The war resumed after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Hezbollah — without direct instructions from Tehran — responded on March 2 with its first rockets since the November 2024 ceasefire. The movement described the attacks as a "defensive action" and demanded that Israel withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories. Wikipedia ↗
Also read: Netanyahu ordered new strikes on Hezbollah despite the ceasefire, violations of the agreements reported
Sixty days of escalation
On March 16, the Israeli army moved into a ground operation in southern Lebanon. Eight days later, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the intention to occupy the zone up to the Litani River. April 8 brought the heaviest airstrikes of the entire war — Israel named the operation "Eternal Darkness." PBS NewsHour reported that day at least 182 dead in central Beirut and 1,739 cumulative victims over five weeks; according to later estimates, the strikes in a single day claimed more than 350 lives. PBS NewsHour ↗ Wikipedia ↗On April 16, Trump announced a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which was later extended by another three weeks. In practice, however, it did not hold: Israeli attacks continue almost daily, and Hezbollah responds with rockets. "The ceasefire is meaningless as long as Israel insists on hostile acts," declared Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded that Israel "will retain full freedom of action against any threat." Al Jazeera ↗
"The Rafah and Beit Hanoun model"
The British-Emirati daily The National, along with human rights groups it cited, described the recent weeks of the campaign as transplanting "tactics from Gaza" into Lebanon — attacks on medical infrastructure, journalists, and civilian objects in border villages. Minister Katz explicitly named this in an interview: villages near the border are to be destroyed according to the "Rafah and Beit Hanoun model" from Gaza. Al Jazeera documented in an April report that hospitals in southern Lebanon are being systematically hit and put out of operation. The National ↗ Al Jazeera ↗The humanitarian dimension
1.2 million people are displaced — more than a sixth of the country's population. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked the international community for 500 million euros to manage the crisis and stressed that the government "is not seeking confrontation with Hezbollah, but negotiations for a lasting peace." UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed that "everyone must fully respect the cessation of hostilities." UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, has had its mandate extended to December 31, 2026 as a final phase; meanwhile, the UN is preparing options for what will replace the mission after its withdrawal.Out of the spotlight
The death of Ali Khamenei and the Israeli-Iranian ceasefire of April 7 turned global attention to Tehran. For Israel, this meant that Lebanon remained outside the agreement — Netanyahu repeatedly stressed that the Iranian ceasefire "does not apply to Lebanon." European governments have so far rarely commented on the Lebanese front, as diplomatic capital is being spent on Gaza and Ukraine. In Slovak and Czech news coverage, individual incidents tend to make headlines more often than the cumulative picture since March.What hotinfo is watching
- The Aoun–Netanyahu summit — whether it takes place, and how Hezbollah and Berri react
- UNIFIL after December 31, 2026 — the UN Security Council is to decide by year's end. A US veto is the question. French and Italian signals
- Hezbollah's command — who in Iran takes over the file after Khamenei's death. Qaani vs. a new leadership
- An extension of the truce beyond mid-May 202615.5.2026 — hovorca State Departmentu Tommy Pigott oznámil predĺženie prímeria zo 16.4. o 45 dní (pôvodné vypršanie 17.5., nový rámec do ~30.6./1.7.2026). Pentagon 29.5. vojenská stopa, ministerstvo zahraničia 2.-3.6. politická. HotInfo #909972 zachytil oznámenie a 17.5. eskaláciu pod predĺženým prímerím.
- The next truce date in May — the April extension expires. Trump's statements plus Hezbollah's position→ Libanon: Izrael aj Hizballáh napriek prímeriu pokračujú v útokoch29.4. Izrael aj Hizballáh napriek prímeriu pokračujú v útokoch na juhu Libanonu (TASR, 5 mŕtvych vrátane 2 libanonských vojakov). Aprílové prímerie formálne platí ale je narušené.
- The death toll — weekly updates from Lebanon's health ministry (ANSA, AJ). If above 3,000 or above 200 children, a follow-up→ Libanon po dvoch mesiacoch druhej vojny: 13 mŕtvych v sobotu, USA tlačia na sum…28.4. Libanon hlási nových mŕtvych a zranených po izraelských útokoch (teraz.sk); týždenný update potvrdený | 2.5.: 2.mesiac druhej vojny — kumulatívne 13 mŕtvych v piatok, USA tlačí Awn-Netanjahu summit.
- An EU initiative — whether France and Italy step out with their own diplomatic track. Statements by Macron and Meloni→ Brusel schválil 100 miliónov eur pre libanonskú armádu po prímerí s IzraelomEÚ diplomatická/finančná stopa: Brusel schválil 100 mil. € pre libanonskú armádu po prímerí (SITA 4.6.). EÚ-level, FR/IT solo stopa zatiaľ samostatne nevystúpila.
- Israeli strikes during the truce — the IDF hit a Beirut suburb (Ghobeiry) and killed the top commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, with a second strike in the Bekaa valley (four dead). The truce of April 16–17 is effectively broken.→ Izrael zaútočil na Bejrút počas prímeria, cieľom bol veliteľ HizballáhuBriefing #1614 + RSS cluster 6.5.2026 21:00 — agentúra AFP, IDF generál Zamir hlási pripravenosť na ďalšiu ofenzívu.
- Hezbollah — secretary general Qassem defines the red line: the weapons are not up for negotiation with Israel (in the context of the American initiative on a regional MoU)→ Kásim: Zbrane Hizballáhu nie sú predmetom rokovaní s Izraelomteraz.sk 11.5.2026 — Kásimov výrok mení kontext potenciálnych rokovaní
- May 14 cumulative — the toll from Wednesday's strikes in Lebanon rose to 22 dead including eight children (health ministry), and Israel intensified attacks on southern villages and the Bekaa→ ONLINE: Izrael zintenzívnil útoky na Libanon, hlásia obete. Počas prímeria zomr…Predošlý indikátor 320 zachytil 13.5. 12 mŕtvych; cez noc bilancia narástla. ONLINE 891488/891350/891539/891590 — Min. zdravia uvádza 22 mŕtvych vrátane 8 detí, NNA referuje letecké údery na tri dediny na juhu.
- May 26, 2026: an Israeli strike in the Bekaa (a valley in Lebanon) — 12 dead (teraz.sk), the strikes continuing despite the truces→ Pri izraelskom útoku v libanonskom údolí Bikáa zahynulo 12 ľudíIDF zasiahla Bikáa údolie, 12 obetí vrátane civilistov (teraz.sk 26.5.2026) | 27.5.2026: HotInfo artikel #957402 — 31 mŕtvych, IDF postup cez žltú líniu, evakuácia 19 dedín
- IDF strikes on cars in southern Lebanon on May 13 — 12 dead (including two children), ahead of the planned talks→ Israeli strikes on cars in southern Lebanon kill 12, health ministry saysBBC #889041 (Israeli strikes on cars), teraz.sk #887485 cross-confirmed. Sledujeme reakciu Bejrútu, Hezbollahu, prerušenie rokovaní
- Day 20 / a month after the truce — a third round of talks in Washington, 22 dead including eight children, the Uri Tzafon settlers, France24 on patrimony, Respekt on the hotels→ Mesiac po prímerí v Libanone: 22 mŕtvych a osadnícke výzvy na anexiu po rieku L…HotInfo článok 896864 publikovaný 15.5.2026 06:47 ráno. Pokrýva 3 unique angles: SITA osadníci scoop (Uri Tzafon, Sloutskinová, anexia po Litani), France24 ničenie sakrálneho dedičstva, Respekt hotely odmietajú online rezervácie.
- An IDF strike on May 16 hit a civil defence building in southern Lebanon — paramedics killed (Pravda, May 16)→ ONLINE: Izraelský útok zasiahol civilnú obranu v Libanone: Mŕtvi zdravotníci a …Eskalácia napriek prímeriu, ciele teraz aj humanitárne budovy.
- President Aoun publicly committed to doing "even the impossible" to end the war — a new diplomatic signal from Beirut (the question of disarming Hezbollah is still unresolved)→ Libanonský prezident tvrdí, že urobí aj nemožné pre ukončenie vojny teraz.sk 18.5. — libanonský prezident verejne deklaroval pripravenosť na ústupky pre zastavenie izraelských úderov, kontext novej rundy rokovaní vo Washingtone.
- Israel declared all of southern Lebanon a combat zone and ordered civilians to evacuate — the most sweeping step since the truce began (May 28, 2026)→ Nahost-Konflikt - Israel erklärt Südlibanon zur Kampfzone und ruft Menschen zur…Deutschlandfunk 28.5., IDF evakuácia, Israel declares Südlibanon Kampfzone
- June 4, 2026: under American auspices Israel and Lebanon agreed on implementing the truce (pilot zones, the LAF south of the Litani, talks around June 22 in Washington). Hezbollah was not a party, and Iran (Araghchi) threatens to resume the war if Beirut is struck. Toll: 3,468 (AP).→ Izrael a Libanon sa dohodli na realizácii prímeria. Visí na Hizballáhu, Irán hr…Follow-up článok HotInfo 1002212, 6 tier-1 zdrojov, Codex 2 vlny
- Strikes continue during the truce — on August 15, 2026 an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon left 11 dead according to Lebanese authorities, the most since the truce. Israel hopes the pressure moves the talks with Lebanon along.→ Při izraelských útocích v Libanonu zemřelo 11 lidí, uvádějí tamní úřadyPhase B /udrzba 16.8.2026: seznamzpravy.cz #1363511 + teraz.sk #1362106 + #1364047; náš briefing #4283 (čl. 1362830).
