2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

The IDF confirmed that two Israeli soldiers were captured by Hezbollah, and identified them as Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. An Israeli Merkava Mark II tank was damaged by a 300 kg improvised explosive device as it attempted to pursue Hezbollah into Lebanon. All four of the crew members were killed. Another Israeli soldier was killed when he came under heavy fire during an attempted recovery of the bodies from the tank. In all, 8 soldiers were killed, 2 captured and 5 wounded.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that a prisoner exchange was the only way to secure the release of the soldiers.

Hezbollah's justifications and Lebanese reactions

The Hezbollah leader later called for talks on prisoner exchange which was officially rejected by Olmert. However it is widely believed that negotiations are underway with Egypt as mediator^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}. Israel said it held the Beirut government responsible for the attack, but Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denied any knowledge of the raid and stated that he did not condone it. An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position. Hezbollah's action aroused varying reactions among Lebanese political forces. It was harshly criticised by many members of the largely anti-Syrian parliamentary majority^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}, while Michel Aoun, despite his understanding with the party, declared that he supported the government's position^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}.

Israeli response

General Dan Halutz IDF Chief of Staff (2005-) is also a former Israeli Air Force commander.

Israel retaliated with air strikes, carried out by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), destroying bridges and civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The television channel Al-Manar, classified by the United States as one of the “media arms of the Hezbollah terrorist network”, has reported a total 55 civilians were killed.

An unnamed senior IDF officer stated that the strike was targeted against rocket launch sites and rocket storerooms, although many of them were intentionally located by Hezbollah in civilian population centers. An unnamed Lebanese official responded that “Hezbollah did not store arms in civilian areas.” Air strikes were also carried out against outposts of Hezbollah. Israel had named the overall operation “Just Reward.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared the attack by Hezbollah’s military wing an “act of war” and promised Lebanon a “very painful and far-reaching response.” Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz also said that “the State of Israel sees itself free to use all measures that it finds it needs, and the [Israeli Forces] have been given orders in that direction.” IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said “If the soldiers are not returned we will turn Lebanon’s clock back 20 years.” As of 15 July it has not been confirmed if the two captured soldiers (Israel’s casus belli for invading Lebanon) are in fact still alive and within the Lebanese borders.

Israel called up reserve troops, signaling a large-scale campaign, as operations continue in an attempt to free a soldier captured by Hamas in Gaza. Israel sent troops and tanks into southern Lebanon, and the Israeli cabinet met at 7 PM Local Time, 4 PM UTC, Noon Eastern Time, 12 July 2006.

Israeli Navy sailors survey the coast of Lebanon from the Israeli naval blockade.

Hezbollah declared an all-out military alert, and said it had 13,000 rockets capable of hitting towns and installations far into northern Israel. As a result, Defense Minister Peretz told commanders to prepare civil defense plans.

Early on 13 July 2006 Israel sent IDF jets to bomb Lebanon’s international airport near Beirut, forcing its closure and diverting its arriving flights to Cyprus. Israel also targeted Hezbollah's al-Manar television station, but Hezbollah continued transmission from another location. Hezbollah retaliated by bombarding the Israeli towns of Nahariya and Safed, as well as villages nearby. The attacks killed two civilians and wounded 29 more. Nahariya residents began leaving the city en masse in fear of further Katyusha attacks. Israel is now imposing an air and sea blockade on Lebanon, and has bombed the main Beirut–Damascus highway.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev claims the Hezbollah unit that captured the two soldiers is trying to transfer them to Iran. However, the spokesman did not disclose his source.

Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam of the Northern Command, says Israel has not ruled out sending ground forces into Lebanon.

Residents of Haifa, Israel, are reportedly being ordered into bomb shelters; an estimated 220,000 people across northern Israel have gone into shelters.

Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz has declared martial law throughout north Israel.

On 15 July 2006 three Patriot anti-ballistic missile batteries were deployed in Haifa. These are aimed at intercepting missiles launched at Haifa. The last time Patriot missiles were deployed to the region was in 2003, during the Iraq War. However, the Patriots are useless against the Katyusha artillery rockets which have been fired from Lebanon.

On 16 July Sky News reported that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was wounded in a morning air strike on his Beirut compound, though Hezbollah affiliated sources have denied the reports as propaganda.

Haifa suffered an attack on 16 July, resulting in 8 civilians killed and dozens injured.

Attacks on Lebanon

Map of conflict as of 14 July 2006. In yellow is the Israeli blockade, in red area regions of active conflict.

Israeli jets attacked two Lebanese military air bases, destroying runways (allegedly used by the Hezbollah to transfer supplies). Attacks against the Rayak air base in the eastern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border and the Qulayaat military airport (also known as Kleyate or Rene Mouawad airport) in northern Lebanon were the first attacks against Lebanon's army in the conflict.

Israel has now attacked Beirut's international airport four times and has destroyed the airport fuel depots. Israel has also neutralised the third and final military airport by bombing its runways. On 15 July Israel attacked commercial ports in the towns of Beirut and Tripoli, as well as ports in Jounieh and Amsheet, two predominantly Christian towns.

Israeli planes have struck a bridge in a suburb south of Beirut, a place highly valued by Hezbollah. They also struck a power plant's fuel storage south of Beirut (but did not destroy the plant itself). People living in this region heard at least three strikes. No casualties have been reported yet.

According to the BBC, Lebanese police also reported an Israeli air strike early on Friday on a pro-Syrian Palestinian group in eastern Lebanon. The base of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command is less than two kilometres from the Syrian border.

News services report that three explosions have been heard in Beirut. Hezbollah TV reports that the air strike destroyed a building containing the headquarters of Hezbollah, with Hezbollah's chief, Hassan Nasrallah, likely inside. He was not harmed, however, and has since released a videotape.

A witness reported that at least 15 Lebanese villagers were killed on 15 July in an Israeli air strike on vehicles fleeing a village in southern Lebanon. The convoy left the border village of Marwahin, was refused asylum in a U.N. base and afterwards it was attacked. () It is also reported that some hours before the strike, Israeli forces had told the inhabitants of the village to evacuate by loudspeaker.

On 16 July Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Lebanese military sources stated that Israeli forces had used white phosphorus incendiary bombs against civilian targets on villages in the Arqoub area in the South accusing Israel of using banned weapons against Lebanese civilians.[link][link] This claim has not been verified. A Lateline interview on Australia's ABC mentioned that jet fighters were dropping flares as countermeasures against heat-seeking missiles; such flares would release white ash which could resemble white phosphorus.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} The same interviewee also personally witnessed an aircraft of some description crashing to the ground in Lebanon.

Some Israeli ground troops briefly advanced approximately 1 km into Lebanon and leveled Hezbollah border outposts with bulldozers in an effort to make it difficult for Hezbollah to reestablish its border presence.

On 18 July 13 civilians from two families were killed in an air raid on the southern town of Aytaroun, reports indicates that the dead included nine children. Taking the death toll to more than 200.

Attacks on Israel

But the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said "In the beginning, we started to act calmly, we focused on "Israel" (sic) military bases and we didn't attack any settlement, However, since the first day, the enemy attacked Lebanese towns and murdered civilians... Hizbullah militants had destroyed military bases, while the "Israelis" killed civilians and targeted Lebanon's infrastructure." He added that Hezbollah's arsenal had yet to take a direct hit "and so far we have used a small portion of our weaponry."[link]

On 14 July , Nasrallah threatened the Israelis after Israeli attacks in Lebanon, "You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it."

Hezbollah had threatened to hit the city Haifa, "if the southern suburbs and the city of Beirut are subjected to any direct Israeli aggression". Two rockets hit Haifa, hours after the threat. Hezbollah denied firing any rockets at the city. IDF sources have reported that two rockets were fired from inside Lebanon. The attack is the first time rockets have hit so far south into Israel. One shock injury had been reported from these initial attacks on Haifa. Although later attacks (see below) on Haifa would claim several lives.

Map showing Israeli localities attacked by rockets fired from Lebanese soil

The Jerusalem Post reported that an attempt by a group of Hezbollah members to enter Israel was stopped by IDF on 14 July.

Some 220,000 Israeli civilians spent Thursday night in bomb shelters, after two civilians were killed in rocket attacks. 14 Israelis remain hospitalized following Thursday's rocket attacks.

On 14 July Hezbollah launched about 100 artillery rockets on Israeli towns of Nahariya, Safed, Hatzor HaGlilit, Rosh Pina, Kiryat Shmona, and Karmiel, and in the agricultural settlements Mattat, Sasa, Peki'in, Beit Jan, Biria, Biranit, Kabri, Gesher Haziv, Saar and Ben Ami, resulting in 30 injuries. Late the same day, a Katyusha in Meron killed two people, a grandmother and her 5-year-old grandson.

The Sa'ar 5-class missile boat INS Hanit nearing Ashdod, Israel for repairs after being hit by a Hezbollah missile at its waterline.

Early on there were mistaken reports that it had been hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle packed with explosives.

[Israel Says Warship Attacked by Drone], AAP, 14 July 2006 Israel immediately recovered one sailor's body, and three more were found Sunday.

Further to the attack on Israeli boats, an Egyptian civilian merchant ship was hit by a Hezbollah rocket on 14 July. The ship was registered in Cambodia, but sailing under Egyptian flag, carrying several hundred tons of cement. The ship sank in minutes, but the Egyptian crew managed to board lifeboats and was picked up by another civilian vessel. One crewman, however, was seriously injured.[link]

On the afternoon of 15 July Hezbollah attacks extended further south, with Katyusha rockets hitting Tiberias, 35 km south of the Israeli-Lebanon border.

On the morning of 16 July several barrages of Katyusha rockets hit the northern cities of Haifa, Acre, and Nahariya, and explosions were also heard in Rosh Hanikra. Eight were killed in Haifa, and several were seriously wounded when unguided rockets hit a railway maintenance depot. Al-Manar has reported that the Hezbollah attack included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1 liquid-fuel missiles, developed by Iran. Hezbollah claimed the attack was aimed at a large Israeli fuel storage plant adjacent to the railway facility. [Photo] of the area, with oil drums and smoke rising from the railway depot. Rockets also hit the villages of Shetula and Zar'it, the site of the original Hezbollah attack. Additional barrages hit the Israeli Arab town of Ghajar and kibbutz Ma'ayan Baruch as well as striking Meron and Safed again, all with no injuries. On Sunday evening Hezbollah militants attempted to infiltrate an Israel Defense Forces post on the Lebanese

On 17 July 2006 three rounds of Hezbollah rockets struck the port city of Haifa, wounding two people and destroying a three-story residential building. Rockets were also reported to have hit the town of Atlit, 56 km south of the border and 8 km south of Haifa. No injuries were reported. Hezbollah reportedly struck a hospital in the Northern Israel town of Safed. The Israeli army says that 15 cities were hit by rockets in a late night raid injuring 5 people when a rocket hit a synagogue.[link]

Casualties

Lebanese

• BBC News reports the total killed, as of 18 July, to be “more than 200”.

• CNN reports that Lebanese security officials say that 180 people in all have been killed, with no breakdown between civilians and military.

• Al Jazeera reports, as of 18 July 220 people killed, all but 14 of them civilians, and the heaviest destruction in Lebanon since the end of the civil war.

• Associated press reports, as of 18 July 226 people killed, including at least 25 soldiers and 9 militants

• AFP reports the number of killed in the Israeli raids, as of 18 July, to be 208 civilians and 22 soldiers.

Israeli

• Twelve Israeli soldiers were killed, two captured, and six more wounded.
• 13 civilians have been killed, Eight in Haifa city on 16 July, and another 500 civilians were injured, 56 seriously.
• The INS Hanit was fired upon and damaged. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports 4 sailors dead.

Foreign nationals

• Eight Lebanese-Canadians, including four children, were killed and six severely injured by an Israeli attack on Aitaroun in South Lebanon on 16 July.
• A family of four Brazilians, including two children, was killed in the Israeli bombings in Srifa,() drawing condemnation from foreign relations minister Celso Amorim.()
• Four members of a German-Lebanese family, including two minors, from Mönchengladbach, Germany were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Chehour in southern Lebanon while on vacation.() ()
• The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry has reported that two Kuwaiti nationals have been killed by Israeli bombing.
• An Argentinean woman died in a rocket attack on Nahariya, Israel.()

Possible expansion and resolution

There are concerns of escalation. According to Professor Gerald Steinberg, a Senior Research Associate at the [Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies], affiliated with the political science department at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, “Israel may have to take alarming force as an outcome of the latest attacks, which may even result in the disarming of the Hezbollah,” and that “Lebanon continues to allow these terrorist activities to take place within its borders and therefore the Lebanese government plays a key role in the reoccurrence of these events.”

DEBKAfile, a Jerusalem based website, has reported that Iranian national security advisor and senior nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani flew to Damascus. According to the report, he will remain there for the duration of the crisis in line with an Iranian-Syrian mutual defense pact, and would deem any attack on Syria an assault on Iran. DEBKAfile also reports that Hezbollah “acted on orders from Tehran to open a second front against Israel, partly to ease IDF military pressure on the Hamas in the Gaza Strip”. According to DEBKAfile, Iran is also taking up this action to divert attention at the upcoming G8 summit away from the Iranian nuclear crisis, and onto this flare-up instead. Finally, they report that both Syrian and Iranian armed forces have been brought to a state of high alert.

Meanwhile, Israel has issued a warning to people living in a Shi’ite neighbourhood in southern Beirut, the Lebanese capital, telling them to leave. It considers the area a Hezbollah base of operations.

As Hezbollah operates freely along the border with Israel and is a member of the elected government, Israel held the whole Lebanese government accountable and targeted strategic locations throughout the country.

According to Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, Hezbollah is attempting to transfer the captured soldiers to Iran. Regev has not disclosed the source of this information. But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman denied the accusation, calling it “simply nonsense.”

The situation is further complicated by the thousands of foreign nationals who are stranded in the country. Although at least 15,000 tourists and Lebanese citizens fled via road into Syria on 13 July, an Israeli strike on that road has now made travel into or out of the country much more difficult.

Also on 14 July, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that Hezbollah is ready for “open war” with Israel. In addition, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, warned Israel of a “fierce response” if it attacks Syria.

Again on 14 July the ruling party in Syria, Baath, said that Syria fully backs Hezbollah against the “barbaric Israeli aggression”.

A report in Al-Hayat on 15 July mentioned rumours in Washington, D.C. of an Israeli ultimatum to Syria to stop Hezbollah's activity along the Israeli border, and force the release of the two captured Israeli soldiers in 72 hours, or it would face serious consequences.() Al-Hayat's source refused to confirm or deny the rumours.

The report said “a senior Pentagon source warned that should the Arab world and international community fail in the efforts to convince Syria to pressure Hezbollah into releasing the soldiers and halt the current escalation, Israel may attack targets in the country.”

Al-Hayat quoted the source as saying that “the US cannot rule out the possibility of an Israeli strike in Syria.“

On 15 July in response to the report of an Israeli ultimatum, an officer with the Israel Defence Force stated that it wouldn’t be right to bring Syria into the campaign.

On 17 July Ehud Olmert referred to an "Axis of Evil which stretches from Tehran to Damascus," adding "We seek neither war nor direct confrontation, but we will not be deterred from them when the need arises."

While the United States insists that Syria and Iran have some responsibility for the attacks by the Lebanese militia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there was no evidence behind that allegation (16 July 2006).[link]

Proposed ceasefire

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

Hezbollah has demanded that Israel trade three Lebanese prisoners for the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers but Israel refused.

On 14 July BBC News reported that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would agree to a ceasefire if Hezbollah returned the two captured soldiers, stopped firing rockets at Israel, and if Lebanon implemented UN Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for the group’s disarmament. Two days later, it was reported that Israel would agree to a ceasefire under two conditions: 1) The return of the two soldiers captured on 12 July and, 2) The Army/Government of Lebanon would have to ensure that Hezbollah would pull back to the Litani River.

But on 16 July, the Lebanese special envoy to the UN, Nouhad Mahmoud, claimed that the United States was obstructing the Security Council's attempt to broker a ceasefire.

Indeed, Condoleezza Rice, speaking from St. Petersburg on 16 July, seemed to oppose an immediate cessation of violence under Lebanon’s terms, claiming that the ceasefire demanded by Siniora wouldn’t work unless it addressed Hezbollah violence and the support it gets from Syria and Iran. She said, “What we really need is to concentrate on a way forward that is going to permit the cessation of violence which first of all will be sustainable, that we won’t be back three weeks from now talking about getting another cessation of violence.” She said the only way to deal with the problem is “to deal with the extremists, isolate the extremists, and put in place moderate democratic states”.

On Monday, 17 July, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the fighting in Lebanon would end when Hezbollah guerrillas freed two captured soldiers, rocket attacks on Israel stopped and the Lebanese army deployed along the border.
But a spokesman for Hezbollah says it wants an unconditional ceasefire.[link]

International reactions

International reactions to the conflict for the most part have condemned both Hezbollah and Israel, with many nations expressing concern over a possible escalation of the conflict.[Developments in Israel-Lebanon Crisis] Some nations and organizations (including the G8, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada) have asserted Israel's right to self-defense whilst urging restraint. Bush supports the Israeli attacks and on 13 July said Israel has a right to defend itself. [link] On the other hand, a number of European countries criticize the Israeli offensive which they fear may lead to war. Jacques Chirac castigated the Israeli offensive into Lebanon on 14 July. [link] The EU says Israel's use of force is disproportionate.[link] The Vatican also deplored the Israeli attack on Lebanon in an official statement on 14 July. [link]

Other states such as Iran, Syria, Morocco and Yemen, have given support to Lebanon and Hezbollah.[Arabs divided over Hezbollah's role in Lebanon crisis] - Deutsche Presse-Agentur - 15 July 2006 The Arab League "condemns the Israeli aggression in Lebanon which contradicts all international law and regulations". However, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia also criticised Hezbollah for harming Arab interests.

On 16 July the Lebanese special envoy to the UN, Nouhad Mahmoud, accused the United States of obstructing a Security Council statement calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

On 17 July UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and UK Prime Minister called for an international force to be sent to Lebanon to stop the attacks on Israel by Hezbollah. Mr Blair was quoted as saying that the force could "stop the bombardment coming over into Israel and therefore gives Israel a reason to stop its attacks on Hezbollah".

Evacuation of foreign nationals

Despite Lebanon's history of violence, the suddenness of the latest conflict took many governments by surprise. The Israeli strategy of blockade, including seaports, the Beirut airport, and key roads and bridges, meant that expected escape routes were unavailable. Lebanon borders only Israel and Syria. According to a spokesman for the British High Commission in the Republic of Cyprus, both France and the US have secured permission from the British to use the facilities of the British Sovereign Base Areas [link], which includes RAF Akrotiri.

See also

• Arab-Israeli conflict
• Lebanese Civil War
• Operation Accountability
• Operation Grapes of Wrath
• Operation Summer Rains

External links

News Sources

• [Al-Jazeera (English version)]
• [Ha'aretz (English version of Israeli newspaper)]
• [Jerusalem Post]
• [Lebanon Daily Star]
• [Obelus.org Analysis]
• [Yahoo News coverage]
• [YNet News] (english version of Yediot Achronot)

Additional Commentary, Fact files, etc

• [An overview of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, from the 1978 invasion to today.] From the History Guy Website
• [Factfile: Hezbollah]
• [Online Resources for you about Israel and Lebanon]
• [Press Release: A Shia View of the Conflict]
• [July 17, 2006: "Wounded Lebanon needs Healing !", the testimony and appeal by a Lebanese citizen]

References

More Background

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