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Battle of Bint Jbeil
Part of 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
Map of South Lebanon showing location of Bint Jbeil
Date July 24 - August 11 2006 Location Bint Jbeil, Southern Lebanon Result Merged into the 2006 Litani offensive (UN troops deployed to Bint Jbeil per ceasefire.)
Belligerents
Israel	File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah
Strength
Inconstant	Several hundreds
Casualties and losses
16 KIA about 60 wounded	Few dozen.

The Battle of Bint Jbeil was one of the main battles of the Litani offensive in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. It consisted of a series of military actions and clashes in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, regarded as the "Hezbollah stronghold" in the south. The town is three kilometers from the Israeli border. The battle started on July 24 2006, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) approached the town. Heavy gun battles between IDF soldiers and Hezbollah guerrillas took place. Some of the shooting was taking place at point-blank range in homes and in courtyards.

July 25 - July 29

Late in the night of July 24th, one IDF soldier was killed when his Merkava tank flipped over after driving over a powerful landmine. Another IDF soldier was killed when an anti-tank missile hit his Merkava.

On July 25, the battle began at approximately 5 A.M. when two Israeli companies from Golani Brigade's 51st Battalion, "A" and "C", began advancing down one of Bint Jbeil's streets on parallel routes. Contrary to previous reports, the Hezbollah fighters were not lying in ambush. "Both sides were unaware of each other and it was actually one of our (IDF) soldiers who saw them first and opened fire." However, the Hezbollah fighters were in upper stories of buildings, and had a commanding view of the IDF. In the initial firefight, 30 members of "C" company, comprising one third of its total strength, were hit, as was the battalion's deputy commander, Major Roi Klein.

"A" company began supportive fire to enable the remaining soldiers of "C" Company to evacuate their wounded while continuing to shoot at the enemy. Two additional Golani companies were rushed in to help with the evacuation. Hours later, Israeli Air Force Blackhawk helicopters managed to land under heavy fire and fly the wounded to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The commanders decided not to risk pilots to evacuate the dead; they were carried out under cover of darkness by a company from the Golani Brigade's 12th Battalion.

"The battle began to their advantage. They were in a much better position, but we won and killed at least 20 Hezbollah fighters. None of the soldiers panicked, they were professional throughout, and that's our advantage over Hezbollah," commander of "A" Company said. Most of the fighting took place at extremely short-range, sometimes only a few meters, also using hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades. The IDF said its military operations have hit dozens of militants during ongoing fighting in Bint Jbeil, a town it dubbed Hezbollah's "terror capital."

On July 28, troops from the Paratroopers Brigade's 101st and 890th Battalion exchanged fire with Hezbollah and killed at least 20 fighters, according to Israeli sources. The fighters were of Hezbollah's elite forces, which were involved in the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers. On July 29, the battle ended as IDF troops pulled out of Bint Jbeil, after clashes with Hezbollah left 6 soldiers wounded and some 26 guerillas dead, according to the IDF. Armored forces continued to operate in the area, however.Since Israel left Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah has built up the area around Bint Jbeil, according to Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin. "Not only a terrorist army, but they are sort of waiting for us to come in," she said. "They have booby-trapped the entire area. They want us to walk into those booby traps."

See also

• Roy Kline

References

1. ^ "Israel-Hizbullah conflict: Victims of rocket attacks and IDF casualties". Israel, MFA. Cite error: The named reference "MFA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. "Heroism in the battle of Bint Jbail -". Jerusalem Post. 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 39 (help)
3. ^ "'It was all so very fast - the shooting, the shouting'". Jerusalem Post. 2006-07-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. "U.N.: Israeli airstrike hits U.N. observer post". CNN. 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. "'20 terrorists killed in Bint Jbeil'". Ynetnews. 2006-07-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. "IDF leaves Bint Jbail; 6 soldiers hurt in clashes with Hezbollah". Haaretz. 2006-07-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. "Israel: Hezbollah has new, powerful missile". CNN. 2006-07-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

• 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• Battles involving Israel
• Battles involving Hezbollah