Since the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, which has mostly been confined to southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, a number of armed clashes and standoffs have been reported in other parts of the Middle East, particularly involving Shia Islamist militias backed by Iran. There has been speculation that any escalation of these incidents, specifically between Israel and Hezbollah—an Iranian-backed Shia militia which is based in southern Lebanon and which is more powerful than the Lebanese Armed Forces (see Hezbollah armed strength)—could bring the entire region into a full-scale military conflict. In addition to the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia—which controls parts of northern Yemen, but is not internationally recognized as the country's government (see Presidential Leadership Council)—became directly involved in the conflict by firing missiles at Israeli cities, albeit on a limited scale; the Houthis have since focused more on seizing civilian cargo ships passing through the Red Sea in order to inflict economic losses on Israel and the global economy, evoking American and British airstrikes against Houthi-controlled Yemen. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have also mounted numerous attacks against American military bases in the region; these confrontations have increasingly escalated tensions between long-time adversaries Iran and the United States, especially after the 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria. In the West Bank, over 100 Palestinians have been killed in armed confrontations with Israeli soldiers and Israeli settlers, as violence in the territory increased drastically following the Hamas-led attack on Israel.
Background
The outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war had followed Hezbollah's declaration of support and praise for the Hamas-led attack on Israel, which took place on 7 October 2023, in which Palestinian factions in Lebanon immediately took part in. In the coming weeks other Iranian-backed groups, such as the Houthis, expressed their support after the 7 October attack on Israel. From the inception of Hezbollah to the present the destruction of the State of Israel has been a primary goal for Hezbollah. Hezbollah not only opposes the government and policies of the State of Israel, but also each and every Jewish civilian who lives in Israel. Its 1985 manifesto reportedly states "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated. We recognize no treaty with it, no ceasefire, and no peace agreements." The Houthi movement is a Shia militant organization which controls northern Yemen and is supported and funded by Iran. Houthis have been accused, particularly by the governments of the United States and United Kingdom, of acting as an Iranian proxy.
Lebanon: Israel–Hezbollah conflict
On 8 October 2023, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired guided rockets and artillery shells at Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms one day into the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Israel retaliated by launching drone strikes and artillery shells at Hezbollah positions near Lebanon's boundary with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The next day, Israel exchanged a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon near the towns of Marwahin, Ayta ash Shab and Dhayra in the Bint Jbeil district. This was after numerous Palestinian militants infiltrated the Israeli border. The IDF killed at least two perpetrators (likely Palestinians), while a third returned to Lebanon.
Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said that 'when time comes for any action, we will carry it out' stating that Hezbollah was ready and 'would "contribute" to confrontations against Israel according to its own plan'.
On 13 October, while a group of Reuters, AFP and Al Jazeera journalists were transmitting a live video feed of an IDF outpost in Aalma ech Chaab, two tank rounds fired directly hit the group. The first killed Reuters photojournalist Issam Abdallah. The second strike was much more powerful and ignited the Al Jazeera vehicle, a white Toyota, which Al Jazeera journalists Carmen Joukhadar and Elie Brakhya, as well as their AFP colleague Dylan Collins were standing next to. Reuters' photographer Christina Assi was also critically injured. Lebanon's army has said the IDF fired the missile that killed Abdallah. Another Reuters reporter at the scene said Abdallah was killed by projectiles fired from the direction of Israel. His last post on Instagram, posted a week before he was killed, was a photograph of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera Arabic who had been killed by Israel in 2022.
On 12 November Hezbollah anti-tank missile and mortar attacks killed an employee of the Israel Electric Corporation who was conducting repair work and injured 21 other Israelis, including seven IDF soldiers and six of the fatality's colleagues. Hezbollah also claimed to have struck an IDF bulldozer in a separate attack. The IDF said it had launched a drone strike at a militant cell that tried to launch antitank missiles near Metula. Further clashes also killed one Hezbollah member.
The IDF said that they killed four militants that infiltrated the Israeli border through Shebaa while an IDF unit was patrolling nearby on 14 January 2024. Five IDF soldiers were wounded. A group calling itself the "Islamic Glory Brigades" later claimed responsibility for the attack and announced that 3 of their members were killed and 2 were able to escape. The same day, two Israeli civilians; a man and his 70 year-old mother, were killed by Hezbollah anti-tank missiles in Kfar Yuval.
Assassinations
On 2 January 2024, Israel conducted an airstrike in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut, resulting in the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau, and the death of six other members. Al-Arouri was also responsible for the expansion of Hamas' activities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including attacks on Israelis. The assassination occurred one day before Hezbollah commemorated the 4th anniversary of the assassination of senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. On 6 January, Hezbollah launched approximately 40 rockets into northern Israel, describing it as an "initial response" to al-Arouri’s killing. According to Israel, the rockets targeted a strategic Airbase near Mount Meron, causing significant damage to it.
On 8 January, Israel assassinated Wissam al-Tawil, the deputy commander of Hezbollah's Redwan Force, whom it accused of carrying out the attack on Meron airbase two days earlier. In response to al-Tawil's killing, Hezbollah launched a drone attack on Israel's Northern Command headquarters in Safed on the following day, situated approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the border. Ali Hussein Barji, the commander of Hezbollah's aerial forces in southern Lebanon who was reportedly responsible for the attack, was killed by an airstrike, according to Israel, alongside three other Hezbollah members, in Khirbet Selm shortly before al-Tawil's funeral began. However, Hezbollah denied that Barji was killed.
West Bank
Tensions and violence between Israeli military forces and settlers in the West Bank were escalating long before the start of the 2023 war. According to the UN, 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians on record, and the year to September 2023 already represented the deadliest year in history for children in the West Bank.
Jenin
On 12 October 2023, Israel conducted a raid in Jenin, West Bank, resulting in the reported detention of a Hamas fighter and injuries to other individuals. On 14 October, another raid was launched in the city, leading to the deaths of multiple people.
On 22 October, an airstrike carried out by the Israel Defense Forces targeted the Al-Ansar Mosque, causing extensive damage. Two people were killed, and three others were injured. The IDF asserted that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) had been operating from a compound beneath the mosque. The Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, characterized the attack as a "dangerous escalation in the use of warplanes" and expressed concern over the adoption of tactics from Gaza.
On 27 October, Ayser Mohammad Al-Amer, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, was reportedly killed during a clash with the IDF.
On 29 November, 14-year-old Basel Abu Al-Wafa and 8-year-old Adam Al-Ghool were shot dead by Israeli forces during the Jenin incursions. CCTV footage depicting the killings show Basel Abu Al-Wafa being shot at multiple times, sustaining mortal wounds while 8-year old Adam Al-Ghool was killed with a shot to the head.A 17-year-old was reportedly shot and killed by IDF forces inside the Khalil Suleiman hospital compound near the Jenin refugee camp, accourding to accounts by the Doctors Without Borders.
A dozen raids were reported on 2 January 2024, with a violent raid in Jenin and violent confrontations in Azzun, resulting in the death of four Palestinians. Raids were reported in Ya'bad on 5 January, with an eleven-year-old wounded. A doctor described a drone strike on 7 January, stating one man "was decapitated. It seemed the missile directly hit him. Others had their limbs severed." All entrances into Jenin were reported blocked on 9 January. The chair of the Jenin high-level committee stated Israel had destroyed streets, electric poles, water lines, and a monument to Shireen Abu Akleh.
On January 30, Israeli forces disguised as medical personnel raided a hospital in Jenin, killing three Palestinian men they alleged as fighters, but whom doctors at the hospital reported as a paralyzed man in a wheelchair along with his brother and a friend of his.
Tulkarm
On 19 October 2023 at 3 am, Israeli forces conducted a raid in Tulkarm, focusing on Nur Shams, various neighborhoods, and the Tulkarm camp. In the Nur Shams camp, a drone deployed by Israel resulted in casualties among a group of Palestinians. The Israeli army reported the death of one officer and injuries to nine soldiers due to the detonation of an explosive device in the Nour Shams camp, with the wounded soldiers transported to the Meir Hospital.
On the second day of the raid, 20 October, explosions occurred at dawn and in the morning hours. The Tulkarm Battalion reported that additional armed groups had reached Tulkarm to support their efforts. At 7 am, Israeli forces concluded their 30-hour raid, withdrawing from the city and its two camps. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed 13 casualties, including 5 children, with the deceased and injured transported to Martyr Dr. Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital.
Five people were injured during a raid on 3 January 2024, including one person hit by a live bullet, three people beaten by Israeli soldiers, and one person who was rammed by an Israeli jeep. A forty hour raid on Nur Shams concluded on 4 January, with more than a dozen wounded from soldier beatings. 500 people were reportedly interrogated. The head of the Tulkarem camp services committee condemned an Israeli killing of three young men after video showed soldiers running over the body of one young man after shooting him dead. A seven-hour raid on Nur Shams occurred on 12 January, resulting in damage to infrastructure and leading the camp's emergency head to state, "There is no street inside the camp or alley that has not been destroyed." A teen boy was beaten to death by Israeli soldiers on 13 January.
Other incidents
On 12 October 2023, a group of Israeli soldiers and settlers allegedly stripped a group of men naked in Ramallah, urinating on them, burning them with cigarettes, and sexually assaulted one man. Five people were wounded during a raid in Ramallah.[citation needed]
On 31 October, Israeli forces heightened their operations in other parts of the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of five Palestinians in Qabatiya, Tammun, and Nablus. This brought the total number of casualties in the West Bank since 7 October to 90 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported Israeli forces had fired live ammunition on youth protesters in Halhul, injuring two, with additional raids in Tubas, Qalqilya, Deir Abu Da'if, Jalbun, and Jalqamus.
On 23 December, raids were reported across the West Bank, including in Dheisheh, Hebron, Yatta, Beita, Qaryut, Jericho, Ein as-Sultan, and Aqabat Jaber. Explosions and armed fighting were reported in Balata Camp on 24 December. 35 people were arrested in raids across the West Bank on 25 December, which included the raiding of 200 homes in Burqa. Officials in Sebastia reported Israeli settlers were attacking and destroying archeological sites.
On 5 January 2024, a teenage boy was shot and killed in Bani Zeid al-Gharbia. At least fourteen people were injured during a raid in Nablus on 9 January. On 10 January, five were wounded in Nablus. The head of the Balata Camp service committee stated Israeli soldiers had killed five men in the camp on 17 January 2024, then stated, "Israeli forces kidnapped the bodies of four of the men as well as some body parts of Yazan al-Najmi".
Red Sea crisis
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis
Several strikes against Israel and commercial ships in the Red Sea are thought to have launched by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. On 19 October, the United States Navy destroyer USS Carney shot down several missiles that were traveling north over the Red Sea towards Israel. On 31 October, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the group had launched ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel, and that they would continue to do so "to help the Palestinians to victory" in an event that has been misrepresented in some news sites as a declaration of war by Yemen. On 19 November, tensions increased when the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship chartered by a Japanese logistics company with 25 individuals on board, was hijacked by the Houthis using a Mil Mi-17 helicopter.
On 3 December the Houthis stated that they had attacked two ships, the Unity Explorer and Number 9, allegedly linked to Israel, in order "to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea". Any ship destined for Israel, according to the group, was a "legitimate target". Saree announced in a post on X that the "horrific massacres" against the Palestinians in Gaza was the reason for this decision and that they will not stop until the Gaza Strip is supplied with food and medicine. Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi called this development a "global issue" and that Israel is "giving the world some time to organize in order to prevent this" otherwise, the country "would will act in order to remove this naval siege".
American-led airstrikes in Houthi-controlled Yemen
On 3 January 2024 the United States and a group of countries issued an ultimatum to the Houthis to stop their activities.
Since 12 January 2024 the United States and the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, have launched a series of Tomahawk cruise missile and airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Houthi attacks on shipping were condemned by the United Nations Security Council the day before the initial strike. US President Joe Biden ordered the strikes, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak convened his cabinet to authorize British participation. American officials said the strikes were intended to degrade Houthi capabilities to attack Red Sea cargo ships rather than to target leaders and Iranian trainers; the Houthis said at least five people were killed and six wounded.
In the week that followed, seven additional Tomahawk missile strikes on targets in Yemen were conducted by the US Navy.[citation needed]
Iraq, Syria, and Jordan
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Israeli airstrikes on Iran's IRGC personnel
From 12 to 22 October 2023, Israel launched at least three attacks on airports in Syria, particularly on Damascus and Aleppo, killing two workers from the Syrian meteorology service based at Damascus International Airport. On 24 October, Israeli airstrikes in Daraa Governorate reportedly resulted in the death of eight Syrian soldiers and injuries to seven others, as per Syria's state-run news agency SANA. The IDF acknowledged the airstrikes, stating they were a response to two rockets fired from Syria into Northern Israel.
On 20 January 2024, Brigadier General Sadegh Omidzadeh, an intelligence officer with the IRGC Quds Force in Syria, along with four other IRGC officers, were reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an Israeli missile strike targeted a four-story building in the Mezzeh district. The attack resulted in the death of thirteen individuals, including five Iranians, and the complete destruction of the building where leaders aligned with Iran were having a meeting.
On 1 April 2024, senior Quds Force commander of the IRGC, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was killed by an suspected Israeli airstrike that targeted the consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus. Between five and seven people were killed in the airstrike according to Iranian ambassador, Hossein Akbari. The strike caused "massive destruction" to the consulate building as well as damage to neighboring buildings, according to Syrian state media. Zahedi is the most senior IRGC officer who has been killed since the assassination of Qasem Soleimani by the U.S. in January 2020.
Iraqi attacks on American military bases
Starting on 17 October 2023 and in response to United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq initiated a coordinated series of more than 130 attacks on U.S. military bases and assets in Syria and Iraq. These attacks resulted in injuries to dozens of U.S. service members and on 28 January 2024 killed three. In response, the U.S. has launched multiple counterattacks, resulting in the death of over 30 militants including a senior commander of the Nujaba Movement, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi.
Iraqi attacks on Israel
Since November 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for drone and missile attacks against targets within Israel in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The group stated it would continue to "strike enemy strongholds." Strikes were recorded in Eilat, the Dead Sea coastline, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Karish rig, Haifa Bay, Ashdod, Kiryat Shmona and in Tel Aviv.
Iranian missile strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan
On 15 January 2024, Iran carried out a series of aerial and drone strikes within Iraq and Syria, claiming that it had targeted the regional headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and several strongholds of terrorist groups in response to the Kerman bombings on 3 January, for which the Islamic State took responsibility. The city of Erbil, which is the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region, was the target of 11 of the 15 total missiles that were fired. The remaining four missiles were directed at Syria's Idlib Governorate, targeting areas held by the Syrian opposition. In Erbil itself, the Iranian attack killed four civilians and injured 17 others. Iran's claims of having targeted the Israeli presence in Kurdistan and terrorist groups in Syria were rejected by the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdish government, both of which condemned the attack.
Iranian drone and missile strikes in Israel
On 13 April 2024, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian military, in collaboration with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Lebanese group Hezbollah, and the Yemeni Houthis, launched retaliatory attacks against Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. The attack was codenamed by Iran as Operation True Promise (Persian: وعده صادق, romanized: va'de-ye sādeq). Iran said it was retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on 1 April, which killed two Iranian generals. The strike was seen as a spillover of the Israel–Hamas war and marked Iran's first direct attack on Israel since the start of their proxy conflict.
Several countries in the Middle East closed their airspace a few hours before Iran launched a standoff attack against Israel around midnight on 13 April. Iran's attack sent around 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles toward Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.. The Israel Defense Forces used Arrow 3 and David's Sling systems to shoot down many of the incoming weapons. American, British, French, and Jordanian air forces also shot some down. France, which intervened at Jordan's request, deployed warships to provide radar coverage. Jordan said it had intercepted objects flying into its airspace to protect its citizens.Israeli retaliatory strikes on Iran
On 19 April 2024, at 5:23 a.m. IRST, the Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes targeting an air defense facility within Iran. The limited airstrikes targeted an air defense radar site at an airbase near Isfahan, in central Iran. Israeli missiles appear to have hit their target directly. Satellite images suggest that a surface-to-air missile battery was damaged or destroyed. There was no extensive damage to the base itself. The attack was launched in response to the Iranian drone and missile strikes in Israel, which itself was an Iranian retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
Iranian media and social media reported minor explosions near Isfahan, where Iran has nuclear facilities, a drone manufacturing facility, and a major airbase. Iranian state media said that Israeli drones flying over the region were shot down by the Iranian Air Defense Force. Three Iranian officials confirmed to The New York Times that Israel was involved. US officials confirmed that at least three missiles from Israeli aircraft had struck Iran. No strikes were reported on Iran's nuclear sites.
According to a senior US official speaking to ABC News, Israeli aircraft, operating beyond Iran's borders, launched three missiles targeting an air defense radar site guarding the Natanz nuclear facility. The official further stated that the assessment indicated the successful destruction of the targeted site. He also said that the objective of the strike was to communicate to Iran Israel's capabilities without escalating tensions further. An Iranian official told Reuters that the explosions were from Israeli drones being shot down, and claimed that there had been no missile attack on Iran.Casualties
West Bank
In the West Bank, related violence during the conflict killed 243 Palestinians and wounded at least 2,472. Several thousand Gazan workers were in Israel at the time when the conflict started. As of 16 October some of them were detained at a "holding facility" in the West Bank while others sought refuge in the Palestinian communities of the West Bank. The Minister of Labor for the Palestinian Authority estimated 4,500 workers are unaccounted for while Israeli media outlet N12 reported 4,000 Gazans were in Israeli holding facilities. The Palestinian Prisoners Society said that Israeli forces had arrested over 1,450 West Bank Palestinians since 7 October. On 29 October, thirty Israeli human rights organizations addressed settler violence in the West Bank, asking the international community to "act urgently" to end it. On 30 October, the German government called on Israel to protect Palestinians in the West Bank. On 31 October, EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell "firmly condemned" settler attacks in the West Bank. Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated the United States was "deeply concerned," and condemned the killings of Palestinians in the West Bank.
Lebanon
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 76,000 Lebanese were displaced from their homes. As of 8 January 2024, the Ministry of Public Health of Lebanon reported 570 people wounded.
An Israeli strike on 13 October killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injured six other journalists from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera. A February 2024 report by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank killed Abadallah when it fired at "clearly identifiable journalists", and that this broke international law. The report "assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident", with no records of any exchange of fire across the border for the 40 minutes before the tank firing. The Israel Defense Forces responded to the United Nations report by claiming that Hezbollah attacked them, so tank fire was used to retaliate.
At least 200 militants were killed. 157 Hezbollah members, including at least 10 in Syria, 16 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members, one Amal Movement member and one SSNP member. One Lebanese army soldier was killed and three others were injured.[citation needed]
Israel
At least 65,000 civilians were displaced in a mass evacuation from northern Israel. Three Israeli civilians were killed. On 5 November, two Israeli civilians were killed. One was killed when anti-tank missiles hit the Yiftah kibbutz and another in Kiryat Shmona. On 23 November, in Hezbollah's deadliest attack since the start of the clashes, Hezbollah anti-tank missile and mortar attacks killed an employee of the Israel Electric Corporation who was conducting repair work and injured 21 other Israelis, including seven IDF soldiers and six of the fatality's colleagues.
In total 12 IDF soldiers, including deputy commander Alim Abdallah, and 6 civilians were killed in strikes from Lebanon into northern Israel.
Red Sea and Yemen
U.S.-lead airstrikes in Yemen killed 10 and wounded 2 Houthi rebels on 31 December 2023. Five more were killed and 6 wounded in attacks on 12 January 2024.
Two American Navy Seals were declared dead after being missing during an operation to seize Iranian weapons supplying Houthis in Yemen.
Diplomatic fallout
In 2023 before the conflict, Israel and Saudi Arabia were reported to be working on normalizing relations. These talks have since ceased.
In 2022 and 2023, the Biden administration was making nominal progress on restoring some components of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known in the West as the "Iran nuclear deal". These talks have not resumed since the conflict began.