Third Lebanon War

The **Third Lebanon War** was a war fought by Syria and Israel against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and against the Lebanese government in 2018. The war was the result of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu and the attempted assassination of Syrian President Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir.

## Background

On 17 June 2018, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu was shot at a Likud rally in central Tel Aviv. Netanyahu was gravely wounded in the attack, and was rushed to hospital. The government was placed into the hands Netanyahu's Vice-Prime Minister Silvan Shalom. The following day, Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, claiming they were going to crush "the evil Zionist regime". On 19 June, Netanyahu died following a complication in surgery. As a result, Israel began to mobilise troops to the border with Lebanon. On 20 June, Shalom was sworn in as Prime Minister. In his inaugural speech in the Knesset “Israel was able to overlook the barbarity of the attacks Hezbollah made against the border of our land. But this abhorrent and disgusting attack of our late Prime Minister on our soil cannot be forgiven and will never be forgotten. Israel will have vengeance for Benjamin Netanyahu.”

On 22 June, President of Syria Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir was almost killed when the car he was supposed to be travelling in exploded in central Damascus. Later than day, three men were arrested for the attempted assassination, and later confirmed by the Syrian Agency for Internal Security to be Hezbollah agents. On 23 June, Shalom declared that the attack in Syria as a threat to Israeli security. Shalom and al-Bashir make the first high-level telephone call between Israel and Syria. They agree to meet on neutral ground in Nicosia, Cyprus. On 25 June, the Nicosia Agreement formally ended the state of war between Syria and Israel and the two countries made a declaration promising to eradicate the threat of Hezbollah. Two days later, the United Islamic Republic, a key supporter of Hezbollah, demanded that Israel and Syria stand down, which was counter by a declaration by the Cairo Pact on 30 June.

## Course of the War

On 2 July 2018, Israel and Syria, with logistic and air support from the United States, Turkey and Egypt, launched a joint attack into Lebanon. In response, the United Islamic Republic began to conduct military operations along the border with Syria. On 4 July, a Syrian F-18 was shot down by a UIR rocket. UIR President Qassem Soleimani made an official apology to Syria later the same day. On 7 July, the Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations demanded that Syria and Israel withdraw from Lebanon. This action was countered by Israel and Syria calling for Lebanon to be suspended from the General Assembly - a motion supported by the U.S. and the Cairo Pact states. The following day in the Security Council, Russia and the UIR called for Shalom and al-Bashir to be referred to the International Criminal Court. This motion is vetoed by the US and the UK.

As Israel and Syria systematically captured territory in the south and north of Lebanon, on 11 July, Hezbollah staged a coup d'état in Beirut, overthrowing the government after mass protests demanding an end to the war. As tensions escalated in the region, the U.S. and Turkey began to mobilise their armed forces in the region incase the UIR attacked Syria. On 13 July, U.S. Navy Seals launched an operation to capture UIR planes supplying Hezbollah as they landed outside Beirut. On 16 July, after two days of fierce fighting, Israeli forces broke the Hezbollah positions in Sayda. The following day, it was reported that UIR troops had fired at Syrian troops along their Anbar border, and Israeli troops linked up with Syrian forces around Beirut beginning the Siege of Beirut. On 18 July, Syria and Jordan signed a mutual defence agreement. On 21 July, the UIR launched a series of air strikes in Lebanon, which reportedly hit Israeli and Syrian positions. The following day, Syria launched 'Operation Burt Shield' and captured several high-ranking Hezbollah commanders.

Israeli and American raids in Beirut captured the UIR embassy and several high-ranking Hezbollah and Iranian Generals - including Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi. On 1 August, most of Beirut was in the hands of Israeli and Syrian forces, the Mahdi demanded that the remaining Hezbollah leaders be evacuated. The Russians offered a civilian jet on the ground in Serbia, which flew out of Beirut at 4:30pm with the remaining Hezbollah leaders. On 4 August, the remaining Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon surrendered.

## Aftermath

On 18 August, the Istanbul Agreement for Peace in Lebanon was signed by Israel, Syria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Cyprus and the Cairo Pact states. Lebanon then became Syrian-occupied territory led by a United Nations-led interim administration. Syria also surrendered the Golan Heights to Israel. The peace agreement effectively collapsed when Syria annexed Lebanon on 1 September 2018.

As a result of the capture of Iranian General, Maj. Gen. Safavi, by Israeli forces, Israel handed Safavi over to Syria, who tried him and sentenced him to death. This sparked a diplomatic crisis, known as the Safavi Affair in which Russia and the U.S. attempted to avert a war between Syria and the UIR.