Israel-Hezbollah conflict 2023/24: UK and international response

From 8 October 2023, Hezbollah, a non-state group based in Lebanon that the UK has proscribed as a terrorist organisation, launched missile attacks against Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched air strikes in response. In September 2024, a strike killed Hezbollah’s leader. Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon on 1 October 2024. A ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah on 26 November 2024.

This briefing provides information on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict since October 2023, and on the UK and international response. This includes the ceasefire agreement of November 2024. The Commons Library collection, Middle East instability in 2024, has more research on the region.

Conflict, displacement and casualties

The Armed Conflict and Location Data Project (ACLED) estimates that there were 7,000 cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah from October 2023 to June 2024. These actions caused large-scale displacement of civilians in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon.

Since 2023, the Israeli Government has said that it is seeking the return of Israeli civilians to the north by diplomatic means, but would use military means if other alternatives were exhausted. The Lebanese Government had argued an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict would likely bring an end to Hezbollah attacks. Hezbollah long said it would only support a ceasefire in Lebanon if one was held in Gaza (though following the Israeli offensive in October 2024 it said it was open to a ceasefire in Lebanon first).

On 17 and 18 September 2024, pager explosions in Lebanon killed a reported 27 people and injured around 4,450 people, including some children, according to the Lebanese Government. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement. Lebanon’s Government has blamed Israel.

On 1 October 2024, the IDF said it entered southern Lebanon to conduct “limited” military operations against Hezbollah members and infrastructure. On 8 October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to the “people of Lebanon […] free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end”. The United States said it supported “limited ground incursions” targeting Hezbollah as a means to achieve Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the border and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) (see below).

As of 26 November 2024, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that in Lebanon (based on Lebanese Government statements) there had been at least 3,961 conflict-related deaths since 8 October 2023, with at least 16,520 injured. The Lebanese Government also reported that around 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, with 90% displaced in the last week of September 2024 as a result of fighting and Israeli air attacks. Around 469,000 were estimated to have been displaced to Syria. The UN Human Rights Office estimated that on 7 October a quarter of Lebanese territory was under “Israeli military displacement orders”.

The Israeli Government says around 60,000 Israelis were evacuated from the north, and 45 civilians and 75 IDF soldiers killed, to November 2024.

When the ceasefire was agreed in November 2024, the IDF said it had destroyed 70% of Hezbollah’s stockpile of unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”) and cruise missiles and killed between 2,500 and 3,500 Hezbollah operatives (its total number of fighters is estimated to be around 40,000 to 50,000). In October 2024 then Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hezbollah was no longer an effective proxy for Iran to threaten Israel.

Ceasefire proposals and agreement

The United States and others, including the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, called for negotiations to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. They said negotiations should be held in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006). This, among other elements, requires Hezbollah to disarm, for there to be no foreign troops in Lebanon without the government’s permission, and for the Lebanese Armed Forces to have full territorial control of Lebanon, including the southern areas bordering Israel.

Two proposals for a ceasefire, of 21 days, and 60 days, made in September and October 2024 respectively, were considered.

On 26 November 2024 President Biden announced that a ceasefire was agreed, and was intended to be “permanent”. This will include the withdrawal of the IDF from southern Lebanon over a 60-day period and the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL to these areas. Israel retains the right to target Hezbollah in self-defence. The US and France would monitor its provisions. There have been some attacks and fighting into December 2024.

UK Government actions

Advice and support for British nationals

Since October 2023, the government has advised against all travel to Lebanon. It says that all Britons should leave while commercial flights remain available. Those in Lebanon should register their presence with the UK Government for updates. The government has deployed Border Force, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials and around 1,200 troops to Cyprus to assist UK nationals. It also has aircraft and transport helicopters on standby if necessary. The most recent government-charted flight was on 6 October. More will be organised if demand increases.

Support for a ceasefire

In September 2024 Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the UN General Assembly that Hezbollah and Israel should “step back from the brink [and] we need to see an immediate ceasefire”. In a statement to the Commons in July 2024, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, told MPs that a “widening of the conflict is in nobody’s interest” and the government would continue to press for a solution based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006). The UK Government welcomed the ceasefire of November 2024.

Support for the Lebanese Government

The UK provided £854 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon from 2009 to 2022 to support stability and the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. In 2024/25, it plans up to £31 million in humanitarian aid.

It has provided £100 million in support to the Lebanese Armed Forces since 2009. In October 2024, ration packs and medical equipment was sent.

UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

UNIFIL is mandated by the UN Security Council to monitor the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon following the 2006 conflict and support the Lebanese Armed Forces to extend Lebanese government control throughout the country. In 2024, it has reported attacks on its positions by the IDF, Hezbollah and groups not-yet determined. The IDF says it “takes every precaution” to minimise harm against peacekeepers. The Israeli Government has called on UNIFIL to withdraw from some areas of fighting.

The UK has joined with statements from the UN Security Council, France, Germany and other G7 members in support of UNIFIL and its role in Lebanon. The UK Government says it has raised the need to protect UNIFIL forces with the Israeli Government and called on Israel and Hezbollah to refrain from attacks against the force.

Conservative and Liberal Democrat statements

On 6 October 2024 then Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the “right approach is not a ceasefire” and that Hezbollah could end the conflict by withdrawing from southern Lebanon in line with the UN Security Council Resolution. Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Calum Miller has backed the government’s call for a ceasefire. The party has criticised the fall in UK aid to Lebanon in recent years due to reductions in the UK aid budget from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5% from 2021.