Israel

Lebanon

Military & Security

Thousands of Hezbollah walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon -- just one day after Hezbollah pagers exploded across Lebanon and parts of Syria -- with the Sept. 18 attack resulting in at least three deaths and hundreds more injured, the Guardian reported Sept. 18. 

Israel, Lebanon: Second Round of Explosions Hits Lebanon as Israel Moves Troops to Border

A mass attack on pagers belonging to members of Lebanon's political and militant group Hezbollah injured up to 1,000 members and civilians, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry on Sept. 17, and Iranian state media reported that Iran's ambassador to Lebanon was also injured. 

Israel, Lebanon: Many Hezbollah Members Injured in Attack on Pagers

Palestinian Territories

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Politics

Israel's War Cabinet added the safe return of civilians to northern Israel as a formal war goal, adding to the existing goals of defeating the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and replacing the group with a new government, Reuters reported on Sept. 17. 

Israel: War Cabinet To Prioritize Northern Security Amid Possible Replacement of Defense Minister

Economics

Lebanese authorities detained Lebanon's former central bank governor Riad Salameh in Beirut, Reuters reported on Sept. 3.

Lebanon: Authorities Arrest Former Central Bank Chief Amid Lack of Economic Reforms 

The Israel Defense Forces announced it was conducting a large-scale raid and airstrikes around the northern West Bank in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem, CNN reported on Aug. 28.

Israel, West Bank: Israel Launches Major Operation in West Bank

Iran

Israel will dispatch negotiators to resume cease-fire/hostage talks with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in either Cairo, Egypt, or Doha, Qatar, on Aug. 15, in a move that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office described as an attempt to "finalize the details for implementing the framework agreement," The Times of Israel reported on Aug. 9.

Israel, Gaza: Hostage Talks To Resume on Aug. 15

United States

Iraq

Yemen

Iranian officials will meet with allies and proxy representatives from Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon to coordinate regional retaliation against Israel's assassinations of top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders on July 30 and 31, as well as against recent U.S. airstrikes on Iraqi militias in Baghdad, Reuters reported on Aug. 1.

Iran, Israel: Iran Orders Strike on Israel in Response to Recent Assassinations

The Israel Defense Forces struck southern Beirut, Lebanon, targeting the commander responsible for the July 27 rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 people, The Jerusalem Post reported on July 30.

Israel, Lebanon: IDF Targets Hezbollah Commander in Beirut

Assessments

Syria

Remains of exploded pagers on Sept. 18 in southern Beirut. Israel's attacks on Hezbollah's communications likely signal a steady shift toward a more intense Lebanon campaign,

Israel's attacks on Hezbollah's communications likely signal a steady shift toward a more intense Lebanon campaign. 

Israel's Electronics Sabotage Signals a More Intense Military Campaign in Lebanon

Snapshots

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as an ambulance rushes wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

A widespread pager attack against Hezbollah raises tensions between Israel and Lebanon as their border conflict expands.

All Eyes Turn to Israel Following Hezbollah Pager Explosions Across Lebanon and Syria

People watch a televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah commemorating the seventh-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein, in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 17, 2024.

Despite their unified vision, groups within the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance are unlikely to sacrifice their strategic imperatives for one another, leaving them vulnerable to Israeli attacks.

Assessing the Strategic Imperatives of the Iranian-Led 'Axis of Resistance'

An Israeli air force Samson C-130J Super Hercules cargo plane flies over the Israeli coastal city of Netanya toward northern Israel on Aug. 25, 2024, after Israel launched airstrikes targeting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Israel's recent preemptive strike on Hezbollah reflects an increasing willingness to strike Iran's regional proxies -- and potentially even Iran itself -- to interdict their impending attacks, raising the risk of a larger regional war.

As It Awaits Iran's Retaliation, Israel Mulls More Preemptive Strikes

A Hezbollah UAV is intercepted by Israeli air forces over northern Israel on Aug. 25, 2024.

The Lebanese militant group's recent barrage of attacks is unlikely to deter Israel from continuing to target high-ranking Hezbollah officials, even in Beirut, at the risk of further escalation.

Hezbollah's Retaliation Risks Emboldening Israel, Portending More Violence

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Yael Braun-Pivet, a French lawmaker for the ruling Renaissance party, delivers a speech after being reelected as National Assembly president following the third round of voting on July 18, 2024.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: France Resumes Political Horse-Trading, Blinken Returns to Middle East

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United Kingdom

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Nicolas Maduro on Aug. 7, 2024, in Caracas, Venezuela. The presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Gustavo Petro and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, respectively, are considering a call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Aug. 12 in a bid to promote negotiations with the opposition to cool the risk of further violent unrest.

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The Weekly Rundown: Awaiting Iranian Retaliation, Bangladesh's New Government

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Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts rockets fired from southern Lebanon on Aug. 4, 2024, in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel. Israel remains on high alert for potential responses from Iran and Hezbollah following the assassination of Hamas' political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Israel remains on high alert for potential responses from Iran and Hezbollah following the assassination of Hamas' political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Israel on High Alert for Potential Responses From Iran and Hezbollah

Australia

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden speaks during a Women's History Month reception in the White House on March 18, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: Escalation in the Middle East, Kamala Harris' VP Pick

A woman carries a picture of slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on July 31, 2024. 

The assassinations will compel Iran and Hezbollah to retaliate against Israel, deepening the cycle of violence that increasingly risks spiraling into a regional war no one wants.

The Middle East Descends Deeper Into Conflict With Israel's Killing of Hezbollah, Hamas Leaders

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese border village of Chihine on July 28, 2024.

The rocket strike on Majdal Shams will make Israel's political leadership more hawkish, raising the specter of Israeli ground incursions into Lebanon that sustain the risk of a larger conflict.

A Deadly Golan Heights Attack Sharply Raises the Risk of an Israel-Hezbollah War

Podcasts

What are the immediate implications of likely conflict scenarios?

Essential Geopolitics: Israel's and Hezbollah's Incentives and Constraints

Lebanon is a small country wedged against the Mediterranean Sea, with Syria to its east and Israel to its south. The country is divided by the western Lebanon Mountains and the eastern Anti-Lebanon Mountains, which also run through Syria. These mountains produce three geographic and climate ranges for the country: hot and dry in the east and mild and wetter in the west, with the fertile Bekaa Valley in the midlands providing much of the country's agriculture. The cluster of mountains itself is friendly to the growth of cedar trees, the country's national icon.    Because of its small size, Lebanon is forced to import much of the food it needs to feed its population. Thus it has long been a center of trade, with coastal cities like Beirut acting as gateways for east-wide trade routes. It's a necessity for Lebanon to keep access to these trade routes. However, because the country is so small, outside powers have found it very easy to exert influence, especially given Lebanon's internal demographic divisions. Foreign powers can often find allies in Lebanon, though they rarely can find enough friendly forces to control the entire country, leading to frequent split governments and regular civil strife.     Lebanon's greatest challenge, therefore, is to keep access to its trade routes while balancing its own divisions, which are manipulated by outside powers. It has not always succeeded, and the country's 1975-1990 civil war is only the latest major conflict that has arisen from these conditions. In the future, Lebanon will continue to struggle with precariously balancing its small size, its divided population and its ambitious neighbors. 

SITUATION REPORTS

Israel, Lebanon: Second Round of Explosions Hits Lebanon as Israel Moves Troops to Border

Israel, Lebanon: Many Hezbollah Members Injured in Attack on Pagers

Israel: War Cabinet To Prioritize Northern Security Amid Possible Replacement of Defense Minister

Lebanon: Authorities Arrest Former Central Bank Chief Amid Lack of Economic Reforms

Israel, West Bank: Israel Launches Major Operation in West Bank

Israel, Gaza: Hostage Talks To Resume on Aug. 15

Iran, Israel: Iran Orders Strike on Israel in Response to Recent Assassinations

Israel, Lebanon: IDF Targets Hezbollah Commander in Beirut

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