November Crisis Update | 2025

Key Takeaways:

• Israel significantly escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah with the November 23 killing of Hezbollah official Haitham al-Tabatabai in Beirut’s southern suburbs, its most high-profile assassination since the start of the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) last year. Tel Aviv conducted 84 strikes across Lebanon during the month, including 21 targeted assassinations, several in crowded areas. A November 19 airstrike in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp killed 13 people, Israel’s deadliest strike since the CoH came into effect. Israeli forces also erected a wall southeast of Yaroun, cutting off access to roughly four square kilometers of Lebanese territory, and continued to impose a de facto five-kilometer buffer zone along the border, further obstructing the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and reconstruction efforts.
• Rising United States pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and curb its financing has brought with it heightened political and security risks. The United States (US) canceled meetings scheduled in Washington with the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), signaling its discontent with the perceived slow pace of Beirut’s disarmament of Hezbollah. A US delegation visited Lebanon in mid-November to demand authorities take concrete action to seize Hezbollah’s weapons and curb its financing. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv has accused Hezbollah of rearming, amid reports that Washington has greenlighted further Israeli military escalation in Lebanon.
• The Central Bank issued a “Know Your Customer” circular applicable to all transactions over 1,000 US dollars (USD), including domestic ones. Senders must now provide information on the source and purpose of transferred funds, as well as personal details for both themselves and the recipient. Nonbanking institutions must comply by December 1 or face penalties.
• The Lebanese Court of Audit held four former telecommunications ministers accountable for mismanagement of public funds and fined them USD 36.5 million. The unprecedented ruling established a critical legal precedent for future anti-corruption efforts.
• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ended hospitalization coverage for displaced Syrian nationals, the culmination of a phased reduction that began in June 2024. This measure is expected to create an immediate, severe gap in access to essential and chronic medical care. In the absence of a governmental response, and given public hospitals’ limited resources, NGOs will likely be forced to absorb the additional burden, as displaced Syrians remain unable to afford .
• Over 7,000 wildfires – most of them attributable to human causes – broke out between January 2025 and November 10, 2025, burning nearly 600 hectares of land across Lebanon. The end of the fire season was delayed due to delayed rainfall, with major fires in Akkar, Iqlim al-Kharoub, and Jezzine, while Israeli airstrikes ignited fires in Nabatieh and surrounding areas.

By Crisis Analytics Team, Mercy Corps Lebanon