Israel Establishes Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon

Hezbollah entered the war with Israel on March 2, 2026, after holding fire during a fragile 15-month truce that followed a November 2024 ceasefire. The truce had come after a conflict sparked by the war in Gaza during which Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed.

Israel has since occupied a security zone stretching as far as 10 km into southern Lebanon, where it maintains troops in a self-declared buffer zone.

Lebanon’s government held face-to-face talks with Israel in April 2026 for the first time in decades. A U.S.- and Israeli-mediated ceasefire took effect on April 16, 2026, leading to a significant reduction in hostilities, though both sides continue to trade blows in the buffer zone.

More than 2,600 people have been killed since March 2, 2026, around a fifth of them women, children and medics, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hezbollah’s media office stated that the figure of several thousand Hezbollah fighters killed was inaccurate but referred to the health ministry’s figures.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi said the group saw a window to “break this vicious cycle.” Al-Moussawi acknowledged losses and damage in southern Lebanon. More than a dozen Hezbollah officials stated they see a chance to reverse deteriorating fortunes by aligning with Tehran in its war with Israel and the United States.

Scores of Hezbollah fighters went to the frontline towns of Bint Jbeil and Khiyam intending to fight to the death, and their bodies have yet to be recovered, according to one source, a Hezbollah commander. In the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, more than two dozen freshly dug graves were quickly filled with fighters’ bodies after the April 16, 2026 ceasefire.