On November 27, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began. Since the start of the war on October 8, 2023, there have been 5,185 attacks against Israel from Lebanon (this number refers to attacks, not munitions). Concurrently, with Israel’s shift to an offensive policy in the northern arena in mid-September 2024, there has been an increase in the number of Hezbollah attacks. The most intense month was October 2024, with 1,158 attacks carried out.
Throughout the war, Hezbollah has conducted its attacks against Israel using various weapons: high-trajectory fire (rockets and missiles), anti-tank missiles, suicide UAVs, machine guns, air-defense systems (SAM), and explosive devices. At the beginning of the war, from October 2023 to January 2024, Hezbollah’s primary weapon was anti-tank missiles. From January 2024, rocket fire became the main weapon Hezbollah used, through which they launched larger quantities of munitions into broader areas of Israel. UAVs are another key weapon of Hezbollah. In November 2024 alone, there were 103 UAV attacks, a record number.
62.2% of Hezbollah’s attacks were carried out using high-trajectory fire (rockets and missiles), 19.9% with anti-tank missiles, 13.8% with drones, 2% unknown, 1.3% with air defense systems, 0.7% with machine guns, and 0.2% with explosive devices. An attack can involve multiple means of combat.
Since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah gradually expanded its attacks each month to areas that were not evacuated (over 5 km from the border). These attacks were primarily carried out using high trajectory fire (rockets and missiles), and UAVs.
Most of the attacks that targeted areas more than 5 km from the border involved a relatively large number of rockets and missiles, a statistic and imprecise weapon, which increases the risk of harming civilians in non-evacuated areas. Each rocket attack ranged from a few rockets and missiles to as many as 85 fired in a single barrage.
The significant expansion of fire began in mid-September 2024 with the launch of Operation “Northern Arrows” and peaked in October 2024 with the start of the ground maneuver in #Lebanon.
Since September 2024, #Hezbollah has launched rockets, missiles, and UAVs at major cities in northern Israel, such as the Krayot and Haifa, Nahariya, Karmiel, Safed, and Rosh Pina, and even towards central Israel, targeting the Tel Aviv and Herzliya areas.
Since the beginning of the war, 176 senior Hezbollah commanders have been eliminated, with the most senior being Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. Among the senior figures eliminated are members of the Jihad Council: Fouad Shakar (head of strategic arrays), Ibrahim Aqil (head of operations), Ali Karki (commander of the Southern Front), Suheil Hussein Husseini (head of the headquarters), and Hashem Safieddine (head of the executive council and Nasrallah’s intended successor). The eliminations primarily targeted the Radwan Unit and geographic units but also included senior members of Hezbollah’s headquarters, the Rocket and Missile Unit, the Aerial Unit, the Air Defense Unit, and technical experts.
The eliminations of senior commanders, who had extensive experience and comprehensive professional knowledge, have significantly impacted Hezbollah’s capabilities. These individuals, long known for their involvement in terrorist activities, were key experts in their fields, and their elimination directly affected #Hezbollah’s organizational ability, coordination, and operational continuity as a terrorist army.
War data:
In the fighting against Hezbollah in the northern arena, 45 Israeli civilians and 83 IDF soldiers were killed, a total of 128 people. ( As of December 16, 2024)
In Israel, the government evacuated 43 communities located up to five kilometers from the Lebanese border. A total of about 68,000 citizens. To them were added several thousand more who decided to evacuate independently. It should be noted that some of the Israeli communities have not been fully evacuated and there is a civilian presence there (agriculture and industry).
The residents have not yet received an official order to return to their homes. There appears to be a growing trend among residents to return home independently. At this stage, we are uncertain about the extent of the return trend. According to a government decision, the evacuation period, as of this writing, is until December 31, 2024.
According to data from the Ministry of Defense’s “Northern Horizon” Administration, since the beginning of the war, 2,874 structures have been damaged in northern communities: 1,669 are residential buildings, 213 are public buildings, 104 are infrastructures, and about 150 are agricultural structures. 841 of them sustained moderate to heavy damage and will require reconstruction. The city of Kiryat Shmona suffered the heaviest damage – 382 structures, 73 of which were moderate to heavy damage. Other communities that suffered heavy damage are Shlomi, Nahariya, Manara and Metula.
According to estimates by the Israeli Ministry of Finance, the direct damage to property on the northern border amounts to 1.5 billion shekels. The Israeli Ministry of Finance also estimated that the indirect damage in the Israeli communities along the Lebanese border would amount to approximately 3.5–4 billion shekels.
