It was early Feb. 28, 2026, when the first strikes from the U.S and Israel were launched into Iran. The attacks involved missiles and drones targeting the nation’s capital, Tehran, and surrounding areas. Initial explosions were heard and reported in the area around 9:27 a.m. IRST (Iranian Standard Time). Since that morning, the strikes have spiraled into a widespread war that has caused significant damage to the global economy and catastrophic effects to the surrounding Middle Eastern countries.
Though the initial airstrikes came from the U.S and Israel, the war has begun rapidly expanding, dragging in bystanders and countries beyond just the Middle East. As of now, at least 20 countries have become involved in the war through support, defense, and active attacks. A key addition to the conflict is the small country of Lebanon, which is situated on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Lebanon sits relatively close to Iran, just east of the country and separated by Iraq and Syria. The country is characterized by its rich and extremely diverse culture, coastal plains, and beautiful mountains which run through the heart of the country.
Lebanon was first pulled into the conflict by the Lebanese-based Islamic group, Hezbollah, just 4 days after the war started.
Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim political party/military group that was founded in 1982. Hezbollah was founded with Iran’s support during the fifteen-year-long Lebanese Civil War. and aimed to combat Israeli invasions. Hezbollah operates “state within state,” and holds a strong presence of control in the Southern region bordering Israel.
Though Hezbollah has been weakened since intense Israeli conflict in 2024, these most recent attacks seem predictable considering their long history and tensions with the nation.
These attacks from Hezbollah on Israel started when both a rocket and drone attack were launched on an Israeli Military base in Haifa. This came as an act of retaliation after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated Feb. 28.
Hezbollah issued a statement before first launching the attacks stating they considered Khamenei, “Our guardian, our leader, the leader of the nation,” and that they believed the U.S and Israel’s killing of Khamenei was, “the height of criminality”
While Hezbollah launched the initial military attacks pulling already vulnerable Lebanon into an active war, they haven’t been able to keep up with the same pace of the initial attacks. In fact, Israel has retaliated with full force launching massive airstrikes targeting the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, located in Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Israel has continued these attacks from March 2 by launching daily attacks on Lebanon.
U.S President Trump has also voiced support for these attacks being launched on Lebanon by Israel stating, that Hezbollah, “rapidly being eliminated,”
These conflicts have left the small country in absolute devastation. Lebanon is currently in a complete crisis and is experiencing one of the worst economic depressions in national history. The economic collapse has left the Lebanese pound devalued by 98% and has left over 80% of Lebanon’s citizens living in poverty.
The violence has also resulted in nearly one million Lebanese citizens being displaced. Around one in five Lebanese citizens, including women and children, have been forced to flee their homeland with absolutely nowhere to go. In addition to the displacement of a massive number of citizens,the death toll only continues to grow. As of March 16, at least 886 people have been killed, including 67 women, 111 children, and 38 healthcare workers. In addition, 2,414 people have been wounded in the conflict, according to reports by Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
While the conflict continues to grow with more Lebanese people being displaced and killed, there is no sign of deescalation anytime soon. In fact, the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are likely to continue far beyond the end of the Iran war, spinning off into an entirely different issue.
This could result in massive population changes, severe infrastructure destruction, and further economic collapse. Any further escalation could send the already struggling country into an even wider war, causing massive displacement and plummeting the country into a worse humanitarian crisis.
