Israel declares Lebanon ceasefire over, launches massive bombardment — 634+ killed, 816,000 displaced in 10 days

From Ceasefire to War

The November 2024 Israel-Lebanon ceasefire gave Hezbollah 60 days to disarm in southern Lebanon and Israel 60 days to withdraw. By late February 2026, Israel had withdrawn from all but five strategic posts along the border but conducted frequent strikes on Hezbollah forces it claimed were rebuilding capabilities. UNIFIL documented over 10,000 ceasefire violations by Israel during this period.

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and targeting nuclear and military infrastructure. On March 2, Hezbollah responded with rockets and drones at northern Israel, targeting a missile defense site south of Haifa. Hezbollah stated this was retaliation for the assassination and for ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Israel declared the ceasefire over.

The Bombardment

Within hours of Hezbollah’s March 2 strikes, Israel hit Beirut at 3:00 AM and issued evacuation orders for over 50 villages across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. The air campaign escalated rapidly:

• March 2: Airstrikes on Beirut. Evacuation orders for 50+ villages. Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam condemned Hezbollah, called for disarmament.
• March 3: Israel ordered troops to seize positions within Lebanon. “Broad wave of strikes” began. White phosphorus munitions fired over residential areas in Yohmor — confirmed by Human Rights Watch through verified photographic evidence of seven images showing artillery-fired white phosphorus over homes. Fires broke out in at least two residences.
• March 4: Ground forces advanced more than one kilometer deep into southern Lebanon through Kafr Kila and Khiam, supported by “massive bombardments” of border villages.
• March 5: Heaviest night of bombing on Beirut since the conflict began. Israel threatened to take Lebanese land and expand operations.
• March 6-7: The Nabi Chit commando raid. 41 killed in the Bekaa Valley.
• March 8: Israeli Navy struck the Ramada Plaza hotel in central Beirut’s Raouche neighborhood, targeting alleged IRGC Quds Force commanders. First strike on central Beirut outside traditional Hezbollah areas.
• March 9: ~700,000 displaced. Foreign Policy reported Lebanon “inching toward civil war with Hezbollah.”
• March 11: Israel hit a building in central Beirut. Updated toll: 634+ killed, 1,586 injured in under 10 days.
• March 12: Displacement order for large area of southern Lebanon. Golani Brigade redeployed from Gaza to the northern border. Israeli officials signaled possible ground invasion. The Washington Post described the war as having “engulfed Lebanon.”

Scale

In 10 days, 500+ Israeli targets were struck in Lebanon. The death toll reached 634 with 91 children among the dead. More than 816,000 people were displaced. Evacuation orders covered all of southern Lebanon and all of Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The entire southern suburbs — the area that gives the “Dahiya Doctrine” its name — were described as destroyed by residents and journalists. Le Monde’s headline: “Dahiyeh is destroyed, but that changes nothing for us.”

Ground Operations

Israel’s ground campaign expanded in phases:

1. Pre-existing positions: Five strategic posts retained from the 2024 ceasefire period
2. Buffer zone expansion (March 3-4): Troops ordered to seize new positions, advancing through Kafr Kila and Khiam, over one kilometer deep
3. Deep raid (March 6-7): Nabi Chit commando operation, approximately 80 kilometers from the border in the eastern Bekaa
4. Potential invasion (March 12): Golani Brigade redeployed, officials signaled wider ground campaign

Political Fractures

The escalation produced unprecedented political fractures in Lebanon:

• PM Nawaf Salam called for “immediate prohibition of all of Hezbollah’s security and military activities” and mandatory weapons handover — supported by Shiite Amal Movement ministers, a historic break.
• President Joseph Aoun accused Hezbollah of “placing no value on Lebanon’s interest nor on the life of its people” and acting “for the sake of the calculations of the Iranian regime.”
• Hezbollah pledged to continue: “We have no other option to preserve honor, pride and dignity than the option of resistance.”
• The Lebanese Army remained reluctant to confront Hezbollah militarily.