Litani River

Litani River, chief river of Lebanon, rising in a low divide west of Baalbek and flowing southwestward through the Bekaa valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains. In the 21st century it has been an important boundary in the international relations between Lebanon and Israel, especially due to the activity of Hezbollah south of the river and along the border with Israel.

Physiography

Near Marjayoun, it bends sharply west and cuts a spectacular gorge up to 900 feet (275 meters) deep through the Lebanon Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sidon. The river’s lower course is known as Qāsimiyyah. Although the river’s total length is only about 90 miles (145 km), its waters irrigate one of Lebanon’s most extensive farming regions, Bekaa. The Litani River Authority, established in 1954, was to have provided for an increase in irrigated land, generation of electricity, and development of recreational areas; however, the main achievement of the project was later limited to the establishment of electrical power plants.

Role in Lebanon-Israel relations

The Litani River became an important geopolitical marker during the 2006 Lebanon War. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) considered it a key war objective to push Hezbollah north of the river and thereby create a nearly 20-mile (30-km) buffer zone in the area north of Lebanon’s border with Israel. The IDF’s ground invasion failed to effect that outcome and led to heavy loss of life, but the war came to an end after Israel, Hezbollah, and the Lebanese government accepted United Nations (UN) Resolution 1701, which included the withdrawal of all armed personnel from the area south of the Litani River. Hezbollah instead built up its military assets over the following decades and has not withdrawn from the area, where the population is overwhelmingly Shiʿi and has been disproportionately affected by conflict with Israel.

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After conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalated in 2023, Israel insisted that Hezbollah withdraw north of the Litani River. That stipulation became a key part of the ceasefire agreement that was announced on November 26, 2024, and which also required Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days. Hezbollah and Israel both hesitated to fulfill the ceasefire’s specifications and after hostilities reemerged during the 2026 Iran war, Israel announced in late March 2026 that it intended to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in order to enforce a buffer zone. In late May IDF ground forces crossed north of the river for the first time since the 2006 war.