One year on, communities across Lebanon continue to live in fear as near-daily strikes persist despite the 27 November 2024 conditional ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. What was meant to end nearly a year of hostilities that began on 8 October 2023 has felt less like a ceasefire, and more like a 'lessfire'.
Since last year’s cessation of hostilities agreement, Israeli forces have carried out thousands of breaches. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has recorded more than 7,500 air violations and nearly 2,500 ground violations north of the Blue Line, reflecting “total disregard of the ceasefire agreement”. From inside Lebanon, the UN Human Rights Office confirms four incidents of projectiles fired from Lebanon towards Israel during the ceasefire until mid-October, none of them resulting in casualties.
Despite the conditional ceasefire, Israeli forces have continued to conduct targeted airstrikes, airspace violations and ground incursions inside Lebanon. Each violation places children and families at risk and undermines the safety and stability civilians urgently need.
The cost of these ongoing attacks has been devastating: in Lebanon, according to the Ministry of Public Health, 331 civilians have been killed and 945 injured due to Israeli military operations since the start of the ceasefire up until 21 October 2025. The UN Human Rights Office has verified 108 civilian casualties in Lebanon from the ceasefire up until 17 October 2025, including 71 men, 21 women,and 16 children. Another 19 or more abductions of civilians from Lebanon have been recorded in the southern region, which may amount to cases of enforced disappearances.
Israeli strikes have continued to damage homes, villages, public infrastructure and schools. They have also targeted the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Recent strikes have hit reconstruction assets, heavy construction equipment, a cement plant and a quarry, undermining repair and recovery efforts. UNIFIL reported the construction of an Israeli wall that goes beyond the Blue Line rendering 4,000 square metres of Lebanese territory inaccessible.
While hundreds of thousands of displaced persons returned in the weeks after the ceasefire, over 64,000 people in Lebanon remain displaced and unable to go home, many from border areas that are unsafe or severely damaged. Five locations in southern Lebanon remain under Israeli control, preventing families from returning and undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty.
One year on, accountability is absent. Each strike on a home, each civilian life lost, is not only a tragedy but a failure to uphold international law. Continued impunity for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law cannot stand. There may not be active warfare, but there is still no peace.
One year on, countless Lebanese families still live under the shadow of fear. The ceasefire must not remain a broken promise. We call on all parties and international stakeholders to act now to turn this fragile truce into a lasting peace, one built on accountability, justice and the protection of human life. People in Lebanon deserve peace, safety and the chance to rebuild their lives with dignity.
We call upon the parties to the conflict to:
End all violations and fully respect the November 2024 cessation of hostilities agreement.
Protect civilians and abide by all obligations under international law.
To the ceasefire guarantors and international community:
Place civilian protection at the centre of all diplomatic engagements.
Enforce implementation of the ceasefire through sustained diplomatic pressure and monitoring.
Support independent investigations into all IHL, IHRL and ceasefire violations, and facilitate the activation of accountability mechanisms.
Sustain and support humanitarian, protection and livelihoods programmes for the most vulnerable, conflict-affected communities.
Prioritise urgent clearance of contaminated land, including landmines and unexploded ordnance, to enable safe return, rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and economic recovery.
Guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access for civilians and humanitarian actors into locations affected by the conflict and ongoing military activities.
Statement released by the Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum, an independent coordinating body comprising 73 international NGOs (INGOs) including CAFOD.
Notes to editors
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CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and part of Caritas Internationalis, working with communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America to fight poverty and injustice, including those worst hit by climate change. The agency works with people in need, regardless of race, gender, religion or nationality.