2006 Lebanon War: Armed conflict primarily between Israel and Hezbollah

It lasted 34 days between the 12th of July 2006 and the 14th of August 2006, triggered by the killing of eight Israeli soldiers and abduction of two additional Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah.

The war was particularly characterized by the amount of air strikes and rockets launched by each side. It caused the death of 1,109 Lebanese and 159 Israelis. In addition, over a million people were forcibly displaced.

The United Nations Resolution 1701, adopted by the United Nations Security Council on the 14th of August 2006, put an end to the conflict.

Hezbollah (also known as "the Party of God") is a Shi'a Lebanese political party with a military branch. It emerged as a movement of resistance against the second Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Israel did not withdraw from south Lebanon until May 2000. Their departure was depicted as an important victory for Hezbollah.

In the aftermath of the withdrawal Hezbollah pursued its attack against Israel. In October of 2000, the Hezbollah conducted an operation on the disputed territories of the Sheba'a Farms, during which it kidnapped three Israeli soldiers. The conflict was settled through an exchange of prisoners.

With a few exceptions, from 2000 to July 2006 the situation in South Lebanon was stable, with minor episodes of attacks and retaliation between Israel and Hezbollah.

Start of the war

On July 12th 2006, Hezbollah launched an attack against an Israeli division while it was patrolling along the border. During this operation, later named "Operation Truthful Promise," Hezbollah killed three Israelis and two were captured. In addition to the first three casualties, five other Israeli fighters were killed due to a Hezbollah anti-tank mine while trying to rescue their colleagues. Hezbollah hoped for the exchange of Palestinian and Arab prisoners held by Israel in return for the captured Israeli soldiers. Israel responded to this attack with a bombardment of artillery and airstrikes on Hezbollah targets and began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

Israeli response

Only few hours after the initial Hezbollah attack, Israeli authorities decided to retaliate and launched the "Operation Change of Direction". This bombing not only targeted military objectives but also civilian ones. Israel bombed South Lebanon villages, as well as numerous building blocks in the South of Beirut. One of the most significant of these attacks was the bombing of the Beirut airport, which killed 44 civilians. Early in the hours of the next day, Israeli forces conducted Operation Density, an aerial attack lasting 34 minutes that wiped out much of Hezbollah's missile and rocket supply, though Israeli reports often exaggerated the toll. Much of the war was conducted in the air, with the Israeli Air Force flying 11,897 missions in total and the Israeli artillery firing 170,000 shells. These were unprecedented numbers for the military. Aside from airstrikes, from the first days of the conflict, Israel launched a ground attack on South Lebanon against Hezbollah. The goal of this attack was to repel Hezbollah from the Israeli border, in order to establish a security zone.

Hezbollah during the war

From the 13th of July onward, Hezbollah retaliated to Israeli airstrikes by launching hundreds of rockets over the Israeli territory. This offensive targeted military as well as civilian objectives. The Hezbollah fired between 3,970 and 4,228 rockets in total.

On the ground, Hezbollah fighters were able to resist Israeli offensives. Indeed the IDF found itself unable to take Lebanese cities facing well-organized Hezbollah militias. The Hezbollah was able to face the Israeli army through the use of guerrilla tactics.

 

United Nations Resolution 1701

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah was ended by the United Nation Resolution 1701. The resolution was approved by the United Nations Security Council on the 11th of August 2006. It was asked to the Hezbollah and Israeli forces to stop the hostilities. The resolution was accepted by both sides and the cease-fire took effect the 14th of August.

In addition, the Resolution included the establishment of a "buffer zone" between Israel and Lebanon. It called for the deployment of the Lebanese Army in the South of the country with the assistance of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. In parallel, the Israeli military forces were asked to withdraw from the Lebanon.

Hezbollah perception

Following the cease-fire, the Hezbollah side typically framed the war as a victory. During and after the war, they created posters and spread the message of a "divine victory".

Israel perception

The Israeli government claimed victory over Hezbollah. However over the years, the conflict has increasingly been considered a defeat.

Human consequences

The war resulted in the death of 1,109 Lebanese and the injury of 4,399 persons. As for Israel, about 159 Israelis were killed during the conflict and 1,500 were injured.

In addition to the numerous people killed, the fighting also resulted in the displacement of over a million of Lebanese. Additionally, between 300,000 and 500,000 Israeli citizens were relocated to other parts of the country.

The bodies of the two Israeli soldiers who were abducted at the start of the conflict were returned two years later on July 16th, 2008. This was part of the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner exchange in which Israel also returned Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of nearly 200 fighters who had been captured.

Material consequences

In light of the number of air strikes and rockets launched during the 34 days of war, there was significant material damage. The estimated damages for Lebanon were about 3.5 billion U.S. dollars. On the Israeli side, the cost of the damage was estimated to be about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.