Smoke rising from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, on May 3, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Fadi Al Zein (left), who lost both his homes in Israeli strikes in his village of Khiam and in Dahiyeh, searches through the rubble of his heavily damaged home as a child stands nearby, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon, on April 25, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander on Wednesday (April 1, 2026), two sources told AFP, in a Beirut strike that Lebanon’s Health Ministry said killed seven people.

A Lebanese security source and a Hezbollah source told AFP that the commander, Youssef Hashem, had been responsible for the group’s military affairs in Iraq and was in a meeting inside a tent when Israel struck.

Israel’s military said Hashem was Hezbollah’s commander for its south Lebanon front.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war in early March when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel to avenge a U.S.-Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive.

A source close to Hezbollah said Hashem is “the highest-ranking official to be targeted since the start of the war”.

Another Hezbollah member, Mohammad Baqir al-Nabulsi, was also killed in the strike on the Beirut area of Jnah, the group said.

‘Sleeping in the open’

Several large blasts were heard across the city on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) and a column of smoke was seen rising from Jnah, which is home to apartment buildings, cafes and shops.

Hassan Jalwan, who lives nearby, told AFP he heard “big explosions” overnight.

“Nobody knows what’s happening,” he said, adding that “displaced people have been sleeping in the open” across the area.

Lebanese authorities say the war has forced more than one million people from their homes.

An earlier strike on a car in Khaldeh, just south of the capital, late on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) killed two more people and wounded three, the health ministry said.

An AFP correspondent there saw a charred vehicle and paramedics taking a wounded person away on a stretcher.

Lebanese state media also reported a strike early on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) on the Hadath district near Beirut’s southern suburbs, which has largely emptied of residents following repeated Israeli strikes.

State media said Israeli artillery and airstrikes also hit Lebanon’s south and east.

Army repositions

In the south near the border, Israel has said it intends to reoccupy a swathe of Lebanon to create what officials have called a buffer zone to push back Hezbollah. Israel already occupied southern Lebanon for around two decades until 2000.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday (March 31) that “all the houses in the villages adjacent to the border in Lebanon will be demolished”.

Mr. Katz’s Lebanese counterpart Michel Menassa decried those plans, while Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced what he called an “illegal invasion”.

The Lebanese army announced on Wednesday (April 1) “a repositioning and redeployment operation” in the south “as a result of the escalation of the Israeli aggression”.

A Lebanese military source told AFP that the army had withdrawn from some southern towns but remained in others.

“Where there is an Israeli incursion or advance, we evacuate,” the source said. “Because… there is a possibility of a direct targeting of the Lebanese army… and even if there is no direct targeting, there is a risk the army could be encircled,” the source added.

The source said the Israelis had advanced up to 10 km in some places.

Hezbollah early on Wednesday (April 1) claimed cross-border attacks against Israel and said its fighters were engaged in “fierce clashes” with soldiers in the Lebanese town of Shamaa, around five kilometres (three miles) from the border. It also said it was behind rocket fire targeting a group of Israeli soldiers in another area.

Late on Tuesday night (March 31), air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel’s Galilee region, according to the Israeli military’s Home Front Command, hours after what Israeli media said was a barrage of more than 40 rockets fired by Hezbollah.

Israel’s military has reported several casualties among its ranks in recent days in south Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities say the war has so far killed more than 1,300 people.

Published – April 01, 2026 11:33 pm IST

An Israeli strike on the village of Kfar Hatta, in southern Lebanon on January 5, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

U.S. Envoy Tom Barrack on Monday (August 18, 2025) called on Israel to honour commitments under a ceasefire that ended its war with Hezbollah, after the Lebanese government launched a process to disarm the militant group.

Under the November truce, which ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group was to withdraw its fighters from near the Israeli border and weapons were to come under the control of the Lebanese state.

Israel was to withdraw its troops from the country but has kept them at five border points it deems strategic and has continued to strike Lebanon, threatening to do so until Hezbollah has been disarmed.

“There’s always a step-by-step approach but I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They’ve taken the first step. Now what we need is Israel to comply,” Barrack said following a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

“We’re all moving in the right direction,” he said after meeting parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire and its troop withdrawal was “the gateway to stability in Lebanon”, a statement said.

‘Progress’

Asked by reporters whether he expected to see Israel fully withdraw from Lebanese territory and stop its violations, Barrack said that “that’s exactly the next step” needed.

“We need participation on the part of Israel, and we need an economic plan for prosperity, restoration and renovation,” the US diplomat added, with Lebanon weighed down by an economic crisis.

Barrack said Washington was “in the process of now discussing with Israel what their position is”, adding that “in the next few weeks you’re going to see progress on all sides.”

“It means a better life for the people… and at least the beginning of a roadway to a different kind of dialogue” in the region, he said.

The visit comes after Lebanon’s cabinet tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by year end — an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago.

The cabinet has also tackled a US proposal that includes a timetable for Hezbollah’s disarmament, with Washington pressing Lebanon to take action.

The cabinet endorsed the introduction of the US text, which lists 11 objectives including to “ensure the sustainability” of the ceasefire, and to phase out “the armed presence of all non-state actors, including Hezbollah” across all Lebanese territory.

It also provides for demarcating Lebanon’s land borders with Israel and neighbouring Syria, and a process involving the international community to support reconstruction.

‘Lebanese process’

Aoun told Barrack that what was needed was for “other parties to adhere to the contents” of the joint declaration, “more support for the Lebanese army”, and expedited steps towards reconstruction, the presidency said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Washington needed to “fulfil its responsibility in pressuring Israel halt hostilities”, withdraw troops and release Lebanese prisoners it holds.

Hezbollah, the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, emerged badly weakened from last year’s war with Israel.

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed to fight plans to disarm, saying that “the resistance will not surrender its weapons while… occupation persists”.

On Sunday, Aoun told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel authorities would do “everything possible… to spare Lebanon any internal or external shock”.

If Lebanon rejected the US plan, “then Israel will intensify its attacks, Lebanon will be economically isolated, and none of us will be able to respond to the aggression”, he said.

Barrack on Monday stressed that “dealing with Hezbollah, as we’ve always said, is a Lebanese process”.

Published – August 18, 2025 10:24 pm IST

Lebanon’s Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A damaged mosque is seen after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon expressed concern on Thursday (December 26, 2024) at the “continuing” damage done by Israeli forces in the country’s south despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah.

The truce went into effect on November 27, about two months after Israel stepped up its bombing campaign and later sent troops into Lebanon following nearly a year of exchanges of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah over the war in Gaza.

The warring sides have since traded accusations of violating the truce.

Lebanon’s Army on Thursday condemned Israel’s “violation of the ceasefire agreement by attacking Lebanese sovereignty and destroying southern towns and villages”.

Under the ceasefire agreement, UNIFIL peacekeepers and the Lebanese army were to redeploy in south Lebanon, near the Israeli border, as Israeli forces withdrew over 60 days.

UNIFIL said in a statement on Thursday that “there is concern at continuing destruction by the IDF (army) in residential areas, agricultural land and road networks in south Lebanon”.

The statement added that “this is in violation of Resolution 1701”, which was adopted by the UN Security Council and ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006.

The UN force also reiterated its call for “the timely withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Lebanon, and “the full implementation of Resolution 1701”.

The resolution states that Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah exerts control, and also calls for Israeli troops to pull out of Lebanese territory.

“Any actions that risk the fragile cessation of hostilities must cease,” UNIFIL said.

On Monday the force had urged “accelerated progress” in the Israeli military’s withdrawal.

The Lebanese army said in a Thursday statement that it was reinforcing its presence in several areas of the south where “Israeli forces have penetrated”.

One of those areas is Qantara, where Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday “extensive” Israeli operations, sending residents fleeing.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayad decried the operations in a statement as an “extremely dangerous” development that poses “a serious risk” to the implementation of Resolution 1701.

On Wednesday the NNA said Israeli aircraft struck the eastern Baalbek region, far from the border.

Watch: Explained: Why did Israel accept the Hezbollah ceasefire?

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to launch a military invasion of Lebanon on October 1 — Israel’s fourth invasion of the neighbouring country — he said his main objective was to let the over 60,000 northern Israelis, who were displaced by Hezbollah rockets, return to their homes.

Almost two months later, he accepted a ceasefire with Hezbollah, agreeing to withdraw all Israeli troops to the south of the Lebanese border. The future of the displaced residents remains uncertain. Hezbollah still possesses thousands of drones and rockets and the capability to fire them.

Then why did Mr. Netanyahu accept the ceasefire?

Read more: Making sense of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

Script and presentation: Stanly Johny

Editing: Aniket Singh Chauhan

Video: Shivaraj S

Rubble lies at the site of the historic ‘Al-Manshiya’ building damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, near the Roman ruins of Baalbek, in the eastern city of Baalbek, Lebanon, November 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Israeli military on Thursday (November 28, 2024) said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.

There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel’s aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.

The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah militants are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers.

On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon’s state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.

A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief media.

The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.

More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.

In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.

Men carry Hezbollah flags and a picture depicting late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as they drive past damaged buildings at the entrance of Beirut’s southern suburbs, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began at 7.30 am IST on Wednesday (Nov. 27, 2024) appeared to be holding under a deal brokered by the U.S. and France. Following the announcement of the truce, people in both countries started returning to homes in the border area shattered by 14 months of fighting.

The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire deal and thanked both the US and France for their efforts.

In the first statement by Hezbollah’s operations centre since the truce was announced, the group made no direct mention of the ceasefire and vowed to continue its resistance.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the ceasefire was “the first ray of hope” in months of Middle East conflict.

The Blue Line was set by the UN in 2000 after the end of Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon and now serves as a de facto border between the two countries.

What is UNSC resolution 1701?

The UN Security Council resolution 1701 is the agreement that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006 and it stipulates that the only armed groups in the area south of Lebanon’s Litani River should be the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces (UN Interim Force in Lebanon – UNIFIL). It also prohibits Israel from encroaching on Lebanese territory by land, sea or air.

Present situation in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s army, entrusted with ensuring the ceasefire lasts, said it had begun deploying additional troops south of the Litani River into a region heavily bombarded by Israel. The river meets the sea about 30 km (20 miles) north of the Israeli border.

Israel also struck eastern cities and towns and the southern suburbs of Beirut, and Israeli troops pushed around 6 km (4 miles) into Lebanon in ground incursions launched in September. Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can remain in Lebanon for 60 days.

Israel-Lebanon conflict

The ceasefire aims to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed at least 3,768 people in Lebanon since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Diplomatic efforts will now turn to shattered Gaza, where Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israeli communities. However, there were no hopes of peace returning any time soon to the Palestinian enclave.

(With inputs from Reuters, Graphic News, and AP)