1. Home
  2. Countries
  3. Lebanon

Lebanon

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah Lebanon (January 13 – 25 , 2025)

The IDF continued to thwart Hezbollah's attempts to violate the ceasefire. IDF forces located and destroyed weapons and terrorist facilities in south Lebanon, some near UNIFIL bases and in residential buildings. Lebanese army forces continued to deploy in the villages evacuated by the IDF in the western and central sectors of south Lebanon; Na'im Qassem, Hezbollah secretary general, warned Israel not to try the organization's patience with "violations." A Hezbollah member of the Lebanese Parliament threatened that if Israel did not withdraw by January 26, 2025, the ceasefire agreement would collapse and the Lebanese would have to "confront the enemy"; French President Macron and UN secretary general Guterres visited Beirut and met with senior Lebanese officials. They called for the completion of Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon and expressed their commitment to the success of the ceasefire, strengthening the Lebanese army and rebuilding Lebanon; Senior Hezbollah officials rejected claims that the organization had been weakened and stated that the "resistance" remained strong and was cooperating with state institutions. Alleged information about the planned burial site for Hassan Nasrallah was posted to social media; Lebanese President Aoun gave Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the mission of forming a new government. Hezbollah representatives announced they did not support Salam's appointment; however, according to reports, progress has been made in discussions regarding integrating Hezbollah into the government.
Read more...

Summary of Terrorist Events, December 2024

During December 2024 fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, with continuous attacks from the Houthis in Yemen. The ceasefire in south Lebanon was maintained and the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq did not attack Israel; The Gaza Strip: Palestinian terrorists fired twenty rockets at Israeli territory, compared to eleven the previous month. A UAV was launched toward Israel and was intercepted. Targeted attacks on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders and terrorist operatives continued, including the elimination of Tharwat al-Beic, head of the Hamas security forces, and Diab Ali al-Jarou, mayor of Deir al-Balah. Terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre were also eliminated; Israel, Judea and Samaria: Palestinian terrorists carried out nine attacks (six of them in Israeli territory) which killed two Israeli civilians; four attacks were carried out in November 2024. Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria, and eliminated terrorist operatives on the ground and from the air, including commanders of terrorist networks; Lebanon: The ceasefire which went into effect on November 27, 2024, was maintained. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for one attack on an IDF post. Groups allied with Hezbollah reported casualties from IDF strikes which targeted violations of the ceasefire; The Shi'ite militias: The Houthis claimed responsibility for twenty missiles and UAV attacks on Israeli targets, compared to five attacks in November 2024. They also claimed responsibility for six joint attacks with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq against Israel, the first such act of cooperation since July 2024. However, Islamic militias in Iraq have not claimed responsibility for attacks on Israel since November 24, 2024, the result of pressure from the Iraqi government and concerns over potential Israeli retaliation.
Read more...

Spotlight on Syria (Following the Toppling of the Syrian Regime) January 8–15, 2025

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al-Julani), said it was necessary to adopt a "state-building mentality" and abandon revenge to make it possible to establish stable Syrian institutions; The Syrian defense minister and chief of staff met with the heads of armed militias, and reportedly an agreement was reached to integrate most of them into the Ministry of Defense and the new Syrian army; Al-Sharaa continued meeting with foreign diplomats who arrived in Damascus, including the interim prime minister of Lebanon. Al-Sharaa declared that Iran and Hezbollah had caused damage to Syria and that the transfer of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah through Syria would not be permitted. The Syrian foreign minister participated in a meeting of Arab and Western foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia, who called for preserving Syria’s unity and lifting sanctions; The Syrian justice minister announced courts would be established to prosecute those who committed crimes against the people and to pursue senior figures of the previous regime who were abroad. Security forces of the new regime continue their operations to locate senior officials of the Assad regime still in the country. Two security personnel were ambushed and killed by Alawite gunmen. Syrian security forces and Hezbollah operatives smuggling weapons exchanged fire on the Syria-Lebanon border; The commander of the Kurdish militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces said they did not seek to separate from Syria but wanted geographic autonomy to safeguard their rights. Turkish President Erdogan justified his country's involvement in Syria. A report of unclear reliability claimed that Iran would supply Kurdish organizations in Iraq and Syria with 1,500 UAVs to counter Turkish activity; IDF operations continue in the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights, with thousands of weapons seized. The international community expressed concern over Israel's "invasion" of Syria.
Read more...

Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (January 8 – 15, 2025)

Senior Iranian officials continued to glorify the power of Iran and the “resistance front” even amid the developments in the region. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei stressed Iran’s support for the “resistance” in the Palestinian arena, in Lebanon, and in Yemen. IRGC commander Salami declared that developments in the region have no impact on Iran’s deterrence capability and that it is stronger than ever; The Iranian foreign minister appointed his envoy to the Middle East, Mohammad-Reza Sheibani, as his special representative for Syria. He stressed that decision-making regarding the future of Syria depends on the Syrian people; A former senior IRGC officer in Syria admitted that Iran had suffered a severe defeat in Syria and criticized the Assad regime’s lack of commitment to Iran and the “resistance,” as well as Russia’s conduct in Syria. His remarks are a clear deviation from the official Iranian line, which tries to downplay the importance of developments in Syria for Iran and the pro-Iranian axis in the region; Iran welcomed the election of Joseph Aoun as president of Lebanon, stressing that his election was made possible by Hezbollah’s support and does not pose a threat to the interests of Iran or Hezbollah; In a meeting with the Iraqi prime minister, who visited Tehran, the Supreme Leader stressed that the pro-Iranian Shiite militias are one of the most important components of the government in Iraq and must be strengthened even more. His remarks were made amid reports regarding the possibility of integrating the militias into the Iraqi armed forces; The Houthis claimed responsibility for six attacks against Israel using ballistic missiles, drones, and cruise missiles. The IDF Spokesperson said two missiles and four drones were intercepted. The Israeli Air Force carried out another attack against Houthi targets in Yemen. Senior Houthi regime officials made it clear that they would continue the attacks as “support” for the Gaza Strip and promised “surprises"; The Houthis claimed responsibility for two attacks on the American aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, but the claims have not been verified. The US Central Command reported attacks against underground facilities for storing advanced Houthi weapons.
Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah Lebanon and (January 6 – 13, 2025)

The IDF continued to combat Hezbollah's attempts to violate the ceasefire, targeting Hezbollah operatives and destroying weapons and terrorist facilities in south Lebanon. Meanwhile, IDF forces withdrew from the western sector of south Lebanon and Lebanese army forces began deploying in the area. According to reports, the Lebanese army dismantled approximately eighty Hezbollah military sites; Hezbollah continued to accuse Israel of violating the ceasefire and delaying the deployment of the Lebanese army in south Lebanon. A senior Hezbollah figure claimed the organization's leadership would decide how to act when the ceasefire ended; Amos Hochstein, the American special envoy, visited Lebanon and met with senior government officials. According to reports, he said Israel would complete its withdrawal from Lebanese territory on January 26, 2025, one day before the end of the ceasefire; The son of late Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, claimed he had no plans to lead the organization in the future; Reconstruction in Lebanon: 250,000 destroyed housing units were mapped and Hezbollah paid $200 million in compensation; Najib Mikati, prime minister of the Lebanese interim government, visited Syria and met with Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani), the country's de facto leader. Al-Sharaa said that Syria would not allow the transfer of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah; General Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese army, was elected Lebanon's new president after more than two years during which the position stood vacant. In his inauguration speech, he said he would enforce the state's monopoly on the holding of arms throughout the country and noted the need to expel the "Israeli occupation" and respond to IDF attacks.
Read more...

Documents captured show how Hamas uses information published by an Israeli research center

IDF forces in the Gaza Strip captured thousands of Hamas documents, including those relating to the routes Iran used to smuggle weapons to its proxies in the "resistance axis." One of the documents described the smuggling routes for weapons, technological information and money from Iran to Lebanon and Syria, in order to examine the measures taken by Israel and the United States to prevent the smuggling; An examination of the data showed that a significant portion of the information in the captured document, including the maps, was based on and copied from publications by the Alma Center, an Israeli research institute. It is noted that the captured document contained less information than the original document; Documents published by Israeli research institutes are used by Hamas to understand to what extent its capabilities and those of the "resistance axis" are exposed, and it is entirely possible that on occasion the information is presented as Hamas insights without references to the original source. The author of the document in question pretended to have written it, presenting information as if he had acquired it himself, apparently to make it seem as though he were an authority. 
Read more...

Previous years bulletins

2026202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005