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en.wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Lebanon_War

2006 Lebanon War

For other wars in Lebanon, see Lebanon War (disambiguation).

2006 Lebanon War

Part of the Israeli–Lebanese conflict and the Iran–Israel proxy conflict[2]

Bombed-out buildings in Lebanon, 2006

Belligerents

Israel

Supported by:[show]

Hezbollah

Supported by:[show]

Commanders and leaders

Ehud Olmert (Prime Minister of Israel) Amir PeretzDan Halutz

Moshe Kaplinsky[7]

Udi AdamEliezer Shkedi

David Ben Ba'ashat

Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary-General of Hezbollah)

Imad MughniyehNabih Berri

Ali QansoKhaled Hadadi

Ahmed Jibril

Qasem Soleimani[8]

Strength

At least 10,000 soldiers (+ IAF&ISC);[9] 30,000 soldiers in

the last few days[10]Several hundreds

(south of the Litani river)[11][12]

Casualties and losses

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Smoke over Haifa, Israel, after a rocket launched

by Hezbollah hit the city near Bnei-Zion hospital

Israel Defense Forces:Killed: 121 killedWounded: 1,244[13]

Israeli civilians:

44 dead[14][15]

33 seriously wounded68 moderately wounded

1,388 lightly wounded[16]

Foreign civilians:

2 dead[17]

Hezbollah militia:

Killed: 250 (Hezbollah claim)[18]

≤500 (Lebanese officials' est.)[19]

500 (UN officials' est.)[20]

600–800 (IDF claim)[21][22]

Captured: 4 fighters[23]

Amal militia: 17 deadLCP militia: 12 deadPFLP-GC militia: 2 dead

IRGC: ≈6–9 dead (Lebanese officials' est.)[24][25]

Lebanese Armed Forces and Police Forces: 43

dead[3]

Lebanese citizens (combatants included) andforeign civilians:Dead:*

1,191 (Amnesty International)[26]

1,109 (including 250 Hezbollah militants)(Human RightsWatch)[27][28]

1,191 (Lebanese government est.)[29][30][31][32][33]

Wounded:4,409

Foreign civilians:

51 dead[17]

25 wounded

United Nations:5 dead

12 wounded[34]

*It was widely reported that most of those killed were civilians,[35][36][37] but the Lebanese government does not

differentiate between civilians and combatants in death toll figures.[22]

For total casualty figures, see: Casualties of the 2006 Lebanon War

The 2006 Lebanon War , also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War

and known in Lebanon as the July War [3] ( Arabic:ح

, Ḥ arbTammūz ) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War (Hebrew: מ

ה ,ל Milhemet Levanon HaShniya),[38] was a 34-day military

conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Golan Heights. The

principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli

military. The conflict started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a

United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14

August 2006, though it formally ended on 8 September 2006 when

Israel lifted its naval blockade of Lebanon. Due to unprecedented

Iranian military support to Hezbollah before and during the war, some

consider it the first round of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, rather than acontinuation of the Arab–Israeli conflict.[2]

The conflict was precipitated by the Zar'it-Shtula incident, although it was reported afterwards that Ehud Olmert's

government had been planning an attack on Hezbollah, months before this incident. On 12 July 2006, militants

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from the group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli border towns as a diversion for an anti-tank missile attack on two

armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence.[39] The ambush left three soldiers dead. Two

Israeli soldiers were captured and taken by Hezbollah to Lebanon.[39][40] Five more were killed in Lebanon, in a

failed rescue attempt. Hezbollah demanded the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the

release of the captured soldiers.[41] Israel refused and responded with airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in

Lebanon. Israel attacked both Hezbollah military targets and Lebanese civilian infrastructure, including Beirut's

Rafic Hariri International Airport.[42] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a ground invasion of southern

Lebanon. Israel also imposed an air and naval blockade.[43] Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northernIsrael and engaged the IDF in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions.[44]

The conflict is believed to have killed between 1191 and 1300 Lebanese people, [45][46][47][48] and 165 Israelis.[49]

It severely damaged Lebanese civil infrastructure, and displaced approximately one million Lebanese[50] and

300,000–500,000 Israelis.[16][51][52]

On 11 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved United Nations Security Council

Resolution 1701 (UNSCR 1701) in an effort to end the hostilities. The resolution, which was approved by both the

Lebanese and Israeli governments the following days, called for disarmament of Hezbollah, for withdrawal of Israel

from Lebanon, and for the deployment of Lebanese soldiers and an enlarged United Nations Interim Force inLebanon (UNIFIL) in the south. UNIFIL was given an expanded mandate, including the ability to use force to

ensure that their area of operations was not used for hostile activities, and to resist attempts by force to prevent

them from discharging their duties.[53] The Lebanese army began deploying in southern Lebanon on 17 August

2006. The blockade was lifted on 8 September 2006.[54] On 1 October 2006, most Israeli troops withdrew from

Lebanon, though the last of the troops continued to occupy the border-straddling village of Ghajar .[55] In the time

since the enactment of UNSCR 1701 both the Lebanese government and UNIFIL have stated that they will not

disarm Hezbollah.[56][57][58] The remains of the two captured soldiers, whose fates were unknown, were returned

to Israel on 16 July 2008 as part of a prisoner exchange.

Contents

[hide]

Background[edit]

Main article: Israeli–Lebanese conflict

Cross-border attacks from southern Lebanon into Israel by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) date as far

back as 1968, and followed the Six-Day War ; the area became a significant base for attacks following the arrival o

the PLO leadership and its Fatah brigade following their 1971 expulsion from Jordan. Starting about this time,

increasing demographic tensions related to the Lebanese National Pact, which had divided governmental powersamong religious groups throughout the country 30 years previously, began running high and led in part to the

Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).

Concurrently, Syria began a 29-year military occupation in 1976. Israel's 1978 invasion of Lebanon failed to stem

the Palestinian attacks in the long run, but Israel invaded Lebanon again in 1982 and forcibly expelled the PLO.[59]

Israel withdrew to a borderland buffer zone in southern Lebanon, held with the aid of proxy militants in the South

Lebanon Army (SLA).[60]

The invasion also led to the conception of a new Shi'a militant group, which in 1985, established itself politically

under the name Hezbollah, and declared an armed struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Lebanese

territory.[61][62] When the Lebanese civil war ended and other warring factions agreed to disarm, both Hezbollah

and the SLA refused. Ten years later, Israel withdrew from South Lebanon to the UN-designated and internationall

recognized Blue Line border in 2000.[63]

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The withdrawal also led to the immediate collapse of the SLA, and Hezbollah took control of the area in rapid

succession. Later citing continued Israeli control of the occupied Shebaa farms region and the internment of

Lebanese prisoners in Israel, Hezbollah intensified its cross-border attacks, and used the tactic of seizing soldiers

from Israel as leverage for a prisoner exchange in 2004.[64][65]

In August 2006, in an article in The New Yorker , Seymour Hersh claimed that the White House gave the green

light for the Israeli government to execute an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Supposedly, communication

between the Israeli government and the US government about this came as early as two months in advance of

the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of eight others by Hezbollah prior to the conflict in July 2006.[66]

The US government denied these claims.[67]

According to Jonathan Cook, the Winograd Committee leaked a testimony from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud

Olmert suggesting that Olmert "had been preparing for such a war at least four months before the official casus

belli: the capture by Hezbullah of two Israeli soldiers from a border post on 12 July 2006."[68][69]

Abduction efforts in the year prior to conflict[edit]

In June 2005, an Israel Defense Forces paratroop unit operating near the Shebaa Farms engaged three

Lebanese it identified as Hezbollah special force members, killing one. Videotapes recovered by the paratrooperscontained footage of the three recording detailed accounts of the area.[70]

Over the following 12 months, Hezbollah made three unsuccessful attempts to abduct Israeli soldiers. On 21

November 2005, a number of Hezbollah special forces attempted to attack an Israeli outpost in Ghajar , a village

straddling the border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. The outpost had been deserted following an

intelligence warning, and three of the Hezbollah militants were killed when Israeli sniper David Markovich shot a

rocket-propelled grenade they were carrying, causing it to explode. From his sniper position, Markovich shot and

killed a fourth gunman shortly thereafter.[70][71]

Beginning of conflict[edit]See also: Timeline of the 2006 Lebanon War

Hezbollah cross-border raid[edit]

Main article: 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid

At around 9 AM local time on 12 July 2006, Hezbollah launched diversionary rocket attacks toward Israeli military

positions near the coast and near the border village of Zar'it[72] as well as on the Israeli town of Shlomi and other

villages.[73] Five civilians were injured.[74] Six Israeli military positions were fired on, and the surveillance cameras

knocked out.[75]

At the same time, a Hezbollah ground contingent infiltrated the border into Israel through a "dead zone" in the

border fence, hiding in an overgrown wadi. They attacked a patrol of two Israeli Humvees patrolling the border

near Zar'it, using pre-positioned explosives and anti-tank missiles, killing three soldiers, injuring two, and capturing

two soldiers (First Sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and Sergeant First Class Eldad Regev).[72][76]

In response to the Hezbollah feint attacks, the IDF conducted a routine check of its positions and patrols, and

found that contact with two jeeps was lost. A rescue force was immediately dispatched to the area, and confirmed

that two soldiers were missing after 20 minutes. A Merkava Mk III tank, an Armored personnel carrier , and a

helicopter were immediately dispatched into Lebanon. The tank hit a large land mine, killing its crew of four.

Another soldier was killed and two lightly injured by mortar fire as they attempted to recover the bodies.[72][75]

Hezbollah named the attack "Operation Truthful Promise" after leader Hassan Nasrallah's public pledges over the

prior year and a half to seize Israeli soldiers and swap them for four Lebanese held by Israel:

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Samir Kuntar (a Lebanese citizen captured during a terrorist attack in 1979, convicted of murdering civilians

and a police officer );

Nasim Nisr (an Israeli-Lebanese citizen whom Israel tried and convicted for spying );

Yahya Skaf (a Lebanese citizen whom Hezbollah claims was arrested in Israel; Israel states that he was

killed in action);[77][78]

Ali Faratan (another Lebanese citizen whom Hezbollah claimed to be held in Israel, believed to have been

shot at sea.).

[79]

Nasrallah claimed that Israel had broken a previous deal to release these prisoners, and since diplomacy had

failed, violence was the only remaining option.[77] Nasrallah declared that "no military operation will result in

rescuing these prisoners... The only method, as I indicated, is that of indirect negotiations and a swap [of

prisoners]".[77]

In a 2007 article after the conclusion of the war, Haaretz claimed that it was a war initiated by Israel against a

relatively small guerrilla group.[80]

Israeli response[edit]

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the seizure of the soldiers as an "act of war" by the sovereign state o

Lebanon,[81][82] stating that "Lebanon will bear the consequences of its actions"[83] and promising a "very painful

and far-reaching response."[84] Israel blamed the Lebanese government for the raid, as it was carried out from

Lebanese territory.[85] Hezbollah had two ministers serving in the Lebanese cabinet at that time.[citation needed ]

In response, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora denied any knowledge of the raid and stated that he did not

condone it.[86][87] An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position. [88]

The Israel Defense Forces attacked targets within Lebanon with artillery and airstrikes hours before the Israeli

Cabinet met to discuss a response. The targets consisted of bridges and roads in Lebanon, which were hit toprevent Hezbollah from transporting the abductees. An Israeli airstrike also destroyed the runways of Beirut Rafic

Hariri International Airport.[89] 44 civilians were killed.[3] The Israeli Air Force also targeted Hezbollah's long range

rocket and missile stockpiles destroying many of them on the ground in the first days of the war.[90][91] Many of

Hezbollah's longer-range rocket launchers were destroyed within the first hours of the Israeli attack.[75]

Later that same day (12 July 2006), the Cabinet decided to authorize the Prime Minister, the Defense Minister and

their deputies to pursue the plan which they had proposed for action within Lebanon. Prime Minister Olmert

officially demanded that the Israel Defense Forces avoid civilian casualties whenever possible.[92] Israel's chief of

staff Dan Halutz said, "if the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years" [93] while the

head of Israel's Northern Command Udi Adam said, "this affair is between Israel and the state of Lebanon. Whereto attack? Once it is inside Lebanon, everything is legitimate – not just southern Lebanon, not just the line of

Hezbollah posts."[93]

On 12 July 2006, the Israeli Cabinet promised that Israel would "respond aggressively and harshly to those who

carried out, and are responsible for, today's action".[94] The Cabinet's communiqué stated, in part, that the

"Lebanese Government [was] responsible for the action that originated on its soil."[94] A retired Israeli Army Colone

explained that the rationale behind the attack was to create a rift between the Lebanese population and Hezbollah

supporters by exacting a heavy price from the elite in Beirut.[95]

On 16 July, the Israeli Cabinet released a communiqué explaining that, although Israel had engaged in militaryoperations within Lebanon, its war was not against the Lebanese government. The communiqué stated: "Israel is

not fighting Lebanon but the terrorist element there, led by Nasrallah and his cohorts, who have made Lebanon a

hostage and created Syrian- and Iranian-sponsored terrorist enclaves of murder."[96]

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Satellite photographs of the Haret

Hreik, a Hezbollah-dominated

neighborhood Dahieh district of

southern Beirut, Lebanon, before and

after 22 July 2006. The neighborhood

is home to Hezbollah's headquarters.

See also high resolution photographs

before and "after" . Archived from the

original on 21 August 2007.

When asked in August about the proportionality of the response, Prime Minister Olmert stated that 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." He added "no country in Europe would have

responded in such a restrained manner as Israel did."[97]

Israeli air and artillery attacks on Lebanon[edit]

During the first day of the war the Israeli Air Force, artillery and navy conducted

more than 100 attacks mainly against Hezbollah bases in south Lebanon,among them the regional headquarters in Ya'tar. Five bridges across the Litani

and Zahrani rivers were also destroyed, reportedly to prevent Hezbollah from

transferring the abducted soldiers to the north.[98]

Attacks from land, sea and air continued in the following days. Among the

targets hit were the Hezbollah headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut

as well as the offices and homes of the leadership, the compounds of al-Manar

TV station and al-Nour radio station, and the runways and fuel depots of the

Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut. Also targeted were Hezbollah bases,

weapons depots and outposts as well as bridges, roads and petrol stations insouth Lebanon.[99][100] 44 civilians were killed throughout the day.[3]

It was later reported that the Israel Air Force after midnight, 13 July, attacked

and destroyed 59 stationary medium range Fajr rocket launchers positioned

throughout southern Lebanon. Operation Specific Weight allegedly only took

34 minutes to carry out but was the result of six years of intelligence gathering

and planning. Between half and two-thirds of Hezbollah medium range rocket

capability was estimated by the IDF to have been wiped out. According to Harel

and Issacharoff the operation was a "Israel's most impressive military action"

and a "devastating blow for Hezbollah". In the coming days IAF allegedly also

attacked and destroyed a large proportion of Hezbollah's long range Zilzal missiles.[101]

"All the long-range rockets have been destroyed," Chief of Staff Halutz allegedly told the Israeli government,

"we've won the war."[102]

According to military analyst William Arkin there is "little evidence" that the Israeli Air Force even attempted, much

less succeeded in, wiping out the medium and long range rocket capability in the first days of the war. He

dismissed the whole claim as an "absurdity" and a "tale".[103] Benjamin Lambeth, however, insisted that it was far-

fetched to suggest that the "authoritative Israeli leadership pronouncements" were not based on facts. He admitte

however that there was "persistent uncertainty" surrounding the "few known facts and figures" concerning the

alleged attacks.[104] Anthony Cordesman believed that IAF probably destroyed most long and medium range

missiles in the first two days of the war but acknowledged that these claims "have never been validated or

described in detail."[105]

Hezbollah long remained silent on this episode of the war. On the sixth anniversary of the Lebanon war Hezbollah

chairman Hassan Nasrallah claimed that Hezbollah had known that the Israelis were collecting information on the

rocket platforms and launchers and managed to move them without being detected. Most of the locations attacked

by the Israeli air force were therefore empty.[106]

American officials claimed that the Israelis overstated the effectiveness of the air war against Hezbollah and cited

the failure to hit any of the Hezbollah leaders in spite of dropping 23 tons of bombs on its alleged headquartersbunker.[107] Al-Manar TV station only went dark for two minutes after the strike before it was back into the air. The

TV station was bombed 15 times during the war but never faltered after the first hiccup.[108]

Main article: Military operations of the 2006 Lebanon War

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Areas in Lebanon targeted by Israeli bombing, 12 July to 13 August

2006.

During the war the Israeli Air Force flew 11,897 combat

missions, which was more than the number of sorties

during the 1973 October War (11,223) and almost double

the number during the 1982 First Lebanon War

(6,052).[109]

The Israeli artillery fired 170,000 shells, more than twice

the number fired in the 1973 October War.[110] A senior

officer in the IDF Armored Corps told Haaretz that hewould be surprised if it turned out that even five Hezbollah

fighters had been killed by the 170,000 shells fired.[111]

The Israeli Navy fired 2,500 shells.[112]

The combined effect of the massive air and artillery

bombardment on Hezbollah capacity to fire short-range

Katyusha rockets on northern Israel was very meager.

According to the findings of the post-war military

investigations the IDF shelling succeeded only indestroying about 100 out of 12,000 Katyusha launchers –

less than one percent of the total. The massive fire led to a

severe shortage of ammunition towards the end of the

war.[113] According to Human Rights Watch, 51

combatants were killed in Israeli bombardments.[114]

Northern command had prepared a list before the war on

potential Hezbollah targets, identified by the Israeli

intelligence, to be struck in case of renewed hostilities. By

the fourth day of the war the IDF ran out of targets, as all the 83 targets on the list had already been hit.[115]

A highranking IDF officer told reporters off the record that the Israeli Chief of Staff Dan Halutz had ordered the air force t

destroy ten 12-story buildings in the Southern suburbs of Beirut for every rocket that fell on Haifa. The statement

was denied by the IDF spokesperson.[116]

Large parts of the Lebanese civilian infrastructure, however, were destroyed, including 400 miles (640 km) of

roads, 73 bridges, and 31 other targets such as Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport, ports, water and sewage

treatment plants, electrical facilities, 25 fuel stations, 900 commercial structures, up to 350 schools and two

hospitals, and 15,000 homes. Some 130,000 more homes were damaged.[117][118][119][120]

Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel[edit]On 16 July, eight employees of the Israel Railways were killed by direct rocket hits on the Haifa train depot. [16]

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defended the attacks, saying that Hezbollah initially had aimed its rockets on

"military sites only". But since Israel, he said, had systematically bombed civilian targets he felt that Hezbollah had

no choice but to answer in kind and target Israeli cities.[121]

The attack on the Haifa depot was not the first civilian target to be hit by Hezbollah. Civilians in the border

communities were hurt in the initial cover fire on IDF positions for the cross-border raid. Two Israeli civilians were

killed in an attack near the air force base at Mount Meron on July, 14. Since Hezbollah rockets were not very

accurate it is unclear whether civilians were intentionally targeted in these attacks. After the attack on Haifa,

however, Hezbollah made no attempt to cover this fact. According to a Human Rights Watch study civilian Israelitargets were mentioned four times as often in official Hezbollah war time communiques as was military

targets.[122]

Israel published an alleged range card for upgraded Grad rocket launcher placed outside the village of Shihin in

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Map showing some of the localities in Israel and the Golan Heights hit by

rockets fired from Lebanese soil as of Monday 7 August.

Structural damage of a residentialbuilding in Kiryat Shmona after being

hit by a rocket

the Western sector of South Lebanon, issued by the Artillery Department of the elite Nasr Unit of Hezbollah. This

list included 91 targets, 56 of whom were civilian and 27 were IDF posts or bases. The military targets had three-

digit reference numbers while civilian targets had double-digit numbers.[123]

During the war, the Hezbollah rocket force fired

between 3,970 and 4,228 rockets at a rate of

more than 100 per day, unprecedented since the

Iran-Iraq war .[124][125] About 95% of these were

122 mm (4.8 in) Katyusha artillery rockets, whichcarried warheads up to 30 kg (66 lb) and had a

range of up to 30 km (19 mi).[125][126] An

estimated 23% of these rockets hit cities and

built-up areas across northern Israel, while the

remainder hit open areas.[112][124][125]

Cities hit were Haifa, Hadera, Nazareth, Tiberias,

Nahariya, Safed, Shaghur , Afula, Kiryat Shmona,

Beit She'an, Karmiel, Acre, and Ma'alot-Tarshiha,

as well as dozens of towns, kibbutzim, moshavim,and Druze and Israeli-Arab villages. The northern

West Bank was also

hit.[112][124][125][127][128][129][130]

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered

commanders to prepare civil defense plans. One

million Israelis had to stay near or in bomb

shelters or security rooms, with some 250,000 civilians evacuating the north

and relocating to other areas of the country.[125]

After the high number of Lebanese civilian casualties in the Qana airstrike,

Israel announced a unilateral freeze in its air attacks on Lebanon. Hezbollah

then halted its own rocket attacks on Israel. When Israel resumed its air attacks

on Lebanon, Hezbollah followed suit and recommenced rocket attacks on

Israeli targets.[citation needed ]

Hezbollah rocket attacks also targeted and succeeded in hitting military targets

in Israel. The Israeli military censorship was, however, very strict and explicitly

forbade Israel-based media from reporting such incidents. The war time

instruction to media stated that "The Military Censor will not approve reports on

missile hits at IDF bases and/or strategic facilities."[131] A notable exception

was the rocket attack 6 August, on a company of IDF reservists assembling in

the border community of Kfar Giladi, which killed 12 soldiers and wounded

several others. Initially Israel did not confirm that the victims were military but eventually relented.

6 August, two elderly Arab women in Haifa were killed, and an Arab man was mortally wounded, by Hezbollah

rocket fire.[16] The day after Hezbollah leader Nasrallah appealed to Haifa's Arab community to leave the city so as

not be hurt.[132]

After the initial Israeli response, Hezbollah declared an all-out military alert. Hezbollah was estimated to have

13,000 missiles at the beginning of the conflict.[133] Israeli newspaper Haaretz described Hezbollah as a trained,skilled, well-organized, and highly motivated infantry that was equipped with the cream of modern weaponry from

the arsenals of Syria, Iran, Russia, and China.[134] Hezbollah's satellite TV station Al-Manar reported that the

attacks had included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1, both liquid-fuel missiles developed by Iran. [135][136][137]

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Hezbollah fighters preparing to launch Multiple

Rocket Volley from a mobile platform

An Israeli soldier tosses a grenade into a

Hezbollah bunker

Ground war[edit]

Hezbollah engaged in guerrilla warfare with IDF ground forces, fighting

from well-fortified positions, often in urban areas, and attacking with

small, well-armed units. Hezbollah fighters were highly trained, and

were equipped with flak jackets, night-vision goggles, communications

equipment, and sometimes with Israeli uniforms and equipment. An

Israeli soldier who participated in the war said that Hezbollah fighters

were "nothing like Hamas or the Palestinians. They are trained and

highly qualified. All of us were kind of surprised".[138]

During engagements with the IDF, Hezbollah concentrated on inflicting

losses on the IDF, believing an unwillingness to absorb steady losses to

be Israel's strategic weakness.[139] However, Hezbollah sustained

greater losses than the IDF during ground engagements.

Hezbollah countered IDF armor through the use of sophisticated

Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). According to

Merkava tank program administration, 52 Merkava main battle tankswere damaged (45 of them by different kinds of ATGM), missiles

penetrated 22 tanks, but only 5 tanks were destroyed, one of them by

an improvised explosive device (IED). The Merkava tanks that were

penetrated were predominantly Mark II and Mark III models, but five

Mark IV tanks were also penetrated. All but two of these tanks were

rebuilt and returned to service.[112]

The IDF declared itself satisfied with the Merkava Mark IV's performance during the war. Hezbollah caused

additional casualties using ATGMs to collapse buildings onto Israeli troops sheltering inside.[112] As a result, IDF

units did not linger in any one area for an extended period of time.

[138]

Hezbollah fighters often used tunnels toemerge quickly, fire an anti-tank missile, and then disappear again.[138]

On 14 July 2006, INS Hanit a Sa'ar 5-class corvette of the Israeli Navy, suffered damage after being struck by a

Hezbollah C-802 (or C-701) anti-ship missile. Four crew members were killed during the attack but INS Hanit

stayed afloat, extricated itself and made the rest of the journey back to Ashdod port for repairs on its own power.

Position of Lebanon[edit]

Main article: Position of Lebanon in the 2006 Lebanon War

See also: Siniora Plan and Foreign relations of Lebanon

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Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad

Siniora

While the Israeli government initially held the Lebanese government

responsible for the Hezbollah attacks due to Lebanon's failure to implement

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 and disarm Hezbollah,

Lebanon disavowed the raids, stating that the government of Lebanon did not

condone them, and pointing out that Israel had a long history of disregarding

UN resolutions.[87]

In interviews, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud criticized Israel's attacks and

was supportive of Hezbollah, noting Hezbollah's role in ending Israel's previousoccupation of southern Lebanon.[140][141] On 12 July 2006, PBS interviewed

the Lebanese ambassador Farid Abboud to the United States and his Israeli

counterpart. The interview discussed Hezbollah's connection to the Lebanese

government.[142]

Israel never declared war on Lebanon,[143][144] and said it only attacked

Lebanese governmental institutions which it suspected of being used by

Hezbollah.[145] The Lebanese government played a role in shaping the conflict.

On 14 July 2006, the office of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora issued a

statement that called on US President George W. Bush to exert all his efforts

on Israel to stop its attacks in Lebanon and reach a comprehensive ceasefire.[146] In a televised speech the next

day, Siniora called for "an immediate ceasefire backed by the United Nations".[citation needed ]

A US-French draft resolution that was influenced by the Lebanese Siniora Plan and which contained provisions fo

Israeli withdrawal, military actions, and mutual prisoner release was rejected by the US and Israel. Many

Lebanese accused the US government of stalling the ceasefire resolution and of support of Israel's attacks. In a

poll conducted two weeks into the conflict, only 8% of the respondents felt that the US would support Lebanon,

while 87% supported Hezbollah's fight against Israel.[147] After the attack on Qana, Siniora snubbed US Secretary

of State Condoleezza Rice by cancelling a meeting with her and thanked Hezbollah for its "sacrifices for the

independence and sovereignty of Lebanon."[148]

During the war, the Lebanese Armed Forces did not engage in direct hostilities, but threatened retaliation if IDF

troops pushed too far northward into Lebanon. In several instances, Lebanese troops fired anti-aircraft weapons a

Israeli aircraft and attempted to disrupt landing operations.[149] During the first days of the war, Lebanese Defense

Minister Elias Murr said that "the Lebanese army will resist and defend the country. If there is an invasion of

Lebanon, we are waiting for them". However, the Lebanese Army mostly stayed out of the fighting. According to a

Time editorial, "to have stood up to the advancing Israeli armored columns would have been suicidal". [150] On 7

August 2006, the 7-point plan was extended to include the deployment of 15,000 Lebanese Army troops to fill the

void between an Israeli withdrawal and UNIFIL deployment.[151]

Allegations, accusations and reports of war crimes[edit]

Main article: Possible war crimes in the 2006 Lebanon War

See also: Attacks on United Nations personnel during the 2006 Lebanon War

Under international humanitarian law, warring parties are obliged to distinguish between combatants and civilians,

ensure that attacks on legitimate military targets are proportional, and guarantee that the military advantage of

such attacks outweigh the possible harm done to civilians.[152] Violations of these laws are considered war crimes

Various groups and individuals accused both Israel and Hezbollah of violations of these laws during the conflict,

and warned of possible war crimes.[153]

These allegations included intentional attacks on civilian populations or infrastructure, disproportionate or indiscriminate attacks, the use of human shields, and the use of prohibited

weapons. No formal charges have been filed against either group.[154]

Amnesty International called on both Hezbollah and Israel to end attacks on civilian areas during the conflict,[155]

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IAF bombing a Katyusha rocket launcher.

and criticized attacks against civilian villages and infrastructure by Israel. [156] They also highlighted IDF use of

white phosphorus shells in Lebanon.[157][158][159] Human Rights Watch accused both parties of failing to

distinguish between civilians and combatants, violating the principle of distinction, and committing war

crimes.[152][160][161] Peter Bouckaert, a senior emergencies researcher for Human Rights Watch, stated that

Hezbollah was "directly targeting civilians ... their aim is to kill Israeli civilians" and that Israel had not taken "the

necessary precautions to distinguish between civilian and military targets."[162][163] They criticized Hezbollah's use

of unguided Katyusha rockets, and Israel's use of unreliable cluster bombs – both too close to civilians areas –

suggesting that they may have deliberately targeted civilians.[152][164] UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland saidIsrael's response violated international humanitarian law, and criticized Hezbollah for "cowardly blending... among

women and children."[165] He also called Israel's use of over 100,000 cluster bombs "immoral". According to

Egeland, 90% of such bombs were launched by Israel in the last 3 days of combat, when it was known that a UN

resolution was on its way.[166]

Israel said that it tried to avoid civilians, and had distributed leaflets

calling on civilian residents to evacuate,[167] but that Hezbollah stored

weapons in and fired from civilian areas, making those areas legitimate

targets,[168] and used civilians as human shields.[169][170][171][172]

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found cases whereHezbollah did fire rockets from, and store weapons in, populated areas

and deploy its forces among the civilian population; however, both say

that is not conclusive evidence of the intent to use civilians as human

shields.[168][173][174] HRW stated that "the IDF struck a large number of

private homes of civilian Hezbollah members during the war, as well as

various civilian Hezbollah-run institutions such as schools, welfare

agencies, banks, shops and political offices."[175][176] Although Israel

maintained that the civilian infrastructure was "hijacked" by Hezbollah and used for military purposes,[177] but

Amnesty International identified the destruction of entire civilian neighbourhoods and villages by Israeli forces,

attacks on bridges with no apparent strategic value, and attacks on infrastructure indispensable to the survival of

the civilian population,[156] and questioned whether the "military advantage anticipated from destroying" civilian

infrastructure had been "measured against the likely effect on civilians."[178] They also stated that the Israeli

actions suggested a "policy of punishing both the Lebanese government and the civilian population."[178]

Al-Jazeera reported at the time: "Foreign journalists based in Lebanon also reported that the Shia militia chose to

fight from civilian areas and had on occasion prevented Lebanese civilians from fleeing conflict-hit areas of south

Lebanon. Al-Manar , Hezbollah's satellite channel, also showed footage of Hezbollah firing rockets from civilian

areas and produced animated graphics showing how Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli cities from inside villages in

southern Lebanon."

Images obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun show that "Hezbollah is waging war amid suburbia. The images ...

show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons.

Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in

on trucks mounted with cannon."[179]

Amnesty International stated, however, that the volume of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure

suggested that Israel was not just trying to target Hezbollah fighters. An AI spokesperson, Kate Gilmore, said that "

[t]he pattern, scope and scale of the attacks makes Israel's claim that this was 'collateral damage', simply not

credible".[180] "The evidence strongly suggests that the extensive destruction of power and water plants, as well

as the transport infrastructure vital for food and other humanitarian relief, was deliberate and an integral part of amilitary strategy," Gilmore said.

On 24 July 2007, Haaretz reported that the official Israeli inquiry into the war "is to include the examination of

claims that the IDF committed war crimes during last summer's fighting."[181]

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Lebanese refugees in south Lebanon, 2006

A 6 September 2007 Human Rights Watch report found that most of the civilian deaths in Lebanon resulted from

"indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes", and found that Israeli aircraft targeted vehicles carrying fleeing civilians.[182] In a

statement issued before the report's release, the human rights organization said there was no basis to the Israeli

government's claim that civilian casualties resulted from Hezbollah guerrillas using civilians as shields. Kenneth

Roth, Human Rights Watch executive director, said there were only "rare" cases of Hezbollah operating in civilian

villages. "To the contrary, once the war started, most Hizbollah(sic) military officials and even many political official

left the villages," he said. "Most Hizbollah(sic) military activity was conducted from prepared positions outside

Lebanese villages in the hills and valleys around." Roth also noted that "Hezbollah fighters often didn't carry their

weapons in the open or regularly wear military uniforms, which made them a hard target to identify. But this

doesn't justify the IDF's failure to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and if in doubt to treat a person as

a civilian, as the laws of war require."[183]

On its final report, issued on 30 January 2008, the Israeli government's Winograd Commission concluded that the

Israel Defense Forces did not commit violations or war crimes, as alleged by the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty

International, and other NGOs. The Commission claimed that the evidence shows that the Israel Defense Forces

did not target civilians, in contrast to Hezbollah and to denunciations by NGOs, and explained that terms like "war

crimes" are without basis.[184] This report also acknowledged that Israel used cluster bombs illegally, stating that

"Israel must consider whether it wants to continue using cluster bombs in the future, because its current manner of

employing them does not conform to international law."[185]

Casualties[edit]

Main article: Casualties of the 2006 Lebanon War

Lebanese civilians[edit]

The Lebanese civilian death toll is difficult to pinpoint as most

published figures, including those released by the Lebanese

government, do not distinguish between civilians and Hezbollah

combatants.[22] In addition, Hezbollah fighters can be difficult to identify

as many do not wear military uniforms.[22] However, it has been widely

reported that the majority of the Lebanese killed were civilians, and

UNICEF estimated that 30% of Lebanese killed were children under

the age of 13.[186]

The Lebanese top police office and the Lebanon Ministry of Health,

citing hospitals, death certificates, local authorities, and eye witnesses,

put the death toll at 1,123—37 soldiers and police officers, 894 identified victims, and 192 unidentified ones.[22]

The Lebanon Higher Relief Council (HRC) put the Lebanese death toll at 1,191,[50]

citing the health ministry andpolice, as well as other state agencies.[22] The Associated Press estimated the figure at 1,035. [22] In February

2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that at least 800 Lebanese had died during fighting,[187] and other articles

have estimated the figure to be at least 850.[188][189] Encarta states that "estimates ... varied from about 850 to

1,200" in its entry on Israel, [190] while giving a figure of "more than 1,200" in its entry on Lebanon. [191] The

Lebanon Higher Relief Council estimated the number of Lebanese injured to be 4,409,[50] 15% of whom were

permanently disabled.[192]

The death toll estimates do not include Lebanese killed since the end of fighting by land mines or unexploded

Israeli cluster bombs.[22] Between the end of the war and November 2008, approximately 40 people were killed

and over 270 injured by cluster bombs.[193]

Hezbollah and other militia[edit]

During the war Hezbollah kept a firm lid on its casualties. Although it did announce casualty numbers in some of

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the clashes, the party did not publish a comprehensive estimate for the duration of the war. A tally made by AP

counted to 70 Hezbollah dead fighters officially acknowledged by party during the war.[18]

On 6 August Haaretz reported the IDF placing the number of Hezbollah fighters killed at 400, but added that

"armies fighting guerrilla forces tend to exaggerate the fatalities of the enemy".[194] Matt M. Matthews military

historian at United States Army Combined Arms Center , also described these figures as "highly exaggerated"

because he asserts that Hezbollah suffered only 187 casualties.[195]

An 4 August 2006 Daily Telegraph article by Con Coughlin, referring to estimates by Lebanese officials, said thatup to 500 Hezbollah fighters had been killed and 1,500 wounded. According to the article, many of Hezbollah's

wounded were secretly evacuated to hospitals in Syria through the Al-Arissa Border Crossing. A later article by the

Daily Telegraph said that funerals of fallen Hezbollah fighters were "staggered" and were interred without

ceremony for re-burial later. Coughlin quoted a senior Lebanese security official as saying that "Hizbollah is

desperate to conceal its casualties because it wants to give the impression that it is winning its war. People might

reach a very different conclusion if they knew the true extent of Hizbollah's casualties."[196][197] Historian John

Keegan wrote in an op-ed that "perhaps as many as 1,000" Hezbollah fighters were killed. [198] A Stratfor report

cited "sources in Lebanon" as estimating the Hezbollah death toll at "more than 700 fighters with many more to

go",[199] Intelligence analysts Alastair Crooke and Mark Perry reported a few months after the war a total of 184

"Shiite martyr funerals" having been held in Lebanon since the war. They considered this number an indication of

Hezbollah fatalities but warned that it could be revised upward in the future.[200]

IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror said that IDF had identified the names of 440 members of Hezbollah who

were killed in the war. Based on this number he estimated that the total amounted killed in the war to between 500

and 700.[201] Later, Israel claimed to have identified 532 dead Hezbollah fighters and estimated that an additional

200 were killed.[202]

Four months after the end of the war the deputy chairman of the Hezbollah Political Council Mahmoud Qomati

substantially raised the official estimate of the number of Hezbollah fatalities. He now claimed that 250 fighters ha

been killed in the war.[18][203] Israel meanwhile also backed down from its war-time estimates. Instead of the 800Hezbollah fatalities said during the war, Israeli government spokesperson Miri Eisin in December revised that

estimate, saying, "We think that it's closer to 600." [203] Three years after the outbreak of war the Israel Ministry of

Foreign Affairs published a summary of the war which concluded that over 600 Hezbollah fighters were killed in

the war.[204]

According to the Yedioth Ahronoth "Encyclopedia" of the Second Lebanon War, the main reason for the

discrepancy between Lebanese and Israeli estimates of the number of Hezbollah fatalities during the war (700 and

300 respectively) was that the former included only Hezbollah combatants while the latter also included civilian

members of Hezbollah.[205]

Human Rights Watch in an investigation over 94 IDF air, artillery, and ground attacks during the war that claimed

the lives of 561 persons, said that only 51 of these were combatants and about half of them were women or

children.[206] HRW said it documented the identities of another 548 fatalities, bringing the total of identified

Lebanese deaths in the war to 1109. It said that an estimated 250 of these were Hezbollah combatants and the

remaining 860 were civilians.[207]

The Amal movement, a Shiite militia that fought alongside Hezbollah, suffered 17 dead. Armed elements of the

Lebanese Communist Party suffered 12 dead. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General

Command, a Palestinian militia, lost two fighters in an Israeli air raid. [3] There are also unconfirmed reports that a

number of Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers were killed in the fighting.[24][25][208] A statement issued by theIsrael Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the war detailed what it termed "Iranian complicity" in the Lebanese crisis,

which included training and supplying Hezbollah forces.[209]

Hezbollah commanders[edit]

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Hezbollah General-Secretary Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with New TV August shortly after the war that

between 10 and 12 Hezbollah commanders were killed in the war. None of the first or second levels of the

leadership were harmed. Three commanders of the third level however were killed; an operations officer in the

Bint Jbeil axis, a logistics officer and a third commander involved in the military side of the party. In addition three

or four town commanders and four or five village commanders were killed in the war.[210]

Nasrallah did not mention any names but some of these were subsequently identified. Squad leader Muhammad

Dimashq (nome de guerre: Jawad Ayta) was shot 21 July, by an Israeli sniper in the battle of Maroun ar-Ras.[211]

Two Hezbollah commanders were killed in an Israeli air strike in the Old City of Bint Jbeil July, 29. Khalid Bazzi(nome de guerre: al-Hajj Qasim) was chief of operations in the Bint Jbeil area, including Maroun al-Ras, Aynata,

Aytaroun and Bint Jbeil, while Muhammad Abu Ta'am was commander of the forces in the town itself. Both had

taken part in the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers that had started the war.[212] On the last day of the war,

Muhammad Qansuh (nome de guerre: Sajid ad-Duwayr), a special force commander and Bazzi’s successor as

Bint Jbeil commander, was killed in another air raid on Bint Jbeil.[213][214] According to the IDF, he was in fact

killed in an airstrike on the Dahiya district of Beirut.[215]

Two Hezbollah commanders were killed in battles around Wadi Hujeir/Wadi Sulouqi. Rani Adnan Bazzi died in

hand-to-hand combat, together with seven of his men, in the strategic town of al-Ghandouriya, controlling the

strategic wadi crossing. A further three fighters were wounded in the battle and one of them were taken prisoner

by the IDF.[216] Commander Ali Mahmoud Salih (nome de guerre: Bilal) fought singlehandedly further up the wadi,

firing ATGM rockets at the advancing Israeli tanks. In the end he was severely wounded by a drone strike and died

some time later from his wounds. [217]

Lebanese military[edit]

Though rarely engaged in combat, 43 Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers and policemen were killed.[3]

Israel Defense Forces[edit]

Main article: Israeli casualties of war

A total of 121 IDF soldiers were killed in the war, including the two soldiers who were seized in the cross-border

raid that started the war. Their fates weren't confirmed until their bodies were exchanged for Lebanese prisoners in

2008.[16][218]

Israeli civilians[edit]

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The aftermath of a direct hit of a rocket launched

by Hezbollah on an Israeli house.

Israeli civilians killed by Hezbollah rocket attacks, 12 July – 13 August 2006 (black)

vs. the ethnic composition at the North of Israel (pink).[219]

Hezbollah rockets and mortars killed 44 Israeli civilians during the

conflict, including a severely wounded Haifa resident who died from his

wounds more than a year after the war. In addition four elderly died of

heart attacks during rocket attacks.[218] At least 19 of the 46 Israeli

civilians killed by Hezbollah rockets and mortars were Israeli Arabs

(mainly Sunni Muslims).[220][221] The last civilian victim was an Israeli-

Arab man who died on 30 August 2007, from injuries sustained in a

rocket attack on Haifa.[222] In addition, 4,262 civilians were injured–33

seriously wounded, 68 moderately, 1,388 lightly, and 2,773 suffered

from shock and anxiety.[16] According to Human Rights Watch, "These

bombs may have killed 'only' 43 civilians, but that says more about the

availability of warning systems and bomb shelters throughout most of

Northern Israel and the evacuation of more than 350,000 people than it does about Hezbollah's intentions."[223]

Environmental and archeological damage[edit]

See also: Jiyeh power station oil spill

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Image from space showing Jiyyeh oil

slick in darkest blue, picture centered

on Beirut. The largest oil spill in the

history of the Mediterranean, it was

caused by an Israeli air strike on Jiyeh

power station[224] 10 August 2006

A burnt forest in northern Israel caused by

Hezbollah rockets

On 13 July 2006, and again on 15 July 2006, the Israeli Air Force bombed the

Jiyeh power station, 30 km (19 mi) south of Beirut, resulting in the largest ever

oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea.[224] The plant's damaged storage tanks

leaked an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes (more than 4 million gallons) of

oil into the eastern Mediterranean.[224][225] A 10 km (6 mi) wide oil slick

covered 170 km (105 statute miles) of coastline,[226][227] and threatened

Turkey and Cyprus. The slick killed fish including the Atlantic bluefin tuna, a

species already nearing extinction in the Mediterranean, and threatened thehabitat of the endangered green sea turtle.[228] It also potentially increased the

risk of cancer in humans. An additional 25,000 tons of oil burned at the power

station, creating a "toxic cloud" that rained oil downwind.[224] The Lebanese

government estimated it would take 10 years to recover from the damage of the

strike. The UN estimated the cost for the initial clean-up at $64 million.[51]

Hezbollah rocket attacks caused numerous forest fires inside northern Israel,

particularly on the Naftali mountain range near Kiryat Shmona.[229] As many as

16,500 acres (67 km²) of land, including forests and grazing fields, were

destroyed by Hezbollah rockets.[230] The Jewish National Fund estimated thatit would take 50 to 60 years to rehabilitate the forests.[231]

Israeli bombing also caused significant damage to the world heritage

sites of Tyre and Byblos. In Tyre a Roman tomb was damaged and a

fresco near the centre of the site collapsed. In Byblos, a medieval

tower was damaged and Venetian period remains near the harbour

were dramatically stained by the oil slick and were considered to be

difficult to clean. Damage was also caused to remains at Bint Jbeil and

Chamaa, and to the Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek.[232][233][234][235]

Cluster munitions and phosphorus munitions[edit]

Both sides used cluster bombs during the conflict. Israel fired

4.6 million submunitions into dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon in 962 separate strikes, circa 90%

within the final 72 hours of the war, when the conflict already had been largely resolved by UN Security Council

Resolution 1701.[236] Entire towns were covered in cluster bombs. The unguided and imprecise rockets were fired

from mobile rocket launching platforms. To compensate for the inaccuracy of the rockets, the areas were flooded

with munitions.[157] Israel claimed to have warned civilians prior to a strike, and that firing was limited to open

areas or military targets inside urban areas.[237] Israel used advanced cluster munitions produced by Israel

Military Industries, and large numbers of older cluster bombs, some produced in the 1970s, purchased from aging American stockpiles. These were fired by multiple rocket launchers, 155mm artillery guns, and dropped by aircraft.

As many as 1 million submunitions failed to explode on impact, lingering as land mines that killed or maimed

almost 200 people since the war ended.[238] As of 2011, munitions were still causing casualties and being cleared

by volunteers.[239]

Hezbollah fired 4,407 submunitions into civilian-populated areas of northern Israel in 113 separate strikes, using

Chinese made Type-81 122mm rockets, and Type-90 submunitions. These attacks killed one civilian and wounded

twelve.[240]

According to Human Rights Watch, in the last 72 hours of the war, the Israeli army flooded the region with

clusterbombs.[236] Human Rights Watch "found that the IDF's use of cluster munitions was both indiscriminate and

disproportionate, in violation of IHL, and in some locations possibly a war crime" because "the vast majority [were

dropped] over the final three days when Israel knew a settlement was imminent."[236] After the ceasefire, parts of

southern Lebanon remained uninhabitable due to Israeli unexploded cluster bomblets.[241]

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A Lebanese protest in Sydney

Israel Solidarity Rally in Los Angeles

Also phosphorus shells were used by the IDF to attack civilian areas in Lebanon.[242] The shells are originally

designed to generate a smoke screen in a battlefield situation, but white phosphor is also especially harmful to

humans because its burning will continue inside the flesh. The shelling was investigated as a violation of

international law.[243]

Anti-Hezbollah Propaganda[edit]

During the war, the IAF dropped 17,000 leaflets over Lebanon in 47 missions, and sent more than 700,000

computerized voice messages. Many of them contained caricatures of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah leading

Lebanon to ruin and making civilians suffer, showing them as puppets of Iran and Syria, and calling on civilians to

help remove Hezbollah. Another leaflet addressing Hezbollah fighters told them that they were lied to by their

leaders, that they were "sent like sheep to be butchered, lacking military training and without proper combat gear",

that they could not hope to face "highly trained soldiers that fight to protect their homeland, their people, and their

home", referring to them as "mercenaries" without the support of the Lebanese public, and urging them to run and

save their lives. On 26 July, Israel dropped leaflets containing illustrations of nine tombstones with the name of a

dead Hezbollah fighter on each one, in response to Nasrallah "deceiving" people on the amount of Hezbollah

casualties. Another leaflet urged Hezbollah fighters to stop bleeding and fighting for Nasrallah, who sat safe in a

bunker, to stop fighting against Lebanese national interests, and to return to their homes and families. On 11

August, Israel dropped leaflets accusing Hezbollah of hiding its "great losses", and containing the names of 90–100 Hezbollah fighters killed. Israeli technicians also hacked into Al-Manar and broadcast clips, criticizing

Nasrallah, showing the bodies of Hezbollah fighters, footage from Israeli raids and airstrikes, and captured

Hezbollah equipment.[244]

International action and reaction[edit]

Main article: International reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War

See also: Military and economic aid in the 2006 Lebanon War and International

reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War by evacuations and aid

The governments of the United States,[245] United Kingdom, Germany,[246]

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.[247] United States President George W. Bush said he thought the

conflict was part of the "War on Terrorism".[248][249] On 20 July 2006, the United

States Congress voted overwhelmingly to support Israel's "right to defend

itself".[250]

Among neighboring Middle Eastern nations, Iran, Syria, and Yemen voiced

strong support for Hezbollah, while the Arab League, Egypt, and Jordan issued

statements criticizing Hezbollah's actions[251] and declaring support for

Lebanon.[252] Saudi Arabia found Hezbollah entirely responsible.[253]

Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, the United Arab

Emirates and Bahrain agreed with the Saudi stance that Hezbollah's

actions were "unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts."[252]

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 online petitions also occurred.[254][255]

Various foreign governments assisted the evacuation of their citizens from Lebanon.[256]

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Ceasefire[edit]

See also: Ceasefire attempts during the 2006 Lebanon War

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,[257] while Israel insisted upon a conditional ceasefire, including the return of the two seized soldiers. [258

Lebanon frequently pled for the United Nations Security Council to call for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire

between Israel and Hezbollah. John Bolton confirmed that the US and UK, with support from several Arab leaders,delayed the ceasefire process. Outsider efforts to interfere with a ceasefire only ended when it became apparent

Hezbollah would not be easily defeated.[259]

On 11 August 2006 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

2006, and by the Israeli government on 13 August 2006. The ceasefire took effect at 8:00 AM (5:00 AM GMT) on

14 August 2006.[260]

Before the ceasefire, the two Hezbollah members of cabinet said that their militia would not disarm south of the

Litani River , according to another senior member of the Lebanese cabinet,[261] while a top Hezbollah official

similarly denied any intention of disarming in the south. Israel said it would stop withdrawing from Southern

Lebanon if Lebanese troops were not deployed there within a matter of days. [262]

Reviews of the conflict[edit]

Following the UN-brokered ceasefire, there were mixed responses on who had gained or lost the most in the war.

Iran and Syria proclaimed a victory for Hezbollah[263] while Olmert declared that the war was a success for

Israel.[264]

Lebanon[edit]

At the outbreak of hostilities, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora promised to rein in Hezbollah in an effort to stop Israel's

offensive. Saniora said that there could be no sovereign state of Lebanon without the group's disarming. The

former President of Lebanon Amin Gemayel, a longtime critic of Hezbollah said, "Hezbollah took a unilateral

action, but its repercussions will affect the entire country."[265] The war deepened the longtime divide in Lebanon

over Hezbollah's role. Many admired the organization for being the sole group to fight against Israel. Others

considered it to be a dangerous militia that executes Iran and Syria policies in Lebanon. The divide over Hezbollah

followed mostly sectarian lines, with Shias largely supporting the group and Sunnis, Christians and Druse mostly

opposing it.[265]

On 27 August 2006, Nasrallah said in an interview with New TV that the abduction of the two soldiers did not

cause the war. It only advanced a long planned war for a few months. But he added: "If there was even a 1

percent chance that the July 11 capturing operation would have led to a war like the one that happened, would you

have done it? I would say no, absolutely not, for humanitarian, moral, social, security, military, and political

reasons. […] What happened is not an issue of a reaction to a capturing operation… what happened was already

planned for. The fact that it happened in July has averted a situation that would have been a lot worse, had the

war been launched in October."[266]

On 22 September 2006, some eight hundred thousand Hezbollah supporters gathered in Beirut for a rally at which

Nasrallah stated that Hezbollah had achieved a "divine and strategic victory."[267]

Israel[edit]

Within hours of Israeli's bombing of Lebanon on 13 July 2006, hundreds of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv to

oppose the war.[268] On 22 July, about 2,000 people, including many Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, demanded

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an end to the offensive during a protest march in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square.[269] On 5 August, some Israelis

demonstrated in Tel Aviv, including former Knesset members of the Meretz party, Mossi Raz, Naomi Hazan and

Yael Dayan.

Initially, in a poll by an Israeli radio station, Israelis were split on the outcome with the majority believing that no

one won.[270] By 25 August 63% of Israelis polled wanted Olmert to resign due to his handling of the war. [271] The

Jerusalem Post said that " if you fail to win, you lose" and that as "Hezbollah survived, it won the war." [272]

Olmert admitted to the Knesset that there were mistakes in the war in Lebanon,[273] though he framed UN SecuritCouncil resolution 1701 as an accomplishment for Israel that would bring home the captured soldiers, and said

that the operations had altered the regional strategic balance vis-à-vis Hezbollah.[274] The Israeli Chief of Staff

Dan Halutz admitted to failings in the conflict. [275] On 15 August, Israeli government and defense officials called fo

Halutz's resignation following a stock scandal in which he admitted selling stocks hours before the start of the

Israeli offensive.[276] Halutz subsequently resigned on 17 January 2007.

On 21 August, a group of demobilized Israel reserve soldiers and parents of soldiers killed in the fighting started a

movement calling for the resignation of Olmert and the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. They set u

a protest tent opposite the Knesset and grew to over 2,000 supporters by 25 August, [277] including the influential

Movement for Quality Government.[277][278] On 28 August, Olmert announced that there would be no independent

state or governmental commission of inquiry, but two internal inspection probes, one to investigate the political

echelon and one to examine the IDF, and likely a third commission to examine the Home Front, to be announced

at a later date. These would have a more limited mandate and less authority than a single inquiry commission

headed by a retired judge.[279] The political and military committees were to be headed by former director of

Mossad Nahum Admoni and former Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, respectively. Critics argued that these

committees amount to a whitewash, due to their limited authority, limited investigatory scope, their self-appointed

basis, and that neither would be headed by a retired judge.[280]

Due to these pressures, on 11 October, Admoni was replaced by retired justice Eliyahu Winograd as chair of the

political probe, and the probe itself was elevated to the status of governmental commission with near-state

commission mandate: the Winograd Commission. On 12 September, former defense minister Moshe Arens spoke

of "the defeat of Israel" in calling for a state committee of inquiry. He said that Israel had lost "to a very small group

of people, 5,000 Hezbollah fighters, which should have been no match at all for the IDF", and stated that the

conflict could have "some very fateful consequences for the future."[281] Disclosing his intent to shortly resign, Ilan

Harari, the IDF's chief education officer, stated at a conference of senior IDF officers that Israel lost the war,

becoming the first senior active duty officer to publicly state such an opinion.[282] IDF Major General Yiftah Ron Tal

on 4 October 2006 became the second and highest ranking serving officer to express his op

en.wikipedia.org-2006 lebanon war

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