Lebanon marks one year since Israel war amid continued attacks

Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the expansion of Israel's all-out war on Lebanon, which began on 23 September 2024, when the Israeli army launched large-scale attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut, south Lebanon, and the Beqaa and Baalbek regions.

More than 558 people were killed and over 1,800 were injured in that single day, before the assault escalated into a full-scale war that lasted two months and four days, until a ceasefire was reached on 27 November 2024.

A year later, the war feels far from over. Daily Israeli attacks continue, with more than 4,500 ceasefire violations recorded. Backed by US support, Israel maintains its objective of militarily "defeating Hezbollah" after the group was weakened during the conflict and lost key leaders, including its secretary general Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Hashem Safieddine.

Israel has also refused to withdraw from five occupied hill areas in southern Lebanon and has blocked the Lebanese army from deploying there. It has attempted to impose a buffer zone along the border, preventing residents of dozens of frontline villages, including Kfarkila, Adaisseh, Wazzani, Houla, Meiss al-Jabal, Aitaroun, Maroun al-Ras, Yaroun and Dhahira, from returning.

Israeli forces have demolished homes in border villages and continued airstrikes, ostensibly to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its capabilities.

One such strike in Bint Jbeil over the weekend targeted an alleged Hezbollah member but instead killed five people, including a father, three of his children, and wounded the mother and another child.

Lebanon has yet to complete a full damage assessment because Israeli bombardment and incursions continue across the south, parts of the Beqaa and even Beirut's southern suburbs. Officials estimate losses between 14 and 20 billion dollars, though sources told The New Arab that the figure was likely higher given the scale of infrastructure and economic damage.

More than 4,000 people were killed, 45,000 homes destroyed, 150,000 damaged, and at least 37 villages were wiped off the map. Agriculture was devastated, with an estimated 900 million dollars in losses across 130,000 hectares of farmland, and tens of thousands of olive and fruit trees were deliberately burned.

Between 23 September and 27 November 2024, Lebanon recorded 7,753 Israeli attacks, according to the National Council for Scientific Research.

These targeted homes, schools, hospitals, ambulances, places of worship, archaeological sites, media offices, and even UNIFIL and Lebanese army positions. Civilian infrastructure near Beirut's airport was also hit, forcing airlines to suspend flights.

Israel also carried out a series of assassinations, killing Hezbollah leader Nasrallah on 27 September and his successor Safieddine on 3 October.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it had carried out 4,637 operations since October 2023, including 1,666 after 23 September 2024, some reaching as far as Tel Aviv with ballistic missiles and drones.

In the year since, Lebanon has undergone major political changes. In January 2025, army commander Joseph Aoun was elected president after a long vacancy, followed in February by the formation of a government led by Nawaf Salam. Backed by the United States, Western powers and Arab states, the new leadership placed the issue of weapons at the top of its agenda, tasking the Lebanese army with drafting a disarmament plan.

Hezbollah’s influence was reduced in sensitive state institutions such as Beirut's airport and port, while the army stepped up anti-narcotics operations and began collecting weapons from Palestinian camps.

Reconstruction has not begun. Lebanese officials say the country cannot shoulder the cost alone and is waiting for international donor conferences, particularly from France, which President Emmanuel Macron promised but has so far tied to reforms.

Prime Minister Salam has identified three linked priorities as the reconstruction and recovery conference, support for the Lebanese army, and a new investment forum dubbed "Beirut 1" to attract foreign capital. He stressed that economic revival depends on security, and security depends on a strong army and state institutions

Justice still elusive

On the anniversary, Amnesty International said victims of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law were still awaiting justice and reparations.

The organisation's documentation showed Israeli forces had carried out unlawful strikes on residential buildings and systematically destroyed border villages, calling for war crimes investigations.

"A year since civilians in Lebanon began to pay a higher and higher price during the conflict, with unlawful and deadly attacks across the country and extensive destruction all along the border, victims have yet to see any form of accountability or reparation," said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"Every displaced family has the right to go home. Israel must immediately allow safe return and provide prompt, full, and adequate reparations to all victims of war crimes," she added.

Amnesty also urged Lebanon to grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed on its territory since October 2023, accusing Lebanese authorities of "blocking a vital path towards international justice" by refusing to accede to the Rome Statute.

The group further called on other states, particularly the US, to suspend arms transfers to Israel due to the risk of further violations.