September 2024 Lebanon strikes


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Since 23 September 2024, Israel has conducted around 1,500 attacks targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon,[1] in an operation codenamed Northern Arrows.[a] The IDF reported that Israeli aircraft targeted 1,600 Hezbollah positions, destroying cruise missiles, long- and short-range rockets and attack drones.[3] According to Lebanon's Health Ministry,[4] these Israeli strikes have killed at least 569 people—including 50 children, 94 women, and 4 medics—and injured at least 1,835.[5][6][7] The strikes have also newly displaced more than 90,000 Lebanese civilians.[8]

Operation Northern Arrows
Part of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
TypeAirstrikes
Location
TargetHezbollah
Date23 September 2024 – ongoing
06:30 – (EEST)
Executed by Israel Defense Forces
OutcomeOngoing
Casualties569+ killed
1,835+ injured

The attacks followed what has been described as some of Hezbollah's most severe setbacks,[9][10][11] including the 17 and 18 September explosions of its handheld communication devices and the assassination of Ibrahim Aqil, commander of the elite Redwan Force.[3] In response, the Iran-backed group launched dozens of drones and rockets into Israel,[12] causing damage in Nazareth, Kiryat Shmona, and communities in the Jezreel Valley.[13][14]

Israel warned that its strikes on Hezbollah would intensify, urging Lebanese civilians to flee areas where the group was storing weapons.[15] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese people, stating, "Israel's war is not with you; it's with Hezbollah," accusing the group of using civilians as human shields.[16][17][18] He called on southern Lebanon's residents to evacuate until the operation concludes, saying they could return safely afterward.[17]

Background

A day after Hamas launched its 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, Hezbollah joined the conflict by firing on Shebaa Farms,[19] Safed, Nahariya,[20] and other Israeli positions.[21] Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have been involved in cross-border military exchanges that have displaced entire communities in Israel and Lebanon, with significant damage to buildings and land along the border. From October 7 2023 to September 20 2024, there were 10,200 cross border attacks, of which Israel launched 8,300.[22] Over 96,000 people in Israel[23] and over 111,000 in Lebanon have been displaced.[24] As of 24 August 2024, there were 564 confirmed deaths in Lebanon, including 133 civilians.[24] Israel and Hezbollah have maintained their attacks at a level that causes harm without escalating into a full-scale war.[25]

Hezbollah has stated it will continue attacking Israel until Israel halts its operations in Gaza,[26] where over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.[27][28] Israel demands that Hezbollah implement UNSC 1701 and withdraw its forces north of the Litani River.[29][30] Both Israel and Hezbollah have outstanding obligations under UNSCR 1701.[31][32][33] Diplomatic efforts, led by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein and France, have so far been unsuccessful in resolving the conflict.[34][35]

On 17 September 2024, the Security Cabinet of Israel established a new war objective: the safe return of displaced residents to the north. This goal was added to the two existing objectives: dismantling Hamas and securing the release of hostages taken during the 7 October attacks.[36][37]

On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheld pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in a coordinated series.[38] The explosions killed 42 people and injured at least 3,500, including civilians.[39][40][41] Reuters reports that, according to an unnamed Hezbollah official, 1,500 Hezbollah fighters were taken out of action due to injuries, with many blinded or having lost their hands.[42]

Despite Israel denying involvement with the attack,[43] unnamed Israeli sources told Reuters and other media that the attack was orchestrated by Israel's intelligence service (Mossad) and military.[44][45][38] In response, Hezbollah, who described the act as a possible declaration of war by Israel, launched a rocket attack on northern Israel a few days later.[46][47]

On 20 September 2024, tensions further rose after Ibrahim Aqil—a senior commander of Hezbollah's Redwan special operations unit, who was wanted for the 1983 US embassy bombing and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings—was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut, along with other senior commanders from the unit.[48][49] After advising Lebanese citizens to evacuate, Israel began airstrikes on 23 September.[50]

Attacks

Lebanon

The IDF said that it had attacked 1,300 Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley.[51] One attack hit as far as Byblos, north of Beirut. The first wave of attacks began at 06:30 EET and hit hospitals and ambulances according to Firass Abiad, the Lebanese Health Minister.[52][53] According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 83 civilians are confirmed to have been killed by Israeli attacks, and 93,881 civilians have fled their homes. According to the OCHA Israeli attacks have damaged civilian infrastructure such as water, electricity, and telecommunications installations.[54] The first wave of attacks focused mostly on At Tiri, Bint Jbeil, and Hanine followed by shelling on Aita al-Shaab, Aitaroun, and Mahrouna and targeted attacks on Shmustar, Taraya, Bodai, Khiyam, the Mahmoudiyah area, and Harbata, Hermel, and other areas.[55][56] Shortly before noon, the Israeli Air Force launched a second wave of attacks, targeting the areas previously struck in addition to bombardment of Hula, Majdel Selm, Talloussa, Sawwaneh, Taybeh, Deir Qanoun En Nahr, Maaroub amongst other areas.[57]

Six people were injured when three missiles struck the Beir al-Abed neighborhood of Beirut.[53] Israeli officials said that the attack targeted Ali Karaki, whom Israel says is the commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front,[58][59] but Hezbollah said that he survived the attack.[60][52]

Israel reportedly launched five attacks in Qaliya, in the western Beqaa Valley, one of which hit a residential home, killing a father and his daughter.[61] Ten people were also killed in Taraya, near Baalbek. Sixteen attacks hit the town of Khodor, killing 14 people. An entire family was killed in Bodai.[62]

The Al-Qassam Brigades reported the death of their field commander Hussein al-Nader during the attacks in Lebanon.[63]

Israeli attacks continued into the night between September 23 and 24, but were mostly focused on the Beqaa Valley.[64]

On 24 September, Israel carried out an attack on a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, killing Ibrahim Kubisi, head of Hezbollah's Missile Corps.[65] The attack destroyed three floors of the building, resulting in the deaths of five others, including two UNHCR staff,[66] and injuring fifteen.[67] Bombardments struck Al-Nabi Shayth, Bodai, and a region between Shaath and Hermel in the Beqaa Valley. Additionally, an attack targeted warehouses in Duris. In Shaath alone, 12 individuals were killed, including ten members of the Hajj Hassan family.[68] The IDF said that it struck Hezbollah launchers used to launch missiles targeting Megiddo Airfield. It also attacked dozens of other Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.[69] At least 13 people were killed in other Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.[70] Israeli attacks struck Jieh.[71]

Israel

On 23 September, Hezbollah fired a total of 150 rockets into Israel, the West Bank, and Golan Heights, injuring five people. It first fired 35 rockets into northern Israel targeting IDF bases and warehouses, lightly injuring a man in the Lower Galilee.[72] It later[when?] fired around 80 rockets, targeting several locations including Ariel and Karnei Shomron in the occupied West Bank.[73][74] The missile and artillery battalion's headquarters in the Yoav barracks was hit with dozens of rockets as well as warehouses at the Nimra military base.[75]

Two Palestinian civilians were wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack on Deir Istiya. The headquarters of the 146th "Ha-Mapatz" Division was also reported to be struck by a Hezbollah attack.[76] Ben Gurion Airport was attacked by missiles but the missiles were intercepted.[77] Hezbollah claimed to have attacked the Northern Command reserve headquarters and the 91st "Galilee" Division HQ at the Amiad base with rockets as well as having attacked the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems installations north of Haifa with dozens of rockets.[78]

On 24 September, Hezbollah continued its rocket attacks on Israel, forcing one million Israelis into shelters.[79] Throughout the day, the group fired approximately 300 rockets at northern Israel, targeting the Upper Galilee and south of Haifa and injuring six people.[80] Heavy damage was inflicted on buildings and a cemetery in Kiryat Shmona,[14] while a reservist was injured by shrapnel in the Mount Carmel area.[81][82] The IDF reported that around ten projectiles were launched from Lebanon toward the HaAmakim region.[83]

Hezbollah said that it launched six attacks targeting Israeli airbases and an explosives factory.[69] Hezbollah said that it used a new missile named Fadi-3 to target an IDF base.[84] Hezbollah said that its rockets targeted Katzrin.[85] Hezbollah said that it launched a total of 90 missiles targeting Dado IDF base twice in the vicinity of Safed.[86][87] Hezbollah claimed that its drones struck the Atlit naval base in the vicinity of Haifa.[88]

Casualties

At least 558 people—including 50 children, 94 women, and 4 medics—were killed and 1,835 were injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.[5] The ministry has not stated how many of the casualties were militants.[6][89][90][91][excessive citations] The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has expressed outrage over the killing of two of its staff. The Lebanese University (LU) announced that an LU student and her sister were killed in an attack.[92] An Israeli air raid also killed Al-Manar TV cameraman Kamel Karaki.[93] The strikes were the deadliest attack in Lebanon since the end of the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War.[94]

According to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, 45 Syrian refugees were killed during Israeli airstrikes.[95]

Senior Hezbollah commanders Ali Aburia and Mohammad Saleh were killed in the airstrikes.[96][97] Mahmoud al Nader, a field commander of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades, was also killed in southern Lebanon.[98] The head of Hezbollah's rocket unit, Ibrahim Qubaisi, was also reportedly killed in Beirut.[99] Hussein Nader, a leader in the Civil Defense affiliated with the Amal Movement, the al-Rissala Scouts, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his house in Marjeyoun.[62] A journalist working for the pan-Arab network Al Mayadeen died from wounds he sustained in the attacks at his house in the town of Burj Rahhal.[100]

Reactions

Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, speaking during a cabinet meeting, called the airstrikes as a "war of extermination" and accused Israel of "a destructive plan" that aims to destroy Lebanese villages and towns.[101] A Lebanese representative at the UNGA, standing in for Mikati, described the strikes as having "threatened social order".[102][103]

All non-essential judicial work in Lebanon was suspended on 24 September.[103] The Lebanese Football Association indefinitely postponed all domestic matches.[104]

Israel

Following the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed a flight to New York where he was due to attend the general debate of the seventy-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).[105] He later said that his country was "chang[ing] the security balance, the balance of power in the north". An Israeli official later accounted to CNN that there was "great satisfaction" from among the political spectrum for the IDF's performance. Opposition leader Yair Lapid also expressed his support for the operation.[102]

Israel warned that its strikes on Hezbollah would intensify, urging Lebanese civilians to flee areas where the group was storing weapons.[15] Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese people, stating, "Israel's war is not with you; it's with Hezbollah," accusing the group of using civilians as human shields.[16][17][18] He called on southern Lebanon's residents to evacuate until the operation concludes, promising they could return safely afterward.[17]

The government declared a nationwide state of emergency to last until 30 September.[106][107]

International

Governments

King Abdullah II of Jordan expressed his country's "absolute support for Lebanon, its security, its sovereignty and the safety of its citizens" during a phone call with Mikati,[103] as foreign minister Ayman Safadi called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to "curb Israeli aggression and protect the region from its disastrous consequences."[102] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the strikes during a speech at the UNGA,[108] with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs describing the strikes as "a new phase in [Israel's] efforts to drag the entire region into chaos", and accused Israeli allies of supporting Netanyahu "for his political interests".[109] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar also issued a statement condemning the strikes "in the strongest terms".[108]

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani announced that the country would provide humanitarian aid to Lebanon. Sudani endorsed a statement by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's highest Shia cleric, who said that "every possible effort" should be made to stop "the ongoing barbaric aggression" of Israel in Lebanon and called for humanitarian aid. Sudani announced a plan by his cabinet to establish air and land bridges to deliver aid to Lebanon and open Iraqi hospitals "to receive the injured and wounded", and also called on leaders of Arab delegations at the UNGA to hold an urgent meeting.[110]

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel of "dragging" Iran into a wider conflict, adding that "there is no winner in warfare."[111] Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the attacks on Hezbollah were "not the sort of damage that could bring the group to its knees".[112] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Syria condemned what it said was an "Israeli brutal aggression on the Lebanese brotherly people under the protection of USA", according to the country's state news agency.[113]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt called on "international powers and the United Nations Security Council to intervene immediately" to stop "the dangerous Israeli escalation in Lebanon".[114] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia expressed "great concern" and called on "all parties to exercise the utmost restraint", as did the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which reaffirmed the United Arab Emirates' stance against "violence, escalation, uncalculated actions and reactions that disregard laws governing state relations and sovereignty".[108][115]

United States President Joe Biden said his administration was "working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return home safely", during a meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.[108] A Department of State official said the US did not see Israel's reported strategy of "escalate to de-escalate" as being effective during the conflict.[102] Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was "extremely concerned" over the strikes and warned of the "widening area of conflict and a complete destabilization of the region."[116] China's foreign minister Wang Yi said his country stood on the "side of justice and on the side of Arab brothers, including Lebanon".[108] Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi released a statement condemning the strikes.[117]

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer said his ministry was "ramping up the contingency plans" for British nationals to leave Lebanon.[118] Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote that he was "deeply alarmed" on social media, and warned that "further escalation risks even more devastating consequences". Lammy reiterated his call for "an immediate ceasefire on both sides".[108] The UK government announced it would send 700 troops to Cyprus to assist with the evacuation of Britons in Lebanon.[119] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the deaths of Lebanese women and children in the strikes as "extraordinarily concerning" during a speech at the UNGA. He reiterated his call for a "de-escalation, both by Israel and Hezbollah."[108] His foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, reiterated her warning to Canadians in Lebanon to leave immediately.[120] Australian foreign minister Penny Wong reiterated the government's warning to citizens in Lebanon to leave the country, saying there would not be enough capacity in the event of an evacuation.[121]

The foreign minister of France, Jean-Noël Barrot, called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council and urged the end of such strikes.[122] His Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis, described the escalation of the conflict as showing a "collective international failure".[108] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland expressed "deep concern" and called on "all parties to exercise restraint and to stop the violence, which will have consequences for the entire region".[123]

Other

A separate statement issued by the G7 said that "actions and counter-reactions risk magnifying this dangerous spiral of violence" leading to "a broader regional conflict with unimaginable consequences".[108] The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, expressed concern over the situation, describing Israel and Hezbollah as "almost in a full-fledged war".[124]

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "gravely alarmed by the escalating situation along the Blue Line", referring to the demarcated section of the Israel–Lebanon border.[108] A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was "extremely concerned" about the risk of escalation in the conflict.[102]

Several airlines announced a suspension of their flights to Lebanon.[125]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Also referred to as Arrows of the North, Hebrew: חיצי הצפון, romanized: Chitzei HaTzafun [2]

References

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