Marjayoun

Marjayoun is a district and historic town in the Nabatieh Governorate of southern Lebanon, situated approximately 10 to 20 km north of the Israeli border and east of the Litani River. The town sits on a plateau commanding views across the Bekaa Valley approaches, which gave it strategic importance throughout Lebanon's modern conflicts. Its population is predominantly Greek Orthodox Christian and Druze, making it unusual in a predominantly Shia south; the town served as a significant administrative and commercial centre during the French Mandate period.

Marjayoun carries deep occupation-era memory: during Israel's 1978 Operation Litani and 1982 invasion, the town fell within the occupied zone. From 1985 to 2000, Marjayoun city was the headquarters of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA), the administrative capital of the occupation strip. When Israel withdrew in May 2000 and the SLA collapsed, much of the Christian population fled; many later returned.

During the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, Marjayoun was the scene of a controversial civilian convoy evacuation brokered under Israeli fire. In the 2026 conflict, Israeli air strikes hit Marjayoun district on 2 May 2026 as part of a 24-hour operation that killed 41 people across southern Lebanon, striking roughly 70 military structures and 50 Hezbollah infrastructure sites across Tyre, Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun districts. The district lies outside the 10-kilometre buffer zone.

On 4 June 2026, Serbian UNIFIL Sergeant Milovan Jovanovic was killed by mortar fire near Marjayoun — the first peacekeeper fatality of the campaign — with two others wounded. The killing occurred on the day a Washington Ceasefire framework was announced, while the IDF continued its southward advance; IDF Chief Zamir had stated the previous day that 'there is no Ceasefire for our forces'. Marjayoun's position east of the Litani and close to the Israeli border places it at the intersection of every Ceasefire geometry being negotiated.