SUMMARY
Lebanon’s call for independence started during the Second World War leading to independence in 1943. It was briefly involved in the 1948 war against Israel, though never officially invaded Israel. In 1975, the country faced civil war which lasted until 1990. During the war, Lebanon was invaded by Israel in 1982. In its aftermath, Hezbollah was founded. In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah fought out a war on Lebanese territory. The conflict reignited in 2023, amid the Gaza war, and escalated in 2024.
After years of relative status-quo, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023 amid the Gaza war. Following Hamas' ‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’, Hezbollah launched guided missiles and artillery shells at Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farms, in support of the operation, initiating a series of strikes and skirmishes around the border areas. As time went on, Israeli airstrikes targeted towns in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah's missile attacks reached deeper into Israel. The conflict escalated further to levels not seen since 2006 in September 2024. These later escalations started with the Israeli involvement in thousands of explosions of so-called “pagers” – wireless telecommunications devices – on 17 September. On 18 September, hundreds of walkie-talkies also exploded. These events were followed by an intense barrage of airstrikes leaving thousands killed and a ground invasion of Lebanon by Israel, which started on 1 October 2024.
Since 1946, Lebanon has experienced the interstate, intrastate and non-state, and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
2025
The ceasefire that entered into force in late November 2024 reduced the intensity of violence, but did not bring hostilities to an end. Israel continued to carry out air and drone strikes in Lebanon, mainly against alleged Hezbollah targets in the south. Fatalities in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict nevertheless decreased substantially, from more than 4,000 in 2024 to over 300 in 2025.
Background
Before independence in 1943 Lebanon had been a part of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years, then as a part of “Greater Syria”. When the Ottoman Empire was dissolved towards the end of the First World War the territory came under a French mandate. When France was occupied by Nazi-Germany during the Second World War Lebanon chose to assert its independence, becoming a state of its own in 1943. French forces had completely evacuated the country in 1946.
After independence Lebanon’s political life was dictated by the “National Pact”, an unwritten constitutional formula that balanced power between the country’s dominant confessional sects; the Maronite-Christians, the Sunnis and the Shiites. The political power of each sect was based largely on demographic proportions, with the Maronites being the most powerful, followed by the Sunnis and, lastly, the Shiites. Changing demographics (in favor of the Sunnis and Shiites) and differing views on what political alignments the state should pursue however soon created deep rifts in society.
Lebanese Civil War
The intra-state conflict that begun in 1975 (see below) lasted until 1990, pitting a vast number of sectarian and political militias against each other and the government of Lebanon. The conflict ended when Syrian forces crushed the last remaining opposition to the Taif Agreement; signed in 1989 by Lebanese parliamentarians. The Taif Agreement amended but preserved the sectarian political system, mandated Syrian forces to remain in the country (withdrawing in 2005) and allowed the Shiite Hezbollah militia to maintain its armed forces.
Hezbollah thus remained in southern Lebanon, where it fought against the Israeli occupation of parts of Lebanon’s territory. Israel relinquished these occupied territories to Lebanese sovereignty in 2000. Despite the withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian forces from Lebanon sectarian divides continued to plague the stability of the political system well into the 21st century.
Islamic State
The Islamic State (IS) was seen as having a stated goal of incompatibility towards the Government of Lebanon following the announcement of its former name, Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), in 2013. Al-Sham is an old term referring to a large area by the eastern Mediterranean, including Syria and Lebanon. In a major spillover from the conflict in Syria, forces from IS and its allies of Jabhat al-Nusra crossed into Lebanon and captured the northeastern town Arsal and surrounding areas from Lebanese security forces in August 2014.
By 2017, the IS force stationed around Arsal was hard-pressed, and the Lebanese army prepared to retake the final pockets of IS-controlled territory. In July and August 2017, Lebanese forces moved against IS positions, systematically driving them away from the inaccessible hill areas outside Arsal and Ras Balbeek. After intense fighting, several hundred IS militants surrendered to the Lebanese army, and to a combined Syrian regime/Hezbollah force conducting a parallel offensive in Western Qalamoun just across the border in Syria. This marked the first time a large number of IS militants had surrendered at the same time; the militants were then allowed to withdraw from Arsal and Western Qalamoun to areas still controlled by IS in Syria.
Pre-1989 conflicts
The UCDP recorded three armed conflicts before 1989. A first armed intrastate conflict broke out along the aforementioned rifts in 1958, when the Independent Nasserite Movement (composed mainly of Sunni Muslims) attempted to topple the Christian president in order to incorporate Lebanon into Egyptian President Nasser’s United Arab Republic. The Christian-dominated government of Lebanon, being more inclined to align with the West, resisted and an intrastate conflict followed.
The constitutional order of the “National Pact” was once again challenged in the early 1970s, as demographic changes and international events continued to alter the political balance in Lebanon. An intra-state conflict began in 1975 and lasted until 1990, pitting a vast number of sectarian and political militias against each other and the government of Lebanon. This conflict, commonly referred to as the Lebanese Civil War, also saw active participation by Palestinian groups (such as the PLO) and the states of Israel and Syria. The conflict ended when Syrian forces crushed the last remaining opposition to the Taif Agreement; signed in 1989 by Lebanese parliamentarians. The Taif Agreement amended but preserved the sectarian political system, mandated Syrian forces to remain in the country (withdrawing in 2005) and allowed the Shiite Hezbollah militia to maintain its armed forces.
In the sphere of interstate conflicts Lebanon joined its Arab allies (primarily Jordan, Egypt and Syria) in an attack on Israel in 1948 to prevent the creation of an independent Israel. Lebanon and its allies were however soon defeated and the country did not take part in the many armed conflicts that followed between Israel and its neighbors.
Since 1946, Lebanon has experienced the interstate, intrastate, non-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
