After a new escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, Lebanon has again found itself at the center of a regional crisis. On March 2, 2026, the group fired rockets and drones at military targets in northern Israel, including the Ramat David air base, an observation post on Mount Meron, and the Yitzhak camp in the occupied Golan area. Hezbollah said it viewed the attack as retaliation for the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and for Israel’s ongoing actions in Lebanon.
Israel soon carried out retaliatory strikes on the group’s command centers, weapons depots, and infrastructure in Dahieh, Tyre, southern villages, and the Bekaa Valley. According to the IDF, more than 70 sites were hit on the first day. Lebanese authorities reported at least 52 dead and 154 wounded; the casualties included children and other civilians.
One of the hit sites was a building used by Al-Qard al-Hassan, a network linked to Hezbollah. Israel also mobilized about 100,000 reservists, deployed armored brigades along the border, and sent troops into southern Lebanon to create a buffer zone. On the Israeli side, there were no fatalities, though several people were injured.
Against the backdrop of the escalation, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said after a cabinet meeting on March 2 that Hezbollah’s military and security activities were illegal. He demanded an end to such actions, the handover of the group’s remaining weapons to the state, and the restriction of its role to politics.
Hezbollah, founded in 1982 with Iranian backing, kept its weapons after Lebanon’s civil war under the banner of “resistance to Israeli occupation.” Over time, it developed its own social network, financial institutions, and armed force, gaining a special position within Lebanon’s political system. The current crisis, in the author’s assessment, has become one of the most serious challenges to that status in many years.