The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted numerous operations against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon between March 18 and March 23.
On Saturday, unknown actors fired six rockets at northern Israel and hit Metulla, the first such incident since Hezbollah targeted Har Dov/Shebaa farms with mortars on December 2, 2024. In response to the rocket fire, the IDF launched its most extensive and intense series of operations in Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire went into effect, hitting over 50 Hezbollah targets in one day. Israel seemed ready to strike Beirut in response to the attack on Metulla but was reportedly pressured against doing so by the United States.
The total of Lebanese locales targeted by Israeli operations reached 53. Thirty-eight of those areas were hit by airstrikes, eight by artillery, and seven by IDF ground operations. The targets included Hezbollah weapons, military assets and materiel, and infrastructure, alongside targeted assassinations.
Continued and frequent Israeli operations in Lebanon point to inaction by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and state against Hezbollah. The November 27 ceasefire deal requires the LAF to disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its infrastructure—at minimum, south of the Litani River. Lebanon must also prevent weapons and related materiel from reaching Hezbollah through its borders or ports of entry.
A mechanism was put in place to monitor the enforcement of these terms. If Israel detects a violation by Hezbollah, it must first inform the ceasefire oversight committee. The committee then presents the information to the LAF, which is primarily responsible for enforcing the terms of the ceasefire deal. If the LAF fails to address a violation—or, arguably, addresses it insufficiently—the IDF can use unilateral force.
The recent significant pace of Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon undermines the practical existence of a state of ceasefire in the country.
Between March 18 and March 23, Israeli aerial, artillery, and ground operations targeted the following areas, by governorate and district:
South Lebanon Governorate:
- Jezzine District: Buslaya, Jabbour Pond, Kfar Houna, Mahmoudiyeh, Rihan, Sujod
- Sidon District: Kfar Malki, Saksakiyeh, Khayzaran
- Tyre District: Al Fouar, Labbouneh, Naqoura, Qlaileh, Shaaytiyeh, Shihine, Srifa, Tayr Debba, Tayr Harfa, Tyre, and Zibqine
Nabatieh Governorate:
- Bint Jbeil District: Ayta Ash Shaab, Beit Lif, Froun, Ghandouriyeh, Kafrawa, Salhani, Wadi Qatmoun, and Yaroun
- Marjayoun District: Houla, Kfar Kela, Khiyam, Markaba, Tell Nhass, and Touline
- Nabatieh District: Ain Qana, Arnoun, Deir Al Zahrani, Kfar Tebnit, Mlita, Mt. Al Rafia, Yohmor
Baalbek-Al Hermel Governorate
- Baalbek District: Janta, Nabi Sheet, Saraain, Taraiyya
- Hermel District: Border crossing between Qasr and Hawsh Al Sayyid Ali
Total Lebanese casualties from Israeli operations, per the Lebanese Health Ministry, are up to 10 people killed and 43 wounded. At least four of the fatalities were Hezbollah operatives. A summary by day follows:
- March 18, 2025: No casualties reported
- March 19, 2025: One person wounded
- March 20, 2025: No casualties reported
- March 21, 2025: One person wounded
- March 22, 2025: Nine people killed, 38 wounded
- March 23, 2025: One person killed, one wounded
March 18
- On March 18 at 9:10 pm, National News Agency Lebanon (NNA Lebanon) reported that Israeli forces at the Jabal Blat outpost—one of the five points retained by the IDF in Lebanon after the February 18 withdrawal deadline—directed fire at the areas of Al Hadab and Khellet Wardeh. The IDF’s Jabal Blatt outpost is located approximately 450 meters over the Blue Line, the May 25, 2000, withdrawal line separating Israel and Lebanon. Ayta Ash Shaab is approximately 1.5 kilometers from the Blue Line.
March 19
- At 4:15 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces at the Tel Hamames outpost—one of five points retained by the IDF in Lebanon after the February 18 withdrawal deadline—fired on an unidentified Lebanese national in nearby Tel Nhass. The Tel Hamames outpost and Tel Nhass are 1.7 kilometers and 2.46 kilometers over the Blue Line, respectively. The targeted Lebanese national was reportedly wounded.
- At 4:22 pm, NNA Lebanon reported sounds of explosions in the Tyre District of south Lebanon. The explosions resulted from unspecified Israeli operations being conducted near the Lebanon-Israel frontier.
March 20
- At 8:19 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli jets fired four missiles at the area between Jbaa, Zahalti, and Sniya in south Lebanon’s Jezzine District.
- At 8:30 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli aircraft targeted the barrens of the town of Taraiyya, west of Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon.
- At 9:00 pm, NNA reported that Israeli aircraft struck a target within the town of Janta in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. The area is near the Syria-Lebanon border and has traditionally served as a transit point for weapons reaching Hezbollah from Syria.
- At 9:22 pm, the IDF issued a statement on the airstrikes. “A short while ago, the IDF targeted a military site housing underground infrastructure in the area of the Bekaa in Lebanon,” the statement said, likely referring to the strikes in Taraiyya and Janta. The IDF said it also struck another “military site housing rocket launchers in south Lebanon,” likely referencing the airstrikes in the Jezzine District, adding that “activities of the Hezbollah terror organization were identified” in the site before the strike. The statement concluded with the now routine vow by the IDF to “continue to operate to eliminate every threat against the State of Israel and will prevent every attempt by the terrorist organization Hezbollah to establish a presence.”
March 21
- At 7:01 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces directed fire at the vehicle of a Lebanese citizen identified only by his initials—Meem.Ya.—on the road between Kfar Kela and Adaisseh, approximately 210 meters from the Blue Line. The individual was wounded.
March 22
- At 7:32 am, rocket warning sirens sounded in northern Israel’s town of Metulla after six rockets were fired into Israeli territory from Lebanon. Three of the rockets were intercepted by the Israel Air Force.
- At 8:15 am, NNA Lebanon reported that intermittent Israeli artillery shelling consisting of 10 total shells targeted the northwestern neighborhood of Yohmor in the Nabatiyeh District, as well as the towns of Aroun and Kfar Tebnit.
- At 9:04 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery began targeting the village of Khiyam in the Marjayoun District. IDF Merkava tanks also directed fire at the town.
- At 9:06 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces directed gunfire at Houla, Markaba, and Kfar Kela in the Marjayoun District, approximately 1 kilometer, 2 kilometers, and 900 meters from the Blue Line, respectively. The Lebanese Health Ministry later announced two unidentified Lebanese citizens were wounded in Kfar Kela.
- At 9:26 am, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir assessed the situation, after which the Israeli army vowed to “respond forcefully” to the rockets fired at Israel. The IDF’s statement recalled “the State of Lebanon’s responsibility for upholding the [November 27] ceasefire deal.” The Israeli Home Front Command did not update its guidelines for Israeli civilians in the area.
- At 9:30 am, NNA Lebanon reported that a projectile—likely artillery—landed in the town of Houla.
- At 12:13 pm, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced locating the launchers used to fire rockets into Israel. “After rockets were fired from Lebanese territory towards the occupied Palestinian lands [a reference to Israel], the Army conducted sweeping and searching operations and discovered three primitive rockets,” the LAF said. The LAF’s statement alleged the rockets were “in the area north of the Litani River between Kfar Tabnit and Arnoun – Al-Nabatiyeh [Governorate].” The use of this location is a likely attempt to suggest the rockets’ presence was not a direct violation of the November 27 ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which requires disarming all militant groups and removing their infrastructure south of the Litani River—even though Arnoun-Kfar Tebnit is just west of the river. The LAF said it “worked to dismantle” the crude launchers, which were constructed of two pieces of wood attached with nails to form an angled launch pad, and that its “units [would] continue to take the necessary steps to control the situation in the south.”
- At 12:15 pm, the IDF announced it had begun “strikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon.”
- At 12:29 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery targeted Wadi al Asafir in the Marjayoun District.
- At 12:32 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike targeted Buslaya in the Jezzine District, and another airstrike targeted the Jabbour Pond in Kfar Houna in the Jezzine District. In January 2024, the IDF bombed a Hezbollah airstrip in the area of Birket Jabbour used to launch drones.
- At 12:35 pm, NNA Lebanon reported wide-ranging Israeli airstrikes targeting Mount Safi and Mount Al Rafia in the Jezzine District, and Ain Qana in the Nabatieh District.
- At 12:43 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the Salhani area in the Bint Jbeil District.
- At 12:44 pm, NNA Lebanon reported another Israeli airstrike targeting the Kfar Houna Heights and Mount Safi.
- At 12:45 pm, NNA Lebanon reported several Israeli airstrikes targeting Mount Safi, Mount Al Rafia, Mleeta, Ain Qana, and Kfar Malki in the Iqlim al Tuffah area in the South Lebanon Governorate.
- At 12:47 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike targeted Al Mahmoudiyeh in the Jezzine District.
- At 12:48 pm, NNA Lebanon reported two Israeli airstrikes targeting Wadi Zibqine in the South Lebanon Governorate.
- At 12:50 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the town of Rihan. The IDF also launched several airstrikes on Iqlim al Tuffah in the Jezzine District.
- At 12:52 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike targeted the wadi on the outskirts of Tayr Harfa in the Tyre District.
- At 1:05 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike on Touline. The Lebanese Health Ministry announced the strike killedfive people, including one Syrian girl later identified as Diana Darwish, and wounded 11 others, including two children. One of the individuals killed was identified by Hezbollah-affiliated social media as Walid Sobhi Ghanwi, originally from Houla. However, his affiliation with the party was not specified nor was it clear why Hezbollah-affiliated outlets did not similarly identify the other fatalities of the Israeli airstrike. Two of the other fatalities were later identified as Hezbollah fighters at around 8:45 pm. Hezbollah-affiliated social media announced the death of Ali al Redha Mohammad Saloum, whose nom de guerre is Dhul Fiqar, from the town of Qantara in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated social media also announced the death of fighter Mohammad Ibrahim Shuqeir, whose nom de guerre is Jaafar, from the town of Al Sowaneh in south Lebanon.
- At 1:08 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli jets conducted an airstrike on Yohmor’s Al Debsh neighborhood in the Nabatieh Governorate, wounding one unidentified person.
- At 1:29 pm, the IDF released a terse statement on the previous operations, saying it had targeted “dozens of launch sites and a headquarters out of which Hezbollah terrorists operated throughout Lebanon.” The statement said that the rocket “fire in the morning hours (Saturday) toward the Finger of the Galilee constituted a flagrant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a direct threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.” The statement stressed that “the State of Lebanon is responsible for upholding the agreement,” and concluded with the customary warning that “the IDF will continue to operate to defense the citizens of the State of Israel.” Three hours later, the IDF released another statement with footage of some of the strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
- At 2:17 pm, Hezbollah released a statement denying any “connection to the launching of rockets from south Lebanon towards the occupied Lebanese lands [Israel].” Hezbollah’s statement stressed that “the allegations of the Israeli enemy are part of the excuses for its continued acts of aggression against Lebanon which have not stopped since the [November 27] ceasefire.” The statement concluded with Hezbollah “reaffirm[ing] its commitment to the ceasefire agreement, and that it stands behind the Lebanese State to deal with the dangerous Zionist escalation against Lebanon.” Hezbollah’s Media Relations issued a follow-up statement to the group’s Al Ahed newspaper, calling Israel’s actions in Lebanon “primitive.” The statement said Israel “does not need excuses to launch its acts of aggression against Lebanon,” while stressing that Hezbollah “does not hesitate” to claim responsibility for actions “when there is a need.” The statement pointed to the Israel Air Force intercepting some of the rockets in Lebanese skies as proof that “the Israelis are conducting ongoing aggression.”
- Per NNA Lebanon, Israeli aircraft remained in Lebanese skies over the areas of Nabatieh and Iqlim Al Tuffah, flying at mid-altitude as late as 3:48 pm. Around 7:30 pm, reports indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorized a second wave of airstrikes in Lebanon, which began shortly afterward.
- At 7:43 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted Buslaya for the second time. NNA Lebanon reported a third airstrike on Buslaya at 7:52 pm, as well as further strikes near Kfar Houna.
- At 7:56 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential apartment in Tyre. The strike killed three people, later identified as Hezbollah operational commander Radwan Salim Awada, and two civilians. The strike wounded eight others, including a child. Additional airstrikes targeted Wadi Froun, Ghandouriyeh, and Nabi Sheet in the Beqaa Valley.
- At 8:08 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike on a house in Qlaileh in the Tyre District killed one person and wounded five others, including two children. The airstrike coincided with other strikes on the wadi between the towns of Deir Qanoun Al Nahr and Hallousiyeh and the villages of Tayr Debba, Srifa, and Zibqine, also in Tyre District, and additional strikes on the wadi between the towns of Deir Al Zahrani and Kafrawa in the Nabatieh District. A final airstrike targeted the wadi of Sniyah in the Jezzine District.
- At 8:13 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike on a crossing on the Syria-Lebanon border between Al Qasr and Hawsh al Sayyed Ali in the Hermel District. At 8:32 pm, NNA Lebanon reported six people were wounded from the airstrikes on Hawsh al Sayyed Ali, including at least one that hit a house—though it was unclear if one or two airstrikes had targeted the locale. NNA Lebanon reported an additional airstrike had targeted the town of Saraain in the Baalbek District, wounding four people.
- At 8:22 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that a series of Israeli airstrikes targeted Saksakiyeh, the nearby Zahrani wadi, and Khayzaran in the Sidon District.
- At 8:35 pm, the IDF issued a terse statement effectively announcing the end of the day’s second wave of airstrikes and operations in Lebanon. The statement said the “IDF targeted headquarters, infrastructure, terrorists, rocket launchers, and a weapons storehouse—all belonging to the terrorist group Hezbollah throughout Lebanon” without elaborating further. Galei Tzahal, the IDF’s radio channel, claimed the IDF had struck 50 Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon.
- At 8:42 pm, Hezbollah-affiliated social media announced the death of Ali al Redha Mohammad Saloum, whose nom de guerre is Dhul Fiqar, in fighting with Israel. He was from the town of Qantara.
- At 9:24 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that, at some point during the second wave of Israeli operations in Lebanon, Israel conducted an airstrike on the village of Shaaytiyeh in the Tyre District. Additionally, the IDF targeted the outskirts of Zibqine with artillery and conducted an airstrike between the towns of Quseir and Alman.
- At 11:33 pm, Hezbollah-affiliated social media announced the death of Hezbollah operational commander Radwan Salim Awadeh, whose nom de guerre is Jawad. Awadeh, who was from the town of Shihine in south Lebanon, was killed in the airstrike targeting the city of Tyre.
March 23
- NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery directly struck a café in the Matal area of Ayta Ash Shaab shortly after midnight.
- At 9:52 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a vehicle in Ayta Ash Shaab, killing one unidentified individual later identified by Hezbollah-affiliated social media as one of the group’s fighters, Hassan Neemat al Zayn, nom de guerre Al Hurr, from Ayta Ash Shaab. The IDF issued a statement several hours later, at 3:40 pm, saying it had killed a “Hezbollah terrorist near Ayta Ash Shaab in south Lebanon.”
- At 12:53 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery targeted houses in Naqoura and Shihine, both approximately 3 kilometers north of the Blue Line, in the Tyre District.
- At 12:54 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike on Labbouneh.
- At 2:20 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an armored Israeli force that included bulldozers entered the area of Wadi Qatmoun, approximately 500 meters north of the Blue Line, and dug berms in the area.
- At 3:08 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone dropped a stun explosive near a bulldozer in Yaroun that was allegedly removing rubble, wounding one unidentified person.
