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2006 Lebanon War

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2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
(Arab-Israeli conflict)
Part of the 2006 Middle East conflict
File:54995.jpg
An IDF M109 self-propelled howitzer fires into Southern Lebanon
Date12 July 2006 — ongoing
(ceasefire started 05:00 UTC, 14 August 2006)
Location
Lebanon and northern Israel
Result Ongoing
Belligerents
File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah Israel Lebanon
Commanders and leaders
Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General / Spiritual Leader) Dan Halutz (CoS)
Moshe Kaplinsky [1]
Udi Adam (Regional)		 Michel Sulaiman (CoS)
Strength
600-1,000[2]

30,000 ground troops [3]

(exclusive of air force and navy)		 75,000 active troops (insignificant role)
Casualties and losses

Hezbollah militia:
Killed: 74 confirmed by Hezbollah[4] / 180 identified out of 540 estimated by IDF[5]
21 captured

Allied militias:
Amal: 17 killed[4]
LCP: Seven killed
PFLP-GC: Two killed[4]		 Civilians:
44 killed[6]
about 1,350 injured (of which 875 were treated for shock) [7]
500,000 displaced[8]
Soldiers:
118 killed[6]
400+ wounded
two captured
 Civilians:
1,140+ killed[4]
4,054 injured[4]
1,000,000 displaced [9][10]
Soldiers and police:
43 killed
about 100 wounded
350-400 captured, but released[11][12]
For other casualties see Casualties of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is a military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel, primarily between Hezbollah and Israel, which started on 12 July 2006. A United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect on 14 August 2006. Since then, fighting has largely ceased, with the notable exception of a widely documented raid into Lebanon by the Israeli army. The spirit of the ceasefire has also been dishonoured by frequent incursions of Israeli Air Force aircraft.

The conflict began when a Hezbollah unit conducted a cross-border raid, capturing two Israeli soldiers and killing three. Israel responded with massive airstrikes across much of Lebanon, a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, and an air and naval blockade, while Hezbollah launched thousands of rockets into northern Israel and engaged the Israeli Army on the ground by guerrilla warfare.

The conflict has killed hundreds of people, mostly Lebanese civilians, damaged infrastructure, displaced more than a million Lebanese and 500,000 Israelis, and disrupted normal life across all of Lebanon and northern Israel. Attacks by both sides on civilian population centers and infrastructure have drawn sharp criticism internationally.

On 11 August, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, in an effort to end the hostilities. On 12 August, the Lebanese government and Hezbollah approved the resolution, and on 13 August the Israeli government did the same.

On 17 August, the Lebanese army began deploying its forces in southern Lebanon as part of the agreement, and Israel began to withdraw some of its forces from the country. A full withdrawal is not expected until the enlarged UNIFIL force has arrived.

Beginning of conflict

Main article: Zar'it-Shtula incident
See also: Timeline of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Military operations of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

At around 9:00 AM local time (06:00 UTC), on 12 July 2006, Hezbollah initiated a diversionary Katyusha rocket and mortar attack on Israeli military positions and border villages. At the same time, a ground contingent of Hezbollah crossed the border into Israeli territory and attacked two Israeli armoured Humvees patrolling on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, near the village of Zar'it, capturing two Israeli soldiers and killing three. Five others were killed later on the Lebanese side of the border during a mission to rescue the two captured soldiers.[13] The UN, the EU, the G8, the US, and prominent news agencies,[14] including Al Jazeera,[15] have characterized the Hezbollah action as "cross-border", despite initial reports, the Lebanese police, and later Hezbollah, stated that the Israeli soldiers were captured on the Lebanese side of the border "during a mission to infiltrate the town of Ayta ash Shab".[16] In an interview with The Times on 2 August, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: “The war started not only by killing eight Israeli soldiers and abducting two, but by shooting Katyusha and other rockets on the northern cities of Israel on that same morning. Indiscriminately.”[17]

Hezbollah's attack was named "Operation Truthful Promise", after a "promise" by its leader Hassan Nasrallah to capture Israeli soldiers and swap them for Arab prisoners in Israeli jails. It also include some of the four Lebanese prisoners in Israel, including convicted murderer Samir Kuntar.[18] Later on, Nasrallah declared: “No military operation will return the Israeli captured soldiers…The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade of prisoners.”[19]

Israeli action

Main article: Israeli military action in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
Areas in Lebanon targeted by Israeli bombing, 12 July to 13 August 2006.

Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert declared the attack by Hezbollah’s military wing an "act of war", and promised Lebanon a "very painful and far-reaching response".[20] CNN reported that “The Israeli Cabinet authorized ‘severe and harsh’ retaliation on Lebanon.”[21] Israel’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, told Israel's Channel 10 that “[i]f the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon’s clock back 20 years.”[21] Retired Israeli army colonel Gal Luft explained the rationale behind the attack: “Israel is attempting to create a rift between the Lebanese population and Hezbollah supporters by exacting a heavy price from the elite in Beirut. The message is: If you want your air conditioning to work and if you want to be able to fly to Paris for shopping, you must pull your head out of the sand and take action toward shutting down Hezbollah-land.”[22]

PM Olmert and other officials declared that Israel held the Beirut government responsible for the attack, as it was carried out from Lebanese territory.[23] In response, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora denied any knowledge of the raid and stated that he did not condone it.[24] An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position.[25]

Satellite photographs of the Haret Hreik neighborhood [Dahieh district] of Beirut, Lebanon, before and after 22 July 2006. The neighbourhood is home to Hezbollah's headquarters. See also high resolution photographs before and after.

Early on 13 July 2006 Israel sent IAF jets to bomb Lebanon's international airport near Beirut, forcing that its closure and diverting its arriving flights to Cyprus.[26] Israel subsequently imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanon, and bombed the main Beirut–Damascus highway.[26]

On 23 July 2006 Israeli land forces crossed into Lebanon in the Maroun al-Ras area, which overlooks several other locations said to have been used as launch sites for Hezbollah rockets.[27]

On 25 July IDF forces attacked Bint Jbeil, an important Hezbollah stronghold opposite the Israeli border. On 27 July, Hezbollah ambushed the Israelis and killed eight soldiers, though Israel says it also inflicted heavy losses on Hezbollah.[28]

On 1 August Israeli commandos landed in Baalbek, capturing five people in Operation Sharp and Smooth. Troops had landed near Dar al-Himkeh hospital west of Baalbeck as part of a 'widescale operation' in the area. On 5 August Israeli commandos carried out a raid in Tyre.

On 12 August, less than half day after United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 approved, the IDF established its hold in Lebanon, within a framework of broadened military operations. Over the weekend the Israeli forces nearly tripled in size in southern Lebanon,[29] and were ordered to advance towards the Litani River.[30]

On 14 August, moments before the ceasefire went into effect, the Israeli Air Force reported that they had killed the head of Hezbollah’s Special Forces, whom they identified as Sajed Dewayer, while Hezbollah has denied this claim.[31]

As of 15 August 2006, according to the Israeli Defense Forces official website, the Israeli Air Force had 15,500 sorties flown over Lebanon, hitting 7,000 targets. The Israeli Sea Corps also conducted 2,500 bombardments of targets along the Lebanese coast "including missile launch sites, missile launchers, weapons storage sites", etc. [32] There had been a focus on targeting transportation infrastructure such as roads and bridges, as they were said to be essential for weakening Hezbollah's rocket-launching capability.[33]

Hezbollah action

Main article: Hezbollah rocket campaign in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Hezbollah rocket force
File:Haifa apartment building after attack July 17 2006.jpg
A Haifa street following rocket attack 17 July 2006

According to Haaretz, Hezbollah is “a trained, skilled, well-organized, highly motivated infantry that is equipped with the cream of the crop of modern weaponry from the arsenals of Syria, Iran, Russia, and China.”[34]

Hezbollah has fired rockets indiscriminately, mostly hitting civilian targets throughout the conflict, landing in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Hadera, Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula[35] Kiryat Shmona, Beit She'an, Karmiel, and Maalot, and dozens of kibbutzim, moshavim, and Druze and Arab villages, as well as the northern West Bank.[36][37] It also hit a hospital in Safed in northern Galilee on 18 July, wounding eight.[38]

On 14 July, following Israeli bombing raids on Lebanon that killed 60 civilians,[39] Nasrallah addressed Israel, saying “You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it.”[40]

After the initial Israeli response, Hezbollah declared an all-out military alert, and said it had 13,000 rockets capable of hitting towns and installations far into northern Israel. As a result, Defense Minister Peretz told commanders to prepare civil defense plans and many of the nearly 1,000,000 civilians living in Northern Israel were sent to bomb shelters or fled their homes to other parts of the country.[41] Hezbollah continued to fire hundreds of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel's towns and cities, including Nahariya, Safed, Hatzor HaGlilit, Rosh Pina, Kiryat Shmona, and Karmiel, and numerous small agricultural villages.[42]

Map showing some of the Israeli localities attacked by rockets fired from Lebanese soil as of Monday 7 August.

Hezbollah attacks hit as far south as Hadera in central Israel, as well as Israel's third largest city, Haifa, and the Jezreel Valley cities of Nazareth and Afula. Al-Manar reported that the Hezbollah attack included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1, both liquid-fuel missiles developed by Iran.[43][44] One of the attacks hit a railroad repair depot, killing eight workers. Hezbollah claimed that this attack was aimed at a large Israeli fuel storage plant adjacent to the railway facility; the plant has not been hit to date. Haifa is home to many strategically valuable facilities such as shipyards and oil refineries.[45] [46]

On 3 August, the same day eight Israeli civilians were killed by rocket attacks, Nasrallah warned Israel: “if you hit our capital we will hit your capital Tel Aviv”.[47] Israel considers Jerusalem to be its capital.

In his 3 August speech, Nasrallah stated for the first time, that if Israel ceased aerial and artillery strikes of Lebanese towns and villages, Hezbollah would stop its rocket campaign.[48] On 4 August Israel attacked the southern outskirts of Beirut, and later in the day, Hezbollah launched rockets at the Hadera region.[49]

On 7 August the Israeli Air Force shot down an Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over Lebanese territory, apparently launched by Hezbollah. According to IAF, the same type of UAV had twice before during the past two years been sent towards Israel, probably as a publicity stunt to showcase Hezbollah's capabilities. After the shoot-down it was recovered by the Israeli Navy.[50][51]

On 12 August, 24 Israeli soldiers were killed; the worst Israeli loss in a single day. Out of those 24, five soldiers were killed when Hezbollah apparently shot down an Israeli helicopter, a first for the militia.[52].

Hezbollah also engaged in ground combat with the IDF, especially guerilla-type hit-and-run tactics. These attacks by small, well-armed units created additional casualties for the IDF, but didn't pose a threat of military defeat.[53]

Initial reviews of the conflict after the ceasefire

File:Economist Cover 20060819.jpg
The Economist magazine cover declaring Hezbollah de facto winners of the war.[54]

Following the UN-brokered ceasefire, there were mixed responses on who had gained most in the war. The vast majority of Middle East countries, especially Iran, Syria and Lebanon, proclaimed a victory for Hezbollah,[55] while the Israeli and United States administrations declared that Hezbollah lost the conflict. In a poll by an Israeli radio station, Israelis were split on the outcome with the majority believing that no one was the victor. [56] Some analysts, like The Economist, concluded that by surviving this unsymmetrical military conflict with Israel, Hezbollah effectively emerged with a military and political victory from this conflict.[57] They cite the facts that Hezbollah was able to sustain defenses on Lebanese soil and inflict unmitigated rocket attacks on Israeli civilians in the face of a punishing air and land campaign by the Israeli Defense Forces. Furthermore, Hezbollah is also leading the rebuilding effort in south Beirut and Lebanon using "unlimited" support from Iran, thereby awarding Hezbollah further political clout.[58]

In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Knesset that there were mistakes in the war in Lebanon,[59] though he framed UN Security Council resolution 1701 as an accomplishment for Israel that it would bring home the captured soldiers, and said that the operations had altered the regional strategic balance vis-à-vis Hezbollah.[60] Israeli government and defense officials have called for the resignation of Israeli army chief Dan Halutz following a stock scandal in which Halutz admitted selling stocks hours before the start of the Israeli offensive; the affair is viewed to be more about the lack of a "clearcut victory" for Israel.[61]

US President George W. Bush has questioned Hezbollah's declarations of victory "when at one time [they] were a state within a state, safe within southern Lebanon, and now [they're] going to be replaced by a Lebanese army and an international force."[62] Economic aftermath indicate that the fighting had resulted in a huge financial setback for Lebanon, with estimates ranging from US$7 to US$10 billion[63] in direct costs while the cost for Israel is put at US$1.6[64] - US$3 billion. This, and other factors has prompted a commentator in the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat to question the claims of victory by Hezbollah.[65] According to one analyst in the Associated Press, the main casualty was the fragile unity between Lebanon's sectarian and political groups.[66]

Targets in civilian areas

Main article: Targeting of civilian areas in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
File:Tyre Mass Graves (PBS NewsHour).png
Mass graves for civilians following Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, Lebanon, 21 July 2006. The half-length coffins are for children.
A car in Haifa following rocket attack 17 July 2006 showing result of anti personnel shrapnel

Each side has complained about the other's artillery and missiles being fired into civilian areas. Both sides have reported civilian casualties.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon's civilian areas and infrastructure included Beirut airport, bridges, roads, fuel containers and service stations,[26] residential buildings, ports,[citation needed] a lighthouse,[citation needed] grain silos,[citation needed] mobile telephone and television stations,[67] factories, and the country’s largest dairy farm Liban Lait,[68] all of which were said to have been used by Hezbollah to launch rockets or receive re-supplies from Iran and Syria.[69][70]

Israeli officials accused Hezbollah of intentionally using the civilian population as human shields. They alleged that Hezbollah fired rockets from residential areas to draw Israeli fire on those areas, in a cynical attempt to maximize civilian casualties and garner more sympathy. There were also reports that Hezbollah has blocked village exits to prevent residents from leaving the warzone, again in an attempt to maximize civilian casualties.[71] Israel has further explained that the IAF drops leaflets warning civilians to leave the area before it attacks. Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon stated on 26 July stated that any civilians remaining in South Lebanon after being issued such leaflets should be considered “terrorists”.[72] Israel asserted that its attacks on infrastructure such as the airport were justified, as such infrastructure was used to re-supply Hezbollah with missiles and other ordnance from Syria and Iran, and could have been used to smuggle the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers into Iran.

Hezbollah fired rockets, sometimes more than 200 per day throughout the conflict. These landed in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula, Qiryat Shemona, Karmiel, and Maalot, and dozens of kibbutzim, moshavim, and Druze and Arab villages.[73][74][75]

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defended their rocket attacks, saying “In the beginning, we started to act calmly, we focused on Israel[i] military bases and we didn’t attack any settlement, However, since the first day, the enemy attacked Lebanese towns and murdered civilians—Hezbollah militants had destroyed military bases, while the Israelis killed civilians and targeted Lebanon's infrastructure”.[76]

Human Rights Watch has disputed intentional use of human shields while acknowledging occasional Hezbollah weapon storage and rocket launching in civilian areas or near UN observers.[77] Jan Egeland, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, while calling Hezbollah rocket attacks into northern Israel and Israeli aerial bombing of Beirut violations of humanitarian law,[78][79] accused Hezbollah of “cowardly blending…among women and children” and condemned their rumored pride at "having many more children and women dead than armed men."

Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed “grave concern over the continued killing and maiming of civilians in Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.” She suggested that the actions of Israel and Hezbollah may constitute war crimes. Arbour called for Israel to obey a “principle of proportionality” and said, “indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians.…Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged military significance, but resulting invariably in the killing of innocent civilians, is unjustifiable”.[80]

Amnesty International condemned both sides for attacks on civilians and the reported used of white phosphorus by the IDF.[81][82]

Human Rights Watch issued many reports documenting indiscriminate use of force against civilians by both Israel and Hezbollah. They blamed Israel for systematically failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians, which may constitute a war crime, and have accused Hezbollah of committing war crimes by the deliberate and indiscriminate killing of civilians by firing rockets into populated areas. The organization has also strongly criticized Israel for using cluster bombs too close to civilians because of their inaccuracy and unreliability, and Hezbollah for filling its rockets with ball bearings, which "suggests a desire to maximize harm to civilians."[83][84][85]

Environmental consequences

See also: Jiyeh power station oil spill
The oil-spillage caused by the Jiyeh bombings in mid July, had by 29 July coated the water's surface in Byblos harbour, some 60 km north of Jiyeh.

An environmental disaster resulted from the Israeli Airforce bombing the Jiyeh power station, 30 km (19 mi) south of Beirut, on 13 July and 15 July. The plant's damaged storage tanks leaked 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil into the eastern Mediterranean Sea, comparable in size to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.[86] A 10km wide oil slick covers 170km of coastline,[87][88] and may soon threaten Turkey and Cyprus. The slick is reportedly causing breathing problems, killing fish, and threatening the habitat of the endangered green sea turtle, and could increase the risk of cancer. It may take at least 10 years to recover from this spill.

File:Burning Forest.jpg
A forest fire caused by Hezbollah rockets in mid July.

Amnesty International has also called on Israel to consider refraining from the use of weapons with depleted uranium munitions, due to health risks. The effect of the radioactive dust created on impact is debated, though the weapon itself is considered "toxic and constitutes a health risk independent of any residual radioactivity" due to the nature of heavy metals.

Hezbollah rocket attacks caused numerous and fierce forest fires inside northern Israel, particularly on the Naftali mountain range near Kiryat Shmona.[89] As of 8 August as many as 9,000 acres including 3,000 acres of Israel’s few forests, were damaged by fires caused by Hezbollah rockets, and at least one forest has lost nearly 75% of its trees.[90] Estimates are that it will take at least 60 years to rehabilitate the forests.[91]

Position of Lebanon

Main article: Position of Lebanon in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

While Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for the Hezbollah attacks due to Lebanon’s failure to implement Resolution 1559 calling on it to disarm Hezbollah, Lebanon disavows the raids, stating that the government of Lebanon does not condone them, and that in any case Israel has its own history of disregarding inconvenient UN resolutions.[24] An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position.[25] Almost immediately after hostilities began, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for a ceasefire. On 14 July, following a phone call between Siniora and President Bush, the Prime Minister’s office issued the statement that “Prime Minister Siniora called on President Bush to exert all his efforts on Israel to stop its aggression on Lebanon, reach a comprehensive ceasefire and lift its blockade.”[92]

The next day, in a televised message to the Lebanese people, and afterwards in an interview with CNN, Siniora said “We call for an immediate ceasefire backed by the United Nations.”[93]

Previous ceasefire attempts

Main article: Ceasefire attempts during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Several ceasefire proposals made

Terms for a ceasefire had been drawn and revised several times over the course of the conflict, yet successful agreement between the two sides took several weeks. Hezbollah maintained the desire for an unconditional ceasefire,[94] while Israel insisted upon a conditional ceasefire, including the return of the two captured soldiers.[95] Lebanon frequently pled for the United Nations Security Council to call for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Current ceasefire

On 11 August, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved UN Security Council Resolution 1701, in an effort to end the hostilities. It was accepted by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah on 12 August, and by the Israeli government on 13 August. The ceasefire took effect in the region at 8:00 AM (5:00 AM GMT) on 14 August 2006. [96]

Before the ceasefire, two Hezbollah members said that their militia would not disarm south of the Litani River, according to a senior member of the Lebanese cabinet.[97] Israel has said it will stop withdrawing from South Lebanon if Lebanese troops aren't deployed there within a matter of days.[98]

Both sides promised to retaliate when placed on the defensive. On 15 August, the Associated Press reported that Hezbollah had fired at least 10 Katyusha rockets into southern Lebanon. The IDF stated that as none had crossed the border and there were no casualties, they did not respond. Earlier, skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah left six guerrillas dead.[99] UNIFIL also reported that the IDF fired a tank shell at the Lebanese village of Markaba but that there was no response from the other side.[100]

Violations of current ceasefire

  • On 14 August 2006, hours after the beginning of the ceasefire, about four mortars were fired inside southern Lebanon. An Israeli military spokesman said that Israel will not respond to their firing. On that day four more incidents were recorded when armed Hezbollah members allegedly approached Israeli positions. Four Hezbollah members were killed.[101]
  • On 15 August 2006 Israeli soldiers opened fire when four Hezbollah fighters allegedly approached their positions, three of the Hezbollah fighters were killed.[102] The same day, about 10 rockets were fired by Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon. Israel reiterated it wouldn't respond since the rockets did not cross border. [103]
  • On 18 August Lebanese police sources reported that Israeli Defense Force warplanes launched four missiles toward targets in an eastern Lebanese village of Baalbek. Israeli sources acknowledge that its air force performs sorties over Lebanese territory, but denied breaking the ceasefire. Lebanese officials later contradicted the police sources stating that no missiles were fired by the Israeli planes.[104]
  • On 19 August, six days after the beginning of the cease-fire, Israel launched a raid in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley it says was aimed to disrupt weapons supplies to Hezbollah from Syria and Iran.[105] Both countries immediately denied supplying Hezbollah with weapons.[citation needed] Lebanese officials said the Israelis were apparently seeking a guerrilla target in a school.[citation needed]One Israeli soldier was killed, another mortally wounded, while 3 Hezbollah fighters were wounded.
  • On 19 August Stephane Dujaric, spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, said that “[t]he secretary-general is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities.”[106] Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev told the Associated Press that “[t]he cease-fire is based on (U.N. resolution) 1701 which calls for an international arms embargo against Hezbollah. In the absence of that presence, arms transfers to Hezbollah are a clear violation of 1701 and Israel is entitled to respond. When the international forces and the Lebanese Army are enforcing the embargo, Israeli action becomes superfluous.”[105] Regev was referring to article 8 of the resolution which calls for an end to all weapons transfers to Hizbollah.

Italy threatened to withhold troops from the proposed expanded UN peacekeeping force if Israel "keeps shooting". The Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said "From Israel, we expect a renewed effort, this time truly binding, to respect the ceasefire." [107]

International reaction

A Lebanese protest in Sydney
Pro-Israel rally in Stockholm, Sweden, on 20 August
Main article: International reactions to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrike
See also: Military and economic aid in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

The conflict engendered worldwide concerns over infrastructure damage and the risks of escalation of the crisis, as well as mixed support and criticism of both Hezbollah and Israel.[108] A number of governments, including the United States,[109] United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Canada, asserted Israel's right to self-defense. The United States government further responded by authorizing Israel's request for expedited shipment of precision-guided bombs, but did not announce the decision publicly.[110]

Spokespersons from the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Conference, and an assortment of human rights organizations condemned Israel for its disproportionate response to Hezbollah’s attacks.[111]

Among neighboring Middle Eastern nations, Iran, Syria, and Yemen voiced strong support for Hezbollah, while the Arab League issued statements condemning both Hezbollah’s attack[112] and Israel’s response.[113]

Many worldwide protests and demonstrations appealed for an immediate ceasefire on both sides and expressed concern for the heavy loss of civilian life on all sides. Other demonstrations were held exclusively in favor of Lebanon or Israel. Numerous newspaper advertising campaigns, SMS and email appeals, and on-line petitions also occurred.[114][115]

Various foreign governments assisted the evacuation of their citizens from Lebanon.[116]

Deeming the international response to the crisis in Lebanon to be 'mediocre', Khaled Diab, a Brussels-based journalist, wrote in an essay entitled 'Salom now' that "the time has come for Arab and Israeli citizens to join forces in a broad-based regional coalition to work towards salam/shalom… now". He concludes that "The traditional top-down approach to ‘peace making’ has failed miserably for decades. It is high time for the people of the Middle East to take their destiny into their own hands and show their leaders how things should be done." .[117]

Historical background

Israel-Lebanon conflict

See also: 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict § More background

The history of conflict between the two countries began with the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. After the 1967 Six Day War, and following the Black September in Jordan, over 110,000 Palestinian refugees migrated to Lebanon, making up, with their descendants, over 400,000 people today.[118] By 1975, they numbered more than 300,000, creating an informal state-within-a-state in South Lebanon. The PLO became a powerful force and played an important role in the Lebanese Civil War. In response to numerous attacks launched from southern Lebanon, Israel invaded in 1978 in an attempt to rout out Palestinian militants. As a result the United Nations passed UN Resolutions 425 and 426, which called for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to military action in Lebanon.[119]

At the end of the operation, Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon, leaving behind a UNIFIL force. Israel invaded again four years later in 1982, forcing PLO forces out of Lebanon (mostly to Tunisia), and Israel occupied the southern part of the country. A US brokered peace treaty was ratified by the Lebanese parliament in 1983, but President Amine Gemayel decided against signing in 1984. In 1985, Israel withdrew its forces from parts of Lebanon and remained in a 4–6 kilometre (2.5–3.75 mi) deep[120] strip of southern Lebanon, described by Israel as a "security zone" which it justified as a protective measure to defend its northern towns against Hezbollah attacks. This occupation lasted until 2000. On 24 May 2000 Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon.

The South Lebanon Army's equipment and positions in South Lebanon largely fell into the hands of Hezbollah, which has put considerable effort into fortifying the former security zone and establishing new firing positions. Since then, Hezbollah has repeatedly attacked Israeli military positions, whilst Israel has carried out numerous attacks aimed at striking Hezbollah bases (see Hezbollah activities).[121] Most recently, on 26 May 2006, a car bomb in southern Lebanon killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Mahmoud Majzoub, and his brother Nidal. Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora declared Israel the primary suspect. Israel denied involvement,[122] but two days later, a barrage of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. Israel responded by bombing suspected militant targets inside Lebanon, and exchanging fire across the border. Before the end of the day, the UN negotiated a ceasefire.[123]

On 2 September 2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1559 calling for the disbanding of all Lebanese militias, among other things, and an armed Hezbollah in South Lebanon is seen by many to be a contravention of the resolution. The Lebanese government differs from this interpretation, and the United Nations has not ruled on this matter.[124][125]

In the August 2006 edition of The New Yorker, Pulitzer Prize winning invesigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that Israeli government officials travelled to the US in May to share plans for attacking Hizbullah [126]. Quoting a US government consultant, Hersh said: "Earlier this summer ... several Israeli officials visited Washington, separately, 'to get a green light for the bombing operation and to find out how much the United States would bear'."

Previous prisoner exchanges

See also: Israeli MIA prisoner exchanges

Over the last 30 years, Israel has released about 7,000 prisoners to secure freedom for 19 Israelis and to retrieve the bodies of eight others. In October 2000, Hezbollah captured three IDF soldiers who were killed either during the operation or in its immediate aftermath at Shebaa Farms, and kidnapped an Israeli businessman and former army colonel Elchanan Tenenbaum in Kuwait. A prisoner swap was carried out on 29 January 2004: 30 Lebanese and Arab prisoners, the remains of 59 Lebanese militants and civilians, 400 Palestinian prisoners for Tenenbaum and the remains of the three soldiers. Hezbollah requested that maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon be included as part of the exchange. [127][128]

References

  1. ^ "Two Northern Command chiefs?", Ynetnews, 8 August 2006; See also, "IDF officials: Maj. Gen. Adam must quit post after war"; "Israel swaps commanders"; "Impatient Israel appoints new battle chief"; "New Israeli General Oversees Lebanon "; "Israel names new commander to head offensive"; "Israel changes command structure"
  2. ^ The International Institute For Strategic Studies (2006-07-21). "Agence France Presse - Lebanese army faces no-win situation". Retrieved 2006-08-01.
  3. ^ "Some 30,000 Israeli troops in Lebanon - army radio". Reuters via Yahoo! News Asia. 2006-08-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/ _War06.asp "Israeli offensive killed 1,287 in Lebanon: official tolls"]. Daily Star (Lebanon). 2006-08-19. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |url= at position 29 (help)
  5. ^ Greenberg, Hanan (13 August2006). "IDF disperses leaflets in Lebanon with names of IDF killed". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2006-08-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)= IDF says 570+ Hezbollah fighters killed}}
  6. ^ a b "Israel-Hizbullah conflict: Victims of rocket attacks and IDF casualties". Israel, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. daily updated. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "MFA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Some 1,300 Israelis hurt since fighting began". Ynetnews. 2006-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Israeli Refugees Seek Friends and Families". The New York Times. 31 July2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Lebanon counts human cost of 23 days in firing line". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "Israeli Offensive Kills 925 in Lebanon".
  11. ^ "Lebanon Min: Israel Holds 350 Troops, Police In Marjayoun". Dow Jones Newswires. 2006-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "IDF allows 400 Lebanese security forces to leave Marjayoun". Ynetnews. 2006-08-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  128. ^ "Israel, Hezbollah swap prisoners". CNN. 2004-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

Template:Campaignbox Arab-Israeli conflict


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  • Video showing degree of structural damage in major Lebanese cities (no casualties)

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  1. ^ "ISRAELI AIR ATTACK KILLS CIVILIANS". CNN. 2006-07-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Tom Zeller Jr. (2006-07-24). "Anne Frank 2006: War Diaries Online". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-07-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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