Battle of Ayta ash-Shab: Difference between revisions

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|result = Israel failed to capture the town<ref name="Final Winograd report, p. 318"/>
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*Tactical Israeli defeat; Israel failed to capture the town<ref name="Final Winograd report, p. 318"/> <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/background-and-overview-second-lebanon-war</ref>
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|combatant1 = {{flagicon|Israel}} [[Israel Defense Forces]]
|combatant1 = {{flagicon|Israel}} [[Israel Defense Forces]]

Revision as of 22:35, 7 April 2018

Battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b
Part of 2006 Lebanon War
Date12 July – 14 August 2006
Location
Ayta ash-Sha'b, Southern Lebanon
Result Israel failed to capture the town[1]
Belligerents
Israel Israel Defense Forces Hezbollah
Commanders and leaders
Brig.-Gen. Udi Adam,
head of Northern Command
Brig.-Gen. Gal Hirsch,
commander of the 91st Div.
Col. Ilan Atias,
commander of 2nd Brigade
Col. Hagai Mordechai,
commander of 35th Brigade		 unknown
Units involved

35th Paratroopers Brigade

  • 101st battalion
  • 890th battalion
84th Nahal Brigade
2nd Infantry Brigade
847th Reserve Brigade
8219th Engineering Battalion		 Local fighters
Strength
unknown 60–70 fighters (Israeli estimate)[2]
Casualties and losses
28 killed (IDF claim)
200 killed and wounded (Hizbullah claim)[3]		 8–11 fighters killed (Lebanese claims and media estimates)[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
40 killed (IDF claim)[11]
2 captured[12]
7 Lebanese civilians killed (Lebanese sources)

The Battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b took place during the 2006 Lebanon War, when the Israel Defense Forces and the Islamic Resistance, the armed wing of Hezbollah, fought a 33 days battle for the town of Ayta ash-Sha'b and the neighboring villages of Ramiya, al-Qawzah and Dibil in southern Lebanon. The initial phase of the battle consisted of two and a half weeks of intense bombardment by air and artillery, followed by more than two weeks of intensive fighting in and around the town. The IDF failed to capture the town and suffered relatively heavy casualties in the process.[1]

Background

On 12 July 2006, under the cover of mortar and rocket fire directed at Israeli communities and IDF positions, forces belonging to the Islamic Resistance launched a cross border raid into Israeli territory, killing three Israeli soldiers and abducting two, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.[13] The abductors apparently headed for the town of Ayta ash-Sha'b, less than a kilometer from the site of the abduction.

Nir Rosen writes that Ayta ash-Sha'b was defended by approximately 100 fighters, mainly local inhabitants. Some of the defenders of the town were not members of the Islamic Resistance or even of Hizbullah.[6] According to Andrew Exum, the majority of the fighters were not "regular Hizballah fighters".[14] Blanford agrees that most the fighters were local residents, but that they were "no second-rate home guard. They were battle-hardened veterans,… many of them with specialist training in anti-armor missiles and sniping."[15] According to a study supported by Israeli authorities, Hizbullah’s military infrastructure in the village consisted of 60–70 Hizbullah operatives.[2]

The battle

Ayta ash-Sha'b and other Lebanese border villages and Hizbullah outposts were immediately subjected to bombardment from aircraft and artillery, plus attack helicopters supporting Israeli ground forces. This would continue almost daily throughout the war.[16] On the first day the IDF declared, somewhat optimistically, that "all Hezbollah outposts along the border were destroyed."[13]

First attempted incursion

Less than two hours after the capture of the two soldiers, the IDF sent a force of tanks and armored personnel carriers across the border following a dirt track, through an olive grove called Khallat al-Warda, leading to Ayta ash-Sha'b. The force was ordered to capture a Hizbullah post and to take control of the exit roads from the town, in case the abducted soldiers were still there. Only 70 meters into Lebanese territory, a Merkava heavy battle tank drove over a remote-controlled mine. The tank was destroyed and its four crewmen were killed instantly, and the mission to capture the access roads to the town was quickly abandoned. Hizbullah fire prevented the extraction of the destroyed tank and the remains of the four soldiers just inside Lebanese territory for several days. A fifth soldier was killed and two soldiers wounded in the effort.[13][17][18] Defence Minister Amir Peretz, who watched the tank exploding live on his monitor, was stunned. It was later described as the "Zidane effect"[19] that cemented Israel's resolve towards going to war.[20]

Second attempted incursion

On the evening of 12 July, IDF Northern Command contemplated sending paratroopers to Ayta ash-Sha'b "to conduct arrests". This was postponed because of a lack of intelligence,[21] but during the first week fighting was limited to exchanges of fire over the border. The original plan deemed it unnecessary to occupy Lebanese territory to rid the border of Hizbullah.[22] Israel used the air force, both aircraft and attack helicopters, and artillery fire. The Lebanese fighters fired rockets, guided missiles, mortars, Katyusha rockets and heavy machine guns at Israeli towns and positions.[23][24] According to Yedioth Ahronoth more than 300 rockets were fired from the area during the war.[8] The headquarters of the 91st Division at Biranit just across the border from Ayta ash-Sha'b was subjected to a "hard and extremely accurate" attack by Katyusha rockets. The Command bunker received a direct hit destroying the generator and cutting off light and air supply to the facility. Only the dim lights of cell phones could be seen when terrified Israeli soldiers called home.[25] According to Islamic Resistance commanders the fighters suffered no casualties during this period.[24]

On 14 July the civilian inhabitants of the town were warned through loudspeakers to evacuate the town. The great majority of the population therefore left.[16] About a week into the war the IDF resumed ground operations around Ayta ash-Sha'b, with nightly incursions by foot, mainly around the Old Quarter in the west and the northern sections of the town, such as the Abu Tawil hill.[24] These incursions were described by Arkin as "probes" and probably served mainly to gather intelligence.[16][26] On the 19th, Northern Command launched a simultaneous attack on the border communities of Maroun ar-Ras, Marwahin and Ayta ash-Sha'b. The attack on Maroun ar-Ras failed, sustaining a number of casualties, and the forces about to attack Ayta ash-Sha'b were called back at the last moment.[27]

Decision to create a Security Zone

Two weeks into the war it was clear that the Israeli strategy was not working. In late July the Israeli cabinet therefore approved Operation "Operation Web of Steel 4" (later renamed Operation Change of Direction 8), designed to take control of a "security zone", 6–8 kilometers wide, along the border. Reserves were called up and eight brigades amassed on the Israeli-Lebanese border.[28]

On 31 July paratroopers effectively surrounded Ayta ash-Sha'b with the intention of driving out the Hizbullah. They were met with fierce resistance. On the next day they advanced on the town from two directions. One company-sized unit was advancing into the eastern Abu Laban quarter. The troops were discovered by Lebanese forces, which after several hours of fighting forced the Israelis to retreat. During this fight Hizbullah suffered its first fatality, Younis Surour.[24] The other force, the 890th Paratrooper Battalion, attacked the Old Town from the north and advanced towards the mosque. The battalion came under fire, and its forces got separated as they took cover. Israeli soldiers were shocked by the ferocity of the fire and several stopped functioning. The attack was aborted and reinforcements were called in to extract dead, wounded and shell-shocked soldiers.[29][30] According to Hizbullah, another Lebanese fighter, Hisham as-Sayyid, was killed while pursuing the retreating Israelis.[24] Three Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were killed and at least 25 were wounded. The IDF had claimed that 15 Hizbullah guerrillas had been killed in the clash,[31] though Hizbullah claimed it only lost two fighters. Israeli injured had to be carried by their comrades, under Hizbullah fire, back to the Israeli border. It took the wounded a whole day to reach the hospital in Nahariya.[32] The Paratroopers were originally supposed to move north the following day but because of the casualties sustained, they were ordered to remain in the vicinity of the town.[33]

Defense Minister Amir Peretz expressed his growing frustration at the slow progress IDF was making to his senior officers: "It's infuriating – we're circling Ayta al-Shaab for the third time already."[34][35]

Continued street fighting

On 2 August, "harsh battles" were reported inside the town. One Israeli paratrooper was reported killed and nine wounded.[36][37] On the same day, an Israeli force surrounded a house in the northern Abu Tawil section of the town. When the house was searched two Hizbullah fighters hiding in the house were discovered and taken prisoner.[38]

Israeli media reports were still upbeat and reported that the IDF during the day was "set to complete its deployment" in a 5–6 kilometers wide "security zone" along the Lebanese border, all the way between Metula and Rosh Hanikra.[36] Ayta ash-Sha'b, less than a kilometer from the border, was going to prove a much more difficult nut to crack than expected.

The Hizbullah fighters generally fought from well-protected positions. A Hizbullah fighter told Lebanese daily as-Safir after the war how close the Israeli soldiers and Hizbullah guerrillas were, sometimes separated only by an alley or a destroyed house. The first time he saw Israeli soldiers he could not believe his eyes: "They were so close that sometimes our units would overlap theirs".[24] The Israeli soldiers would advance into a neighborhood and seek cover in a building when exposed to fire. The fighters would then target the building with remote-controlled missiles or rocket-propelled grenades. Most of the casualties sustained by the IDF were caused by rockets or missiles. When Israeli forces retreated the fighters would generally take cover in tunnels or shelters to avoid the shelling or bombardment from the air that would usually follow. When the shelling stopped the fighters would emerge to face the expected Israeli advance.[24] In one case, three Hizbullah fighters took cover in a shelter during an air raid. The shelter received a direct hit and collapsed, killing them. Their bodies could not be recovered for 10 days.[24] Another Hizbullah fighter also became one of the first Lebanese killed by a drone strike during the war.[24]

In spite of the substantial losses, IDF officials denied that there was any intention of withdrawing from the village, without "a clear surrender" of Hizbullah, because it was major stronghold and considered a "symbol of the determination" of the movement.[39] One soldier was killed and at least 19 were wounded in further heavy clashes in Ayta ash-Sha'b on 5 August.[40] The losses precipitated a much criticized withdrawal of the reserve brigade from the village.

On 6 August, the Defence Minister again expressed his dissatisfaction over the army’s inability to conquer Ayta ash-Sha'b.[41] The orders to the IDF to quickly occupy Ayta ash-Sha'b were repeated several times over the coming days.[42] A negotiating team that had been sent to the town to negotiate a peaceful surrender of its defenders returned empty handed on 7 August.[43]

Fighting spreads to Dibil and al-Qawzah

Israeli forces eventually bypassed Ayta ash-Sha'b and started pushing northward towards the villages of al-Qawzah and Dibil, a few kilometers to the north of the town. Both of the villages were Christian and Hizbullah probably maintained a minimal presence there. The front line was thereby "extended from ash-Shomera-Zar’it [in Israel], over Khallat Warda [near the border] and reaching al-Qawzah and Dibil”.[24]

A heavy PUMA APC was hit by a missile in the village of Dibil on 7 August, killing one soldier and injuring five others.[44]

9 August, a large IDF force was discovered by Hizbullah scouts while advancing from al-Qawzah towards Dibil. Local headquarters were alerted and the Israeli force was subjected to artillery and mortar fire, near the Dibil public swimming pool, from positions outside Ayta ash-Sha'b. Hizbullah did not maintain artillery inside the town. An Israeli unit, belonging to the 8219th Engineering Battalion, took up positions in a house on the outskirts of Dibil. The house was hit by two anti-tank missiles fired from Ayta ash-Sha'b (about 4 kilometers away) and the building collapsed.[45] Nine soldiers were killed and 31 wounded, many of whom were buried under the ruins.[24][46][47] Among those killed were Major Natan Yahav, the only senior IDF officer to die in the battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b. The incident was dubbed "The House of Death". Survivors later expressed bitterness at the IDF command, whose "incompetence and stupidity" contributed to the high number of casualties. "In Debel, those nine guys never even had a chance to shoot a single bullet." The casualties had to be carried on stretchers back to Israel.[48]

The same day, a Merkava tank was hit by a missile, fired from close range in Ayta ash-Sha'b. The tank turret was blown off and the tank caught fire. Its four crewmen were killed instantly.[49]

On 10 August, IDF claims to have killed three Hizbullah fighters in Ayta ash-Sha'b.[50]

Ceasefire

On 9 August, General Eisenkott had to inform the government that the army had failed to capture Ayta ash-Sha'b. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert demanded an explanation.[51]

Less than three days before the ceasefire Operation Changing Direction 11 was launched with the aim of pushing further into Lebanese territory. About a dozen Israeli soldiers died in the fighting around the villages of Haddatha, Yatar, at-Tiri, Rashaf and Ayta az-Zut, well to the north of Ayta ash-Sha'b. There are no reports of any offensive Israeli action against Hizbullah positions in the town itself.

On the last day of the fighting, an IDF infantry force at the Abu Tawil hill in the northern part of the town was hit by an anti-tank missile. Four soldiers were killed and 20 wounded.[52][53]

By the time the cease-fire took effect on the morning of 14 August the IDF apparently had abandoned all its positions inside Ayta a-Sha'b. Blanford notes: "On the first day of the ceasefire, it was possible to reach [Aita ash-Sha'b]… which lay behind the IDF’s frontline positions in Haddatha, Rashaf and Yatar without even seeing a single IDF soldier."[54] A camera team from al-Jazeera reached the village and interviewed a Hizbullah fighter a few hours after the ceasefire took effect.

Aftermath

The Israeli army never occupied Ayta ash-Sha'b. According to Harel and Issacharoff, the town became "a symbol of Israel's performance in the war, the village where it all began, where the IDF thrashed about for four weeks and never succeeded in taking."[51] Exum described Hizbullah's "tenacity" in the defense of the border villages as "the biggest surprise of the war" and the performance of the village units as "exceptional".[14]

The Carmeli Brigade pulled a battalion out of the town, after one of its soldiers was killed, in what was described as a "tactical retreat".[55] The performance of the Carmeli Brigade was afterwards singled out (together with another unit, the 366th Division) for particular harsh criticism. It displayed a "lack of determination, an unnecessary retreat and a misunderstanding of the bigger picture. Much of the blame was placed on the top brass, but the [two] brigades were left thoroughly shaken by the war."[56] After the war a committee, headed by Col. (res) Yoram Yair, sharply criticized the conduct of 91st Division during the war, including the battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b. The battle was called "the black hole of the war".[57]

Brig.-Gen. Gal Hirsch, the commanding officer under which the Carmeli Brigade served during the war, was fired a few months after the war.[58]

The commander of the Northern Command, Gen. Udi Adam, was practically fired already on 8 Aug, after the repeated failures to capture Bint Jbeil and Ayta ash-Sha'b. Chief of Staff Halutz sent his deputy, Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, to Northern Command, to serve as his "coordinator" beside Adam. Adam formally resigned from the army in September. Chief of Staff Dan Halutz himself resigned in January 2007.[59][60]

Veteran Israeli war correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai claimed that the problem was not limited to the commanding officers. He claimed that a "crybaby culture" had developed among the soldiers of the Israeli army. Almost every Israeli offensive operation in the war, including those in Ayta ash-Sha'b, were called off as soon as resistance was encountered and casualties were sustained, even though IDF in almost every clash enjoyed superiority, both in terms of numbers and firepower. Soldiers often abandoned their missions and focused all efforts on evacuating casualties from the battlefield rather than continuing to pursue their objectives.[61]

Gilad Sharon asked in a column in Yedioth Ahronoth after the war: "How could it be that after a month of war, our soldiers were still being wounded among the still-standing houses of the village of Aita al-Shaab, literately [sic] hundreds of meters from the location of the abduction that sparked the war?"[62]

Casualties

Journalist Simon Assaf who visited Ayta ash-Sha'b shortly after the cease-fire says that eight local fighters were killed and six civilians, claiming to have seen the 14 graves at the local cemetery.[4] A Washington Post report, citing local residents, confirmed that eight Hizbullah guerrillas were killed in the town.[5] Nir Rosen and Hannah Alam of McClatchy claimed that nine local fighters died in the battle.[6][9]

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth confirmed that "around ten" local Hizbullah fighters were killed in the battle in addition to other fighters that arrived to the battle.[8] The IDF, on the other hand, claimed that 40 Hizbullah guerrillas were killed in the battle.[23]

The Lebanese daily as-Safir about a year later published a casualty list that included the names of 11 Hizbullah fighters, including non-locals, and 7 "civilian martyrs" from the town. Another Ayta resident, Muhammad Wahbi Surour, was also named as a martyr of Ayta, but he died in the fighting around the village of Barish further to the north.[7] One of those named by as-Safir, Hassan Da’iq, also appear on a list of martyrs from the town of Tayibe published on the local website.[63] The local website identifies him as a native of Tayiba who was killed in the "battles of Ayta ash-Sha'b". His name was given as Muhammad Mahmoud Da’iq, adding that his "nom-du-guerre" was Hassan.

Two Hizbullah fighters were taken prisoner by the IDF during the battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b.[12] The captured fighters were not recognized as prisoners-of-war.[64] In September 2006 the two prisoners were put on trial, together with a third prisoner, Mahir Kourani, who was captured a few days later at the village of Shihin. The three were accused of a long series of criminal offenses, including "providing service to an illegal association," "weapons training in Iran and Lebanon without government permission," "conspiracy to commit a crime," and "conspiracy to commit murder" as well as participation in the kidnapping and attempted kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.[12] Before the trial was concluded the three prisoners (including the fourth prisoner, Khadr Zaidan, who was captured at al-Ghandouriya) were released in the 2008 prisoner exchange.

According to a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, only 100 of the 1300 houses in the town remained after the war.[65] In spite of the widespread destruction in Ayta ash-Sha'b, there were surprisingly few civilian casualties. According to Lebanese sources only seven civilian residents were killed in the war. The main reason for this seems to have been that the great majority of the civilian population had been evacuated from the town early in the conflict. According to a Human Rights Watch report two of the civilian fatalities were actually killed outside the town. On 19 July Safa Salah Jawad, aged 7, and her brother Kawthar, 4, were killed when a 155 mm artillery shell struck the private home in the nearby Christian village of Rumaysh, where the family had sought refuge after being evacuated from Ayta ash-Sha'b.[66] One man was killed 20 July by an missile fired by a helicopter.[67] An elderly couple and their son in his forties were killed the day after when their home was destroyed by an air strike.[68]

The IDF admitted 28 killed (of which five were officers) in 33 days of fighting in and around the town (including five at the border on 12 July, thirteen inside the town and ten in the nearby village of Dibil).

Islamic Resistance fatalities

The Lebanese daily as-Safir published the following casualty list.

  • Hassan Da’iq[7] (resident of Tayibe)[63]
  • Ali Abdal-Hasan Khalil[7]
  • Shadi Hani Mas’ad[7]
  • Hasan Muhsin[7]
  • Hisham Muhsin Murtada[7]
  • Muhammad Kamal Surour[7]
  • Muhammad Mousa Surour[7]
  • Younis Ya’qoub Surour[7]
  • Yousuf Muhammad as-Sayyid[7]
  • Muhammad Rida Tuhaini[7]
  • Wajeeh Muhammad Tuhaini[7]

Lebanese prisoners-of-war

  • Muhammad Surour[12]
  • Hussein Suleiman (captured in Ayta but a resident of Beirut)[12]

Lebanese civilian fatalities

Israeli fatalities

12 July 2006

  • Staff-Sergeant Alexei Kushnirski (tank commander in Armored Corps), 21, of Ness Ziona[70]
  • Staff-Sergeant Yaniv Bar-on (Armored Corps), 20, of Maccabim[70]
  • Sergeant Gadi Mosayev (Armored Corps), 20, of Akko[70]
  • Sergeant Shlomi Yirmiyahu (Armored Corps), 20, of Rishon LeZion[70]
  • Sergeant Nimrod Cohen (Nahal Brigade), 19, of Mitzpe Shalem[70]

1 August 2006

2 August 2006

  • Sergeant Adi Cohen (Paratrooper 101 Bat.), 18, of Hadera[70]

5 August 2006

  • Corporal (res.) Kiril Kashdan (Carmeli brigade), 26, of Haifa[70][71]

7 August 2006

  • Staff-Sergeant Philip Mosko (Paratrooper), 21 [70]

9 August 2006

  • Captain (res.) Gilad Stukelman (847th reserve brigade), 26, of Moshav Timrat[70][72]
  • Sergeant-Major.(res.) Noam Goldman (847th reserve brigade), 27, of Tel Aviv[70][72]
  • Staff-Sergeant (res.) Nir Cohen (847th reserve brigade), 22, of Maccabim[70][72]
  • Staff-Sergeant (res.) Ben (Binyamin) Sela (847th reserve brigade), 24, of Koranit[70][72]
  • Major (res.) Natan Yahav (8219th Engineering Battalion), 36, of Kiryat Ono[70][72]
  • Captain (res.) Yoni (Leon) Shmucher (8219th Engineering Battalion), 30, of Bet Nehemia[70][72]
  • Sergeant-Major (res.) Asher Reuven Novik (8219th Engineering Battalion), 36, of Kanaf[70][72]
  • Staff-Sergeant Adi Salim (8219th Engineering Battalion), 22, of Beit Hashmonai[70][72]
  • Sergeant-Major (res.) Elad Dan (8219th Engineering Battalion), 25, of Kibbutz Eilot[70][72]
  • Sergeant-Major (res.) Gilad Zussman (8219th Engineering Battalion), 26, of Eli[70][72]
  • Sergeant-Major (res.) Idan Kobi (8219th Engineering Battalion), 26, of Eilat[70][72]
  • Sergeant-Major (res.) Naor Kalo (8219th Engineering Battalion), 25, of Kibbutz Maagan Michael[70][72]
  • Sergeant-Major (res.) Nimrod Segev (8219th Engineering Battalion), 28, of Ramat Gan[70][72]

13 August 2006

References

  1. ^ a b Final Winograd report, p. 318
  2. ^ a b Erlich, p. 84
  3. ^ Abbas Nasir (14 August 2006). "Aljazeera Exclusive Interview with a Hezbollah Fighter". al-Jazeera / Youtube. Retrieved 4 December 2011. (Arabic /English subtitles)
  4. ^ a b Simon Assaf (26 August 2006). "The battle of Aita al-Shaab". Socialist Worker. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  5. ^ a b Nora Boustany (26 August 2006). "In Lebanon's Rubble, Aftershocks of War". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Nir Rosen (January–February 2007). "The Mayor, the Martyr, and the Pomegranate Trees". Mother Jones. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "شهداء عيتا (Aita's martyrs)". as-Safir. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  8. ^ a b c "עייתא א-שעב (Ayta ash-Sha'b)". Yedioth Ahronoth / Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  9. ^ a b Hannah Allam (19 September 2006). "People of southern Lebanon bound to Hezbollah". McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  10. ^ Dani Kassem (1 March 2014). "شهداء عيتا الشعب سنة 2006 (Martyrs of Ayta ash-Sha'b) in the year 2006". Home page of the town of Ayta a-Sha’b. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  11. ^ Arkin, p. 89
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  13. ^ a b c Harel, Amos (13 July 2006). "Hezbollah kills 8 soldiers, kidnaps two in offensive on northern border". Ha'aretz. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  14. ^ a b Exum, pp.9–10
  15. ^ Blanford, p.70
  16. ^ a b c Arkin, p. 86
  17. ^ Harel and Issacharoff 2008, p.12
  18. ^ Scott Wilson (21 October 2006). "Israeli War Plan Had No Exit Strategy". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  19. ^ Referring to an incident in the 2006 World Cup final in which as Italian player insulted Zinedine Zidane who responded by headbutting him.
  20. ^ Shelah and Limor 2007, Chapter 1
  21. ^ Harel and Issacharoff 2008, p.270
  22. ^ Scott Wilson; Anthony Shadid (23 July 2006). "Israel Fights To Secure Key Region In Lebanon". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ a b Arkin p. 89
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Zaynab Yaghi (5 July 2007). "معركـــةعيتــا الشعــب أو اليوم الأصعب في تاريخ الجيش الاسرائيلي (The battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b or the most difficult day in the history of the Israeli army)". as-Safir. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  25. ^ Rapaport (2007), chapter 3: Rubber stamp
  26. ^ Biddle and Friedman, p. 31
  27. ^ Amir Rapaport (16 October 2007). "(המשך) הלילה בו נשלפו הסכינים (The night the knives were drawn – continuation)". Maariv. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  28. ^ Biddle and Friedman, p. 32
  29. ^ Avi Issacharoff; Amos Harel (6 August 2006). "Lebanon and the territories / No resemblance". Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ Ro'i Amos (2 September 2011). "כשהחדר מלא דם (As if the room was filled with blood)". אתר הגבורה (Heroism site). Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  31. ^ Katz, Yaakov (2 August 2006). "3 soldiers killed in Hizbullah ambush". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ Einav, Hagai (2 August 2006). "Troops recount moments of horror". Yedioth Achronoth. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  33. ^ Final Winograd Report, p. 145
  34. ^ Amos Harel (1 February 2008). "An army run like a jungle". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  35. ^ Final Winograd Report, p. 144
  36. ^ a b Efrat Weiss (3 August 2006). "Soldier killed, soldier severely hurt in Lebanon". Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  37. ^ Zafrir Rinat; Amos Harel; Eli Ashkenazi (3 August 2006). "Soldier killed in Aita Shaab as IDF moves deeper into S. Lebanon". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ "الأسير محمد سرور: عاشــق يحب الحياة بكرامة (The prisoner Muhammad Surour: A lover craves a life of dignity)". as-Safir. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  39. ^ "חילופי אש כבדים וממושכים בכפר עייתא א-שעב מערבית לעיירה בינת ג'בל (Heavy and extended exchanges of fire in the village Aita a-Sha'b west of the town Bint Jbeil)". Globes. 5 August 2006. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ YAAKOV KATZ (5 August 2006). "Two reserve soldiers were killed". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ Final Winograd Report, p. 164
  42. ^ Final Winograd Report, pp. 162, 169, 193
  43. ^ Final Winograd Report, p. 173
  44. ^ Hanan Greenberg (8 August 2006). "Soldier killed in south Lebanon". Yedioth Ahronoth. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  45. ^ Final Winograd Report, p. 185
  46. ^ "צל"שים פיקודיים – רס"ן ד"ר שמואל ענבר (Citations / Maj. Dr. Shmuel Inbar)". IDF. Archived from the original on 8 December 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ Hanan Greenberg (8 October 2006). "15 reservists killed in Lebanon battles". Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  48. ^ JOSH BRANNON (11 January 2006). "What happened at the 'house of death'?". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  49. ^ Amos Harel; Eli Ashkenazi; Yoav Stern; Agencies (10 August 2006). "Two IDF soldiers killed in south Lebanon fighting on Thursday =". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |last-author-amp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  50. ^ IDF: We drew lessons
  51. ^ a b Harel and Issacharoff 2008, p. 175
  52. ^ a b c Amos Harel; agencies (14 August 2006). "Seven soldiers killed in fighting on Sunday, eve of UN cease-fire". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |last-author-amp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  53. ^ "Summary of IDF operations against Hizbullah in Lebanon". 13 August 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  54. ^ Blanford, p.72
  55. ^ Harel and Issacharoff 2008, p. 177
  56. ^ Amos Harel (14 May 2010). "Battle-tested reservists take charge after Second Lebanon War crises". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  57. ^ Shelah and Limor 2007, p 237
  58. ^ "Israel general quits over Lebanon". BBC. 12 November 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  59. ^ Harel and Issacharoff 2008, pp. 242–243
  60. ^ Moriah Bar-Yousef (7 November 2011). "הרמטכ"ל שהתפטר, האלוף שהמשיך הלאה והקמ"ן שהתאבד (The Chief of Staff who resigned, the General who moved on and the Intelligence Officer who committed suicide)". Israel Defence. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  61. ^ Ron Ben-Yishai (21 July 2007). "Crybabies don't win wars". Yedioth Ahronoth. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  62. ^ Gilad Sharon (17 March 2007). "Wrong moves in Lebanon". Yedioth Ahronoth. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  63. ^ a b "شهداء الطيبة (Tayiba's martyrs". Al-Taybe. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  64. ^ Meron Benvenisti (21 July 2006). "The legal status of fighters". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  65. ^ ELIANE ENGELER (21 August 2006). "Workers Hope to Fix Lebanon Buildings". Associated Press / Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  66. ^ HRW (2007) p. 170 (The two siblings first names are given as Zainab and Qawsar in the report, instead of Safa and Kawthar.)
  67. ^ HRW (2007) p. 107
  68. ^ HRW (2007) p. 108
  69. ^ a b HRW (2007) p. 170
  70. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Israel Ministry of foreign affairs. "Israel-Hizbullah conflict: Victims of rocket attacks and IDF casualties". Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  71. ^ a b c d e "מלחמת לבנון השנייה (The second Lebanese war)". Carmeli Brigade. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  72. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "IDF gears up for push to Litani in bloodiest day of fighting: 15 soldiers killed". Jerusalem Post. 10 August 2006. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

External links

Bibliography

PART 1: Winning the intelligence war, 12 October 2006
PART 2: Winning the ground war, 13 October 2006
PART 3: The political war, 14 October 2006
  • Erlich, Dr. Reuven (Col. Ret.) (November 2006). "Hezbollah's use of Lebanese civilians as human shields". Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S). Retrieved 4 February 2012. [The study was supported by Military Intelligence, the Operations Division of the IDF General Staff, the IDF Spokesperson and the legal experts of the IDF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.]
  • Exum, Andrew, "Hizballah at War – A Military Assessment", Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Focus No. 63 | December 2006
  • Harel, Amos; Issacharoff, Avi (2008). 34 Days: Israel, Hezbollah, and the War in Lebanon. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Human Rights Watch (HRW), "Why They Died", Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War, September 2007
  • Human Rights Watch (HRW), "Flooding South Lebanon", Israel’s Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006, February 2008
  • Matthews, Matt M., "We Were Caught Unprepared: The 2006 Hezbollah-Israeli War", The Long War Series Occasional Paper 26, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center Combat Studies Institute Press Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 2006
  • Rapaport, Amir, אש על כוחותינו: כך הכשלנו את עצמנו במלחמת לבנון השנייה (Friendly Fire, How We Failed Ourselves in the Second Lebanon War), Sifriya Ma'ariv, 2007
  • Shelah, Ofer; Limor, Yoav (2007). Captives in Lebanon, the truth about the Second Lebanon War (Hebrew). Yediot books.
Chapter 1 Hannibal

33°05′51″N 35°20′10″E / 33.0975°N 35.3361°E / 33.0975; 35.3361

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