Israel Declares War on Hezbollah as Ceasefire Lapses and Airstrikes Hit Beirut

Airstrikes hammered Beirut’s southern suburbs and villages across southern Lebanon on Sunday after Israel said it had launched an “offensive campaign” against Hezbollah, declaring itself at war with the Iran‑backed group just hours after a fragile ceasefire formally expired and Hezbollah fired missiles and drones into northern Israel.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 31 people were killed and 149 wounded in the first wave of strikes, which hit densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut’s Dahieh district and several communities in the south. Videos posted on social media and broadcast by local television showed residents rushing from damaged apartment blocks, carrying children and suitcases as smoke rose from multiple impact sites.

On the other side of the border, sirens sounded in northern Israel overnight as Hezbollah announced it had launched what it called “a barrage of advanced missiles and a swarm of drones” from southern Lebanon toward a missile‑defense facility near Haifa. The group said the attack was “in revenge for the pure blood” of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed two days earlier in U.S.–Israeli airstrikes on Tehran.

Israel said its air defenses intercepted most of the incoming fire and reported no immediate fatalities, but within hours senior officials said the country was now “at war” with Hezbollah and would respond forcefully.

“We have moved from defense to an offensive campaign against Hezbollah,” Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, said in a televised briefing. “This will be prolonged combat, and the IDF is prepared for an all‑fronts scenario.”

The sudden escalation marked the collapse of a two‑year ceasefire that, despite repeated violations, had largely prevented a return to full‑scale war on Israel’s northern border. It also pulled crisis‑hit Lebanon directly into a widening confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran — at a moment when Lebanon’s own government is publicly distancing itself from Hezbollah’s actions.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the overnight rocket and drone launches as “an irresponsible and suspicious act” that “endangers Lebanon and gives Israel an excuse to continue its aggression.” In a statement from Beirut, he said his cabinet had decided to “ban any military activity by non‑state actors” and insisted that “Lebanon must have a single law and a single army.”

It was one of the clearest public challenges by a Lebanese leader to Hezbollah’s military autonomy since the group emerged as a dominant force during the country’s civil war and the subsequent conflicts with Israel.

Ceasefire expires, fighting resumes

The hostilities erupted just as the 2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement reached its formal expiration date.

That deal, brokered by the United States and other mediators, took effect at 2 a.m. GMT on Nov. 27, 2024, after more than a year of cross‑border clashes and an Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon. It required Israeli forces to withdraw south of the Blue Line — the boundary recognized by the United Nations — within 60 days and called for Hezbollah and other armed groups to pull their fighters and weapons north of the Litani River.

Lebanon was to deploy about 5,000 army troops in the south, backed by the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, and prevent attacks on Israel from its territory. A monitoring panel involving five countries and a tripartite mechanism with Israel, Lebanon and UNIFIL were tasked with handling complaints.

On paper, the agreement aimed to turn the 2006 U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 into a more enforceable framework. In practice, both sides accused the other of breaking the rules almost from day one.

Lebanese officials and U.N. reports documented thousands of alleged Israeli violations, including frequent overflights by warplanes and drones and repeated airstrikes on what Israel described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley, Nabatiyeh and the outskirts of Beirut. By late 2025, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 330 people — including at least 127 civilians — had been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce took effect, with around 945 wounded.

Israel, for its part, said Hezbollah had not fully withdrawn north of the Litani and continued to operate in the south, sometimes firing anti‑tank missiles or small rocket salvos. Israeli officials argued many of their own actions were defensive or took place outside the defined ceasefire zone. The agreement explicitly stated it did not preclude the right of self‑defense, a clause both sides used to justify continued operations.

Still, large‑scale rocket fire from Lebanon into Israel all but stopped, and the northern front remained relatively contained even as fighting raged in Gaza and elsewhere. Sunday’s barrages were the first major Hezbollah missile attacks on Israeli territory since the ceasefire came into force.

Lebanon caught between war and internal rift

The new confrontation comes as Lebanon struggles with one of the worst economic crises in its modern history. The currency has collapsed, banks have imposed de facto capital controls, and public services have deteriorated. Only days before the latest fighting, Salam sought to reassure anxious citizens that the country had at least two months’ worth of fuel and medication, urging them not to panic as tensions with Iran escalated.

Now, residents in the south and in Beirut’s southern suburbs are again on the move. Footage from local broadcasters showed cars, trucks and motorcycles packed with belongings heading north, while schools, government buildings and mosques opened their doors as makeshift shelters.

“We have lived through this too many times,” said Hanan, a mother of three from the town of Nabatiyeh, who gave only her first name for security reasons. “We don’t know if this is a few days or another 2006. But we know we cannot count on anyone to protect us.”

Hezbollah, which maintains a powerful bloc in parliament and a well‑armed militia, has long presented itself as the spearhead of “resistance” against Israel. Its critics inside Lebanon say the group’s decisions drag the country into repeated wars without the consent of the state or the broader public.

Salam, a former diplomat and judge at the International Court of Justice, has been explicit since taking office that “we will not accept anyone dragging the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity.” His announcement Sunday of a formal ban on Hezbollah’s military operations may have limited practical effect — the Lebanese Armed Forces are weaker than the militia and have avoided direct confrontation with it in the past — but underscores a widening political rift.

Analysts warned the move could inflame internal tensions if interpreted by Hezbollah and its supporters as an attempt to disarm the group under fire.

Israel’s northern campaign amid war with Iran

For Israel, the decision to frame the confrontation as a full‑scale war with Hezbollah comes as it is already engaged in joint operations with the United States against Iran.

On Friday, U.S. and Israeli forces struck multiple sites across Iran in what Washington described as a limited campaign to degrade Tehran’s missile, drone and nuclear capabilities. Iranian officials said Khamenei was killed in one of those strikes, a development that sent shock waves through the region and prompted vows of retaliation from Iran and its allies.

Hezbollah’s leadership explicitly linked its decision to attack Israel on Sunday to those events, saying its salvo was part of “the response of the axis” to the killing of the “Leader.” Israeli officials, in turn, said Hezbollah was “operating on behalf of the Iranian regime” and warned that any attempt by Tehran’s allies to open new fronts would be met with decisive force.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hezbollah would “pay a heavy price” and called the group’s secretary‑general, Naim Qassem, a “marked target,” signaling that senior commanders may be in Israel’s sights. Lebanese media reported that Israeli strikes also targeted figures described as Hezbollah intelligence officials, though details could not be independently confirmed.

The military escalation coincides with growing concerns over global energy supplies and shipping lanes. Missile and drone attacks linked to the Iran conflict have already disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which a significant share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Shipping trackers and analysts say tanker movements have dropped sharply in recent days, pushing up crude prices and raising fears of further spikes if the crisis widens.

Uncertain path ahead

As night fell on Sunday, Israeli jets continued to circle over Lebanon, and sporadic rocket fire was reported from Lebanese territory toward northern Israel. The IDF said it had ordered residents of roughly 50 villages and towns in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate and had mobilized tens of thousands of reservists, fueling speculation about the possibility of a ground operation.

Diplomats in New York and European capitals called for restraint and urged both sides to return to some form of ceasefire, but there was no immediate sign of a halt in the fighting. At the United Nations, Secretary‑General António Guterres has already warned that the earlier strikes on Iran and the retaliatory attacks “undermine international peace and security,” language that could now extend to the Lebanon front as well.

For many in Lebanon and northern Israel, the debate over legal justifications and regional strategy feels distant from the immediate reality of sirens, shattered glass and packed bags.

“We woke up thinking the ceasefire was over but maybe nothing would change,” said Elias, a shop owner from Haifa, who asked that his last name not be used. “By the afternoon, we were talking about war again.”

Whether the latest confrontation remains a sharp but limited exchange or hardens into another prolonged war on Israel’s northern front will depend on decisions in Beirut, Jerusalem, Tehran and Washington in the coming days. For now, civilians on both sides of the border are again bearing the brunt of a conflict that has outlasted successive ceasefires and shows few signs of nearing a final settlement.