Joseph Aoun

Force in Play

Caught between Israeli military operations and Hezbollah's defiance

Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon, launched March 1, has reached a new phase with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) systematically destroying bridges over the Litani River, including strikes on April 4 targeting connections between Sohmor and Mashghara in eastern Lebanon. By late March, the IDF had struck over 500 Hezbollah targets, killed 70 operatives, and seized roughly 850 square kilometers using three armored and infantry divisions. The campaign has now severed at least seven major bridges, expanded evacuation zones north of the Litani, destroyed key infrastructure, and resulted in clashes killing six IDF soldiers.

Updated Apr 4

Force in Play

First president elected after Hezbollah's battlefield losses

Iran has stationed diplomats, intelligence officers, and Revolutionary Guard operatives in Lebanon for more than four decades, building Hezbollah into the most powerful non-state military force in the Middle East. On March 24, 2026, Lebanon's foreign ministry told Iran's newly appointed ambassador-designate to leave the country within five days — the first time Beirut has ever expelled an Iranian envoy.

Updated Mar 29

Force in Play

Pursuing state monopoly on weapons amid Israeli attacks and Hezbollah resistance

In late February and early March 2026, the limited pattern of Israeli strikes in Lebanon after the November 2024 ceasefire gave way to a far broader campaign of air and ground operations across the country. After Hezbollah launched a series of rocket and drone attacks into Israel on 2 March 2026 in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Israeli military carried out more than 200 airstrikes across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs, issued unprecedented evacuation orders for dozens of areas, and began deeper ground incursions beyond the southern border zone.

Updated Mar 7

Force in Play

Overseeing disarmament effort

Israel and Hezbollah signed a ceasefire on November 27, 2024, ending a year of cross-border war that killed nearly 4,000 Lebanese and displaced 1.4 million people. Fifteen months later, Israel has conducted over 10,500 documented violations—including 7,500 airspace violations and more than 3,000 ground and air strikes—with over 450 people killed since the truce began, including major strikes on February 21, 2026 in the Bekaa Valley near Baalbek killing at least 10 including eight Hezbollah operatives and three children, and a separate strike on Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp killing two Hamas operatives.

Updated Feb 16

Force in Play

Leading state disarmament effort since January 2025

Lebanon's army says it now controls the south—except for five hilltops Israel refuses to give up. On January 8, 2026, the military announced it had completed phase one of disarming Hezbollah and other militias south of the Litani River, bringing weapons under state control for the first time in 40 years. Over 9,000 soldiers swept the war-battered region, clearing unexploded ordnance and tunnels left from the devastating 2024 war that killed 4,000 people and displaced 1.3 million. Hours later, Iran's foreign minister arrived in Beirut for tense talks, and the next day Israel resumed strikes across southern Lebanon—business as usual despite the milestone announcement.

Updated Jan 10