19 June, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an Israel-Hezbollah truce entering into force at 4 p.m. local time. On 26 June, US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced a framework deal between Israel and Lebanon for "lasting peace and security". The agreement includes full disarmament of Hezbollah; it was rejected by Hezbollah. On 30 June, Iran announced that it, along with the US and Lebanon, has reached an agreement to establish a committee to oversee the conclusion of the war. On 15 July, the US State Department reported that Israel has agreed to withdraw from pilot zones in southern Lebanon. On 20 July, the US announced that Israel handed over sections of the buffer zone occupied by it in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese government as per its U.S.-mediated deal with Beirut. Lebanon's army began deploying in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on July 21, after an Israeli withdrawal in line with the agreement.