2023 Israel–Lebanon shellings | |||||||
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Part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and the Israeli–Lebanese conflict | |||||||
Israel−Lebanon border | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ziyad al-Nakhalah | Yoav Gallant | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 Israeli civilians injured |
On 6 April 2023, dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, wounding 3 Israeli civilians. [2] The Israel government alleged that the rockets were fired by Palestinian factions Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with Hezbollah's approval. [3]
In the morning of 7 April, the Israeli Air Force struck targets in Tyre, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip in retaliation. [4]
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the situation as "extremely serious" and urged restraint. It said UNIFIL chief Aroldo Lazaro was in contact with authorities on both sides. [5]
The attacks were the largest escalation between Lebanon and Israel since the 2006 Lebanon War and until the 2023 Israel–Lebanon border clashes. [3]
Palestinian refugees have had a long presence in Southern Lebanon, with it being often used as a center to launch rockets into northern Israel. A state of heightened tension existed between Israel and Hamas following the 2023 Al-Aqsa clashes. [3]
On 6 April 2023, dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, wounding 3 Israeli civilians. [2] The Israel Defense Forces has said that it has intercepted 25 rockets fired from Lebanon. [2] Warning sirens had sounded in the town of Shlomi and in Betzet in northern Israel. [2] According to Israel, the rockets were fired by Palestinian factions Hamas and PIJ with Hezbollah's approval. [3]
On the early morning of 7 April, the Israeli Air Force retaliated by striking targets in Tyre, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip. [6]
In a written statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the situation as "extremely serious" and urged restraint. It said UNIFIL chief Aroldo Lazaro was in contact with authorities on both sides. [7] The attacks are the largest escalation between the two countries since the 2006 Lebanon War. [3]
Hezbollah was alleged by Israel to have given permission for Hamas to fire the rockets, [8] however, Israeli airstrikes did not target Hezbollah positions and Hezbollah has insisted that it will not get involved in "local attacks" by Israel in Lebanon. [9]
The Blue Line is a demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights. It was published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. It has been described as: "temporary" and "not a border, but a “line of withdrawal”. It is the subject of an ongoing border dispute between Israel, Lebabon, and Hezbollah.
Reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War came from states on all continents, supranational bodies, individuals and international NGOs, as well as political lobbyists in the United States.
The ceasefire attempts during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict started immediately, with Lebanon calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire already the day after the start of the hostilities. Israel, however, strongly backed by the United States and the United Kingdom, insisted that there could be no ceasefire until Hezbollah's militia had been disarmed or removed from southern Lebanon. The United Nations Security Council held meetings throughout the conflict but failed to agree on a ceasefire resolution.
International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrike, which saw the greatest loss of civilian life in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, twenty eight deaths with thirteen missing, largely involved the condemnation of Israel by many countries around the globe, bringing about a supposed 48 hours cessation of air operations by the Israeli Air Force. Bombings resumed only a few hours after the start of the cessation of air operations.
The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict beginning in 1948, when 200,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes, settling in the Gaza Strip as refugees. Since then, Israel has fought 15 wars against the Gaza Strip. The number of Gazans reportedly killed in the most recent 2023 war — 27,000 — is higher than the death toll of all other wars of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched tens of thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, have been described as terrorism by the United Nations, the European Union, and Israeli officials, and are defined as war crimes by human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The international community considers indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets to be illegal under international law. Palestinian militants say rocket attacks are a response to Israel's blockade of Gaza, but the Palestinian Authority has condemned them and says rocket attacks undermine peace.
The 2010 Israel–Lebanon border clash occurred on August 3, 2010, between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), after an IDF team attempted to cut down a tree on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, near the Israeli kibbutz of Misgav Am and the Lebanese village of Odaisseh. A high-ranking IDF officer was killed and another wounded when LAF snipers opened fire on an Israeli observation post after receiving authorization from senior Lebanese commanders. IDF soldiers returned fire and responded with artillery shelling and airstrikes on Lebanese positions, killing two Lebanese soldiers and Al Akhbar correspondent Assaf Abu Rahhal, as well as wounding five soldiers and one journalist. This was the most serious escalation on the border since the 2006 Lebanon War.
The Shaar HaNegev school bus attack was a missile attack on 7 April 2011, in which Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Kornet laser-guided anti-tank missile over the border at an Israeli school bus, killing a schoolboy.
On August 18, 2011, a series of cross-border attacks with parallel attacks and mutual cover was carried out in southern Israel on Highway 12 near the Egyptian border by a squad of presumably twelve militants in four groups. The attacks occurred after Israel's interior security service Shin Bet had warned of an attack by militants in the region and Israeli troops had been stationed in the area. The militants first opened fire at an Egged No. 392 bus as it was traveling on Highway 12 in the Negev near Eilat. Several minutes later, a bomb was detonated next to an Israeli army patrol along Israel's border with Egypt. In a third attack, an anti-tank missile hit a private vehicle, killing four civilians. Eight Israelis – six civilians, one Yamam special unit police sniper and one Golani Brigade soldier—were killed in the multiple-stage attack. The Israel Defense Forces reported eight attackers killed, and Egyptian security forces reported killing another two.
Reactions to the 2014 Gaza War came from around the world.
Reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War coming from the European countries.
The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
Events in the year 2023 in Lebanon.
A series of violent confrontations occurred between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem in April 2023. After the evening Ramadan prayer, Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque, prompted by reports that Jews planned to sacrifice a goat at the site. In response, Israeli police raided the mosque in riot gear, injuring 50 people and arresting at least 400.
Following clashes at Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, many rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, Southern Lebanon, and Syria by Palestinian militants. This led to the bombing of these areas by the IDF.
On 7 October 2023, a large escalation of the Gaza–Israel conflict began with a coordinated offensive by multiple Palestinian militant groups against Israel. A number of countries, including many of Israel's Western allies, such as the United States and a number of European countries, condemned the attacks by Hamas, expressed solidarity for Israel and stated that Israel has a right to defend itself from armed attacks, while countries of the Muslim world have expressed support for the Palestinians, blaming the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as being the root cause for the escalation of violence. The events prompted several world leaders to announce their intention to visit Israel, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
On 8 October 2023, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, taking advantage of the Israel–Hamas war, fired guided rockets and artillery shells at Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms. Israel retaliated by launching drone strikes and artillery shells at Hezbollah positions near Lebanon's boundary with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The outbreak of the conflict had followed Hezbollah's declaration of support and praise for the Hamas attack on Israel, which took place on 7 October. Clashes subsequently escalated to reach other parts of the Israel-Lebanon border and onto Syria and the occupied Golan Heights. It is currently the largest escalation of the Hezbollah–Israel conflict to have occurred since the 2006 Lebanon War.
This is a chronological timeline of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict since October 2023.