From 1948 to 2024: A History of Wars Between Lebanon and Israel

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A new episode in decades of cross-border conflict between Lebanon and Israel has raised alarms about the possibility of a full-scale war, bringing back memories of a long history of wars along the border between the two countries.

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Over the past few days, the Israeli army has launched an unprecedented series of strikes on Lebanon, and in response, Hezbollah has targeted the Mossad headquarters near Tel Aviv with a “Qader 1” missile.

Here is a historical overview of Lebanese-Israeli wars:

1948

• Lebanon participates in the war against Israel alongside other Arab countries.
• Around 100,000 Palestinians flee or are expelled from their homes in British-mandated Palestine and take refuge in Lebanon.

 

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• Geagea attacks Hezbollah: Dragging Lebanon into an “absurd war” that did not benefit Gaza

1949

• Lebanon and Israel sign a 1949 armistice agreement.

1968

• Israeli special forces destroy several passenger planes at Beirut Airport in retaliation for an attack by a Lebanon-based Palestinian group on an Israeli passenger plane.
• The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) moves to Lebanon after being expelled from Jordan two years earlier, leading to increased cross-border violence.

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• Hezbollah’s Response to Chokr’s Assassination Eased Tensions

1973

• Israeli special forces assassinate three Palestinian resistance leaders in Beirut in response to the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
• Palestinian militant attacks on Israel intensify, leading to increased Israeli military retaliation against targets in Lebanon. This cycle of violence leads to massive displacement in southern Lebanon and exacerbates sectarian tensions, sparking the Lebanese civil war.

1978

• Israel invades southern Lebanon and establishes a small occupation zone during an operation against Palestinian militants after an armed attack near Tel Aviv.
• Israel supports a local Christian militia, known as the South Lebanon Army (SLA).

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1982

• Israel invades Lebanon up to Beirut following cross-border fire exchanges.
• Thousands of Palestinian fighters are evacuated by sea after a 10-week siege of Beirut, which includes heavy Israeli bombardments of the city’s west side.
• Hundreds of civilians are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Christian militias, who are allowed entry by Israeli forces after the assassination of a newly elected Lebanese president.

1985

• Israel withdraws from central Lebanon but maintains forces in the south.
• Israel establishes an official occupation zone in southern Lebanon, extending approximately 15 kilometers, controlled in conjunction with the SLA.
• Hezbollah wages a guerrilla war against Israeli forces.

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• Israel avoids total war in response to Hezbollah

1996

• Hezbollah continues to strike Israeli forces and launch rockets into northern Israel. In response, Israel launches a 17-day military operation, named “Operation Grapes of Wrath,” which results in over 200 deaths in Lebanon, including 102 killed in an Israeli strike on a UN base in Qana.

2000

• Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon, ending 22 years of occupation.

2006

• Hezbollah crosses the Israeli border, captures two Israeli soldiers, and kills several others, triggering a five-week war that includes heavy Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah rocket fire.
• The conflict results in over 1,200 deaths in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 158 in Israel, primarily soldiers.
• Hezbollah claims a “divine victory.”

 

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2023

• Hezbollah engages in exchanges of fire with Israel on October 8, following a Hamas attack on southern Israeli towns and the outbreak of the Gaza war.
• Israeli airstrikes hit southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah responds with strikes against northern Israel.

2024

• In July, an Israeli strike on the Golan Heights kills 12 young men.
• Hezbollah retaliates in August with hundreds of rockets and drones against Israel, claiming to have targeted a base north of Tel Aviv.
• In September, Israel destroys thousands of Hezbollah communication devices, killing dozens and wounding thousands.

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• Violent Clashes Between Hezbollah and Israel Amid Preparations for Total War in Southern Lebanon

• Israel launches a major strike on Beirut, killing top Hezbollah leaders and forcing tens of thousands to flee southern Lebanon.