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2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict (Arab-Israeli conflict) Part of the 2006 Middle East conflict File:2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict titlepic.png Date 12 July 2006 — ongoing (ceasefire started 05:00 UTC, 14 August 2006) Location Lebanon and northern Israel Result Ceasefire Belligerents File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah Israel Commanders and leaders Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General) Dan Halutz (CoS), Moshe Kaplinsky, Udi Adam (Regional) Strength 600-1,000 fighters 3,000-5,000 available 10,000 reservist 30,000 ground troops (plus IAF & ISC) Casualties and losses Hezbollah militia: 74 dead confirmed by Hezbollah 180 dead confirmed by IDF (of an estimated 530+) 21 captured Allied militia: Amal: 17 LCP: 12 PFLP-GC: 2 IDF: 119 dead 400+ injured 2 captured Lebanese civilians: 1,187 dead 3,600 wounded 256,000 internally displaced Israeli civilians: 44 dead 1,350+ injured Lebanese army: 46 dead ~100 wounded UN personnel: 7 dead 12 wounded See also: Casualties of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

v t e 2006 Lebanon War Timeline Military engagements and attacks Cross-border raid Density Maroun al-Ras Bint Jbeil Ayta ash-Sha'b Qana Baalbek al-Qaa Tyre Change of Direction 11 Nature Reserves Civilian convoys attacks IDF Special Operations Jiyeh Chiyah Ghaziyeh Marjayoun Evacuations Baliste Sukoon Response International reactions European reactions Qana airstrike Position of Lebanon Israeli reserve soldiers' protest Humanitarian aid International incidents Related topics Prisoners Prisoner exchange Photograph controversies (Adnan Hajj) Foreign involvement War crimes Siniora Plan Ceasefire attempts UN Security Council Resolution 1680 UN Security Council Resolution 1701

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is a military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel, primarily between Hezbollah militia and Israel, which started on 12 July 2006. A United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect on 14 August 2006. The conflict began when Hezbollah initiated a diversionary Katyusha rocket and mortar attack on Israeli military positions and border villages, while another Hezbollah unit conducted a cross-border raid and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and heavy naval, field and self-propelled artillery fire on targets throughout Lebanon, an air and naval blockade and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel and engaged the Israeli Army in guerrilla warfare.

The conflict has killed over 1,500 people, mostly Lebanese civilians, severely damaged Lebanese infrastructure, displaced about one million Lebanese and 500,000 Israelis, and disrupted normal life across all of Lebanon and northern Israel. Even after the ceasefire, 256,000 Lebanese remained internally displaced.

On 11 August 2006 the UNSC unanimously approved Resolution 1701, in an effort to end the hostilities. The resolution, which was approved by both Lebanese and Israeli governments the following days, also called for the disarming of Hezbollah, for Israel to withdraw and for the deployment of Lebanese soldiers and an enlarged UNIFIL force in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army began deploying in southern Lebanon on 17 August 2006. Israel began to withdraw some of its forces from the country, while the blockade was being kept in place.

Background

1948 Arab-Israeli war and aftermath, Operation Litani (1948–1982)

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, 711,000 Palestinians, half of the Arab population of Palestine at the time, fled, emigrated or were forced out of Israel and entered neighboring countries, including Lebanon. After the 1967 Six-Day War, 300,000 Palestinians from the West Bank fled to Jordan, leading to a dramatic increase in its refugee population of 700,000. Following the 1970 Black September in Jordan, over 110,000 Palestinian refugees migrated from Jordan to Lebanon. By 1975, they numbered more than 300,000, creating an informal state-within-a-state in southern Lebanon. The PLO became a powerful force and played an important role in the Lebanese Civil War. On 14 March 1978 Israel launched Operation Litani and invaded southern Lebanon in response to the Coastal Road massacre. As a result, the UNSC passed Resolutions 425 and 426, which called for Israel's immediate withdrawal and the establishment of UNIFIL.

1982 Lebanon war, Israeli occupation (1982–1985)

Israel invaded again in the 1982 Lebanon War, as a response to the assassination attempt against Israel's UK ambassador Shlomo Argov by the Abu Nidal Organization. During the conflict, 14,000 Lebanese and Palestinians were killed, and the Israeli army marched through to Beirut. PLO leader Yassir Arafat retreated from Beirut on 30 August 1982 and settled in Tunisia. After Lebanese president-elect Bachir Gemayel was assassinated on 14 September 1982, Israel reoccupied West Beirut and Maronite militias carried out the Sabra and Shatila massacre. While the country was still under Israeli and Syrian occupations, the US-brokered May 17 Agreement was ratified by the Lebanese parliament in 1983, but not implemented. On 15 January 1985, Israel adopted a phased withdrawal plan, maintaining an area of 850 square kilometres in a 4–6 kilometre (2.5–3.75 mi) deep strip of land, described by Israel as a "security zone" to defend its northern towns.

Foundation of Hezbollah, Operation Accountability, Operation Grapes of Wrath (1985–1998)

On 16 February 1985 Iranian Revolutionary Guards formed Hezbollah in Lebanon, primarily to combat the Israeli occupation. On 25 July 1993 Israel launched Operation Accountability, in retaliation of attacks and the killing of five soldiers in the security zone. Thousands of buildings were bombed, resulting in 120 dead and 300,000 displaced civilians. Israeli forces also destroyed infrastructure such as power stations and bridges. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket attacks on Israeli villages, though inflicted significantly fewer casualties. On 11 April 1996 Israel initiated Operation Grapes of Wrath, subsequent to an escalation after the killing of two Lebanese by an IDF missile. Israel conducted massive air raids and extensive shelling in southern Lebanon. 118 Lebanese died in the Qana Massacre, when a UN compound was shelled by Israel.

Israeli withdrawal, Assassinations, Border clashes (1998–2006)

Following its declaration of intent to implement UNSC Resolutions 425 and 426 on 1 April 1998, Israel completed its withdrawal on 24 May 2000, 22 years after the resolutions had been approved. The South Lebanon Army's equipment and positions largely fell into the hands of Hezbollah. On 7 October 2000 three Israeli combat engineering soldiers were kidnapped from the Shebaa Farms after Hezbollah guerrillas set off a bomb next to their jeep. The parents of the soldiers later suspected that the hostages were killed after the abduction and accused the United Nations and UNIFIL of cooperating with Hezbollah. Their bodies were later retrieved in a prisoner swap deal. On 2 September 2004 Resolution 1559 was approved, calling for the disbanding of all Lebanese militia. An armed Hezbollah is seen by the Israeli government as a contravention of the resolution. The Lebanese government differs from this interpretation. After Hezbollah killed an Israeli soldier in an attack on a vehicle that had crossed the border on 20 January 2004, Israel bombed two of the group's bases. On 29 January 2004, a prisoner swap was carried out (see prisoner exchanges). July and August 2004 saw more border clashes, the most serious since May 2004, when Hezbollah had killed an Israeli soldier in a disputed area along the border. Hezbollah said the clash began when Israeli forces shelled its positions, while Israel said that Hezbollah had started the fighting with a sniper attack on a border outpost. On May 26, 2006, a car bomb killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Mahmoud Majzoub in Lebanon. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora suspected Israel's Mossad the prime suspect, but Israel denied involvement. On May 28, 2006, rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. Hours later, Israel responded by bombing suspected militant sites and exchanging fire across the border. The UN negotiated a ceasefire the same day. On 14 June 2006 Lebanese authorities arrested members of an alleged Israeli spy ring. Mahmoud Rafeh reportedly confessed to the Majzoub killings and admitted working for Mossad. He admitted that his cell had assassinated three Hezbollah leaders the past seven years. Bomb-making materials and espionage equipment were seized; however, Lebanese opponents of Hezbollah suspected that the exposure of the spy ring was a Hezbollah fabrication.

Beginning of conflict

At around 9:00 AM local time (06:00 UTC), on 12 July 2006, Hezbollah initiated a diversionary Katyusha rocket and mortar attack on Israeli military positions and border villages. At the same time, a ground contingent of Hezbollah crossed the border into Israeli territory and attacked two Israeli armoured Humvees patrolling on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, near the village of Zar'it, capturing two Israeli soldiers and killing three. Five others were killed later on the Lebanese side of the border during a mission to rescue the two kidnapped soldiers. The New York Times and Al Jazeera, have characterized the Hezbollah action as "cross-border".

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said 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." Hezbollah's attack was named "Operation Truthful Promise", after a "promise" by its leader Hassan Nasrallah to kidnap Israeli soldiers and swap them for Arab prisoners in Israeli jails. It also include some of the four Lebanese prisoners in Israel, including convicted murderer Samir Kuntar. Nasrallah declared: "No military operation will return the Israeli captured soldiers…The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade of prisoners."

Israeli action

Throughout the campaign, Israel's Air Force flew more than 12,000 combat missions while its Navy fired 2,500 shells, destroying large parts of the Lebanese civilian infrastructure. 400 miles of roads, 73 bridges, 31 strategic targets such as Beirut International Airport, ports, water and sewage treatment plants, electrical facilities, 25 fuel stations, 900 commercial structures, up to 350 schools and two hospitals were destroyed, as well as some 15,000 homes. Some 130,000 more homes were damaged.

Ehud Olmert declared the attack an "act of war", and promised Lebanon a "very painful and far-reaching response". It was reported that the Israeli cabinet authorized "severe and harsh" retaliation on Lebanon. , while Israel’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, stated that “f the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon’s clock back 20 years." A retired Israeli Army Colonel 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.

The Israeli government held the Beirut government responsible for the attack, as it was carried out from Lebanese territory and Hezbollah had two ministers serving in the Lebanese cabinet at that time. In response, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad 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.

Early on 13 July 2006 Israel sent IAF jets to bomb Beirut International Airport, forcing its closure and diversion of incoming flights to Cyprus. Israel subsequently imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanon, and bombed the main Beirut–Damascus highway.

On 23 July 2006 Israeli land forces crossed into Lebanon in the Maroun al-Ras area, which overlooks several other locations that were supposedly used as rocket launch sites.

On 25 July 2006 IDF forces attacked Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold opposite the Israeli border.

On 27 July 2006 Hezbollah ambushed the Israelis and killed eight soldiers. The Israeli Army stated that it inflicted heavy losses on Hezbollah.

On 1 August 2006 Israeli commandos landed in Baalbek in Operation Sharp and Smooth, and captured five civilians including one bearing the same name as Hezbollah's leader, "Hassan Nasrallah". All of the civilians were released after the ceasefire. Troops landed near Dar al-Himkeh hospital west of Baalbeck as part of a widescale operation in the area.

On 5 August 2006 Israeli commandos carried out a raid in Tyre.

On 12 August 2006, one day after United Nations Security Council had approved Resolution 1701, the IDF established its hold in Lebanon. Over the weekend Israeli forces in southern Lebanon nearly tripled in size and were ordered to advance towards the Litani River.

On 14 August 2006, moments before the ceasefire went into effect, the Israeli Air Force reported that they had killed the head of Hezbollah’s Special Forces, whom they identified as Sajed Dewayer, while Hezbollah denied this claim. On the same day, the IDF targeted what it said was a Palestinian faction in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp in Saida. Two missiles were fired into a civilian residential area and killed UNRWA staff member Abdel Saghir. Two civilians had been killed in this camp a few days prior to the incident.

As of 15 August 2006, the Israeli Air Force had 15,500 sorties flown over Lebanon, hitting 7,000 targets. The Israeli Sea Corps also conducted 2,500 bombardments of targets along the Lebanese coast, including missile launch sites, missile launchers and weapons storage sites. IDF had focussed on targeting transportation infrastructure, as they were said to be essential to Hezbollah's rocket-launching capability. Over 100,000 artillery shells had been fired.

Hezbollah action

Hezbollah fired at least 3,970 rockets, mostly hitting civilian targets throughout the conflict. Cities targeted included Haifa, Hadera, Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula, Kiryat Shmona, Beit She'an, Karmiel, and Maalot, and dozens of Kibbutzim, Moshavim, and Druze and Arab villages, as well as the northern West Bank. It also hit a hospital in Safed in northern Galilee on 18 July, wounding eight. One of the attacks hit a railroad repair depot, killing eight workers. Hezbollah claimed that this attack was aimed at a large Israeli fuel storage plant adjacent to the railway facility. Haifa is home to many strategically valuable facilities such as shipyards and oil refineries. Hezbollah also engaged in guerilla warfare with the IDF. These attacks by small, well-armed units caused serious problems for the IDF, especially where hundreds of sophisticated Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) were used. They enabled Hezbollah to destroy 14 Israeli Merkava main battle tanks. Six tanks were destroyed by anti-tank mines. Additional casualties were caused by Hezbollah using ATGMs to collapse buildings onto Israeli troops sheltering inside.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Hezbollah was "a trained, skilled, well-organized, highly motivated infantry that is equipped with the cream of the crop of modern weaponry from the arsenals of Syria, Iran, Russia, and China." Lebanese satellite TV station Al-Manar reported that the attack had included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1, both liquid-fuel missiles developed by Iran.

After the initial Israeli response, 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, Israeli Defense Minister Peretz told commanders to prepare civil defense plans, and around half of the million civilians living in Northern Israel were sent to bomb shelters or fled their homes to other parts of the country. Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel's towns, cities, and numerous small agricultural villages.

On 14 July 2006, following Israeli bombing raids on Lebanon that killed 60 civilians, Nasrallah addressed Israel, saying “You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it.”

On 3 August 2006 Nasrallah warned Israel against hitting Beirut and promised retalation against Tel Aviv in this case. He also stated that Hezbollah would stop its rocket campaign if Israel ceased aerial and artillery strikes of Lebanese towns and villages. On 4 August Israel attacked the southern outskirts of Beirut, and later in the day, Hezbollah launched rockets at the Hadera region.

On 7 August 2006 the Israeli Air Force claimed that it had shot down an Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over Lebanese territory. According to the IAF, the same type of UAV had been sent towards Israel before.

On 12 August 2006 Hezbollah killed 24 Israeli soldiers; the worst Israeli loss in a single day. Five soldiers were killed when Hezbollah apparently shot down an Israeli helicopter..

On 27 August, the day before UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's visit to Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah apologised to the Lebanese people for the incident that sparked the war, saying "Had we known that the kidnapping of the soldiers would have led to this, we would definitely not have done it."

Initial reviews of the conflict after the ceasefire

Following the UN-brokered ceasefire, there were mixed responses on who had gained most in the war. Iran and Syria proclaimed a victory for Hezbollah while the Israeli and United States administrations declared that Hezbollah lost the conflict. Initially, in a poll by an Israeli radio station, Israelis were split on the outcome with the majority believing that no one won.. By 25 August 63% of Israelis polled wanted Olmert to resign due to his handling of the war. Some analysts, like The Economist, concluded that by surviving this unsymmetrical military conflict with Israel, Hezbollah effectively emerged with a military and political victory from this conflict. They cite the facts that Hezbollah was able to sustain defenses on Lebanese soil and inflict unmitigated rocket attacks on Israeli civilians in the face of a punishing air and land campaign by the IDF. Also, Israel's stated goals entering the conflict were to retrieve its two captured soldiers and destroy the military capability of Hezbollah - neither goal was accomplished. Furthermore, Hezbollah is also leading the rebuilding effort in south Beirut and Lebanon using "unlimited" support from Iran, thereby awarding Hezbollah further political clout.

In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted to the Knesset that there were mistakes in the war in Lebanon, though he framed UN Security Council resolution 1701 as an accomplishment for Israel that it would bring home the kidnapped soldiers, and said that the operations had altered the regional strategic balance vis-à-vis Hezbollah. Israeli chief of staff Dan Halutz, has publicly admitted to failings in the conflict. On 15 August Israeli government and defense officials have called for the resignation of Halutz following a stock scandal in which he admitted selling stocks hours before the start of the Israeli offensive; the magnitude of the affair is considered linked to the lack of a "clearcut victory" for Israel.

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 Ehud Olmert and the establishment of a national commission of inquiry. They have set up a protest tent opposite the Knesset and have grown significantly in numbers, reaching over 2,000 by 25 August and including support from the influential Movement for Quality Government. On 28 August Olmert announced that there will be no independent national or governmental commission of inquiry. Instead, there will be two internal inspection commissions, one to investigate the political echelon and one to examine IDF, and likely a third commission to examine the Home Front, to be announced at a later date. These will have a far more limited mandate and authority than a single inquiry commission headed by a retired judge. The political and military committees are 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 will be headed by a retired judge.

US President George W. Bush has questioned Hezbollah's declarations of victory "when at one time were a state within a state, safe within southern Lebanon, and now going to be replaced by a Lebanese army and an international force." It seems unlikely, however, that the army or the international force will attempt to disarm Hezbollah. Economic aftermath indicate that the fighting had resulted in a huge financial setback for Lebanon, with estimates ranging from US$7 to US$10 billion in direct costs while the cost for Israel is put at US$1.6 - US$3 billion. This, and other factors has prompted a commentator in the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat to question the claims of victory by Hezbollah. According to one analyst in the Associated Press, the main casualty was the fragile unity between Lebanon's sectarian and political groups. The American and Lebanese relationship has been strained by the war. After the attack on Qana, the typically pro-American Lebanese prime minister Fuad Seniora snubbed Condoleezza Rice by cancelling a meeting with her and thanked Hezbollah for its "sacrifices for the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon." Many in Lebanon viewed the US harshly in the conflict for stalling the cease-fire resolution in the UN and for its support of Israel. On 28 July only 8% of Lebanese felt that the US supports Lebanon, while 87% supported Hezbollah's fight with Israel.

Targets in civilian areas

Each side has complained about the other's artillery and missiles being fired into civilian areas. Both sides have reported civilian casualties.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) initially estimated about 35,000 homes and businesses in Lebanon were destroyed by Israel in the conflict, while a quarter of the country's road bridges or overpasses were damaged. Jean Fabre, a UNDP spokesman, estimated that overall economic losses for Lebanon from the month-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah totaled "at least $15 billion, if not more." Israel says that it attacked buildings and infrastructure used by Hezbollah to launch rockets or receive re-supply from Iran and Syria.

Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets, sometimes more than 200 per day throughout the conflict. These landed in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Nazareth, and Tiberias, as well as dozens of kibbutzim, moshavim, Druze, and Arab villages.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defended their rocket attacks, saying “In the beginning, we started to act calmly, we focused on Israel military bases and we didn’t attack any settlement, however, since the first day, the enemy attacked Lebanese towns and murdered civilians—Hezbollah militants had destroyed military bases, while the Israelis killed civilians and targeted Lebanon's infrastructure”.

Amnesty International published findings from a research mission that pointed to an Israeli policy of deliberate destruction of Lebanese civilian infrastructure during the conflict, which included war crimes. Their findings "indicate that such destruction was deliberate and part of a military strategy, rather than 'collateral damage."' Amnesty researcher Donatella Rovera, who visited Lebanon during the war and co-authored the report stated "There is clear evidence of disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks." The organisation nevertheless condemned both Hezbollah and Israel for attacks on civilians, in addition to the reported use of white phosphorus by the IDF. In the report Amnesty International presented facts suggesting that Israel deliberately attacked the civilian population and government of Lebanon in a conscious effort to turn them against Hezbollah. The report also stated the need for an independent and impartial inquiry appointed by UN, to investigate alleged war crimes by both Hezbollah and Israel.

Human Rights Watch issued many reports documenting indiscriminate use of force against civilians by both Israel and Hezbollah. They blamed Israel for systematically failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians, which may constitute a war crime, and have accused Hezbollah of committing war crimes by the deliberate and indiscriminate killing of civilians by firing rockets into populated areas. The organization has also strongly criticized Israel for using cluster bombs too close to civilians because of their inaccuracy and unreliability, and Hezbollah for filling its rockets with ball bearings, which "suggests a desire to maximize harm to civilians." The US government is investigating whether Israel's use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements that restrict when it can employ such weapons. Unexploded cluster bombs dropped by Israeli warplanes or duds fired by artillery remain in much of South Lebanon, and have killed 12 people and wounded 39, according to Chris Clarke, head of the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center attached to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. 90 percent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the war.

Israeli officials accused Hezbollah of intentionally using the civilian population as human shields. Several reports have alleged that Hezbollah fired rockets from residential areas to draw Israeli fire on those areas, in an attempt to maximize civilian casualties and garner more sympathy. The IDF claimed that Hezbollah blocked village exits to prevent residents from leaving the warzone. It declared that the IAF drops leaflets warning civilians to leave the area before it attacks. Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon stated civilians remaining in South Lebanon after being issued such leaflets should be considered "terrorists". Nevertheless the fact that roads and bridges in southern Lebanon were destroyed by Israel, and the fact that Israel's air force attacked vehicles transporting refugees to the north of the country, prevented many residents from acting on these leaflets and left them with no choice but to remain in their villages." Israel asserted that its attacks on infrastructure such as the airport were justified, as such infrastructure was used to re-supply Hezbollah with missiles and other ordnance from Syria and Iran, and could have been used to smuggle the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers into Iran.

Jan Egeland, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator called Hezbollah rocket attacks into northern Israel and Israeli aerial bombing of Beirut violations of humanitarian law. He accused Hezbollah of “cowardly blending…among women and children” and condemned their rumored pride at "having many more children and women dead than armed men."

Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed “grave concern over the continued killing and maiming of civilians in Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.” She suggested that the actions of Israel and Hezbollah may constitute war crimes. Arbour called for Israel to obey a “principle of proportionality” and said, “indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians.…Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged military significance, but resulting invariably in the killing of innocent civilians, is unjustifiable”.

Killed in the conflict were 1,187 Lebanese civilians and 44 Israeli civilians.. Almost one third of the Lebanese civilian casualties were children under 13 years of age.

Environmental consequences

The Israeli Airforce bombed the Jiyeh power station, 30 km (19 mi) south of Beirut, on 13 July and 15 July, resulting in an environmental disaster. The plant's damaged storage tanks leaked 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil into the eastern Mediterranean Sea, comparable in size to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A 10 km wide oil slick covers 170 km of coastline, and was threatening Turkey and Cyprus. The slick was reportedly causing breathing problems, killing fish, and threatened the habitat of the endangered green sea turtle, as well as increasing the risk of cancer. It may take at least 10 years to recover from this spill. Initial clean up for this spill will cost $64m (according to the UN)

Hezbollah rocket attacks caused numerous and fierce forest fires inside northern Israel, particularly on the Naftali mountain range near Kiryat Shmona. As of 8 August as many as 9,000 acres including 3,000 acres of Israel’s few forests, were damaged by fires caused by Hezbollah rockets, and at least one forest has lost nearly 75% of its trees. Estimates are that it will take at least 60 years to rehabilitate the forests.

Amnesty International called on Israel to consider refraining from the use of depleted uranium munitions, due to health risks, after press reports claiming its delivery to Israel. The effect of the radioactive dust created on impact is debated, though the weapon itself is considered "toxic and constitutes a health risk independent of any residual radioactivity" due to the nature of heavy metals.

Position of Lebanon

While Israel held the Lebanese government responsible for the Hezbollah attacks due to Lebanon’s failure to implement Resolution 1559 calling on it to disarm Hezbollah, Lebanon disavowed the raids, stating that the government of Lebanon did not condone them, and that Israel had its own history of disregarding inconvenient UN resolutions. An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position. Almost immediately after the hostilities began, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for a ceasefire. On 14 July 2006, following a phone call between Siniora and US President Bush, the Prime Minister's office issued a statement that called on Bush to exert all his efforts on Israel to stop its aggression on Lebanon, reach a comprehensive ceasefire and lift its blockade. On the next day, Siniora called for "an immediate ceasefire backed by the United Nations" in a televised speech.

During Israel's raid on Tyre, the Lebanese Army reportedly fired surface-to-air missiles at Israeli helicopters, which returned fire and destroyed a Lebanese M113 Armored Personnel Carrier.

Ceasefire

Ceasefire attempts

Terms for a ceasefire had been drawn and revised several times over the course of the conflict, yet an agreement between the two sides took several weeks. Hezbollah maintained the desire for an unconditional ceasefire, while Israel insisted upon a conditional ceasefire, including the return of the two kidnapped soldiers. Lebanon frequently pled for the United Nations Security Council to call for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701

On 11 August 2006 the UNSC unanimously approved 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 local time (5:00 AM GMT) on 14 August 2006. An unnamed senior member of the Lebanese cabinet was quoted saying that two Hezbollah members had reportedly said that their militia had no intentions of disarming south of the Litani River. Israel said that it would stop withdrawing from southern Lebanon if Lebanese troops were not deployed there within a matter of days. Both sides promised to retaliate when placed on the defensive.

Post-ceasefire conflict

• 14 August 2006: Israeli military reports that "about four mortars were fired inside southern Lebanon", hours after the beginning of the ceasefire. A spokesperson said that the military would not respond.
• 15 August 2006: Israeli military reports that soldiers "killed three Hezbollah fighters" when four fighters came toward them. The same day, Israeli military reports that "about 10 rockets" were fired by Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon. Israel reiterates it would not respond since the rockets did not cross the border.
• 18 August 2006: Lebanese police reports that Israeli figter jets launched four missiles towards targets in an eastern Lebanese village of Baalbek. Israeli sources acknowledge that its air force performs sorties over Lebanese territory, but denies breaking the ceasefire.
• 19 August 2006: Six days after the ceasefire, Israel military reports that Special forces conducted an operation in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, supposedly aimed at preventing and disrupting the transfer of weapons from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah.. Lebanese officials are quoted saying that the Israelis were "apparently seeking a guerrilla target in a school.". Two soldiers are killed, while three Hezbollah fighters are wounded. Hezbollah says it would not respond to the attack.
• 19 August 2006: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a written statement that he is "deeply concerned" about the Israeli commando raid, calling it a violation of a UN-backed ceasefire. The statement also cites UNIFIL troops as saying there have "also been several air violations by Israeli military aircraft." Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev tells the Associated Press that "he ceasefire is based on (U.N. resolution) 1701 which calls for an international arms embargo against Hezbollah."
• 27 August 2006: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says that UN troops would not intercept Syrian arms shipments to Hizbollah unless requested to do so by the Lebanese government.
• 29 August 2006: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says that Israel had committed most of the truce violations and described Israel's continuing embargo as "a humiliation and an infringement on sovereignty".
• 6 September 2006: The Israeli government announces that it would lift the blockade the following day at 6:00 PM local time (3:00 PM GMT).

International reaction

The conflict engendered worldwide concerns over infrastructure damage and the risks of escalation of the crisis, as well as mixed support and criticism of both Hezbollah and Israel. Governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, 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.

Spokespersons from the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Conference, and an assortment of human rights organizations condemned Israel for its disproportionate response to Hezbollah’s attacks.

Among neighboring Middle Eastern nations, Iran, Syria, and Yemen voiced strong support for Hezbollah, while the Arab League issued statements condemning both Hezbollah’s attack and Israel’s response.

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.

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

Prisoner exchanges

Over the last 30 years, Israel has released about 7,000 prisoners to secure freedom for 19 Israelis and to retrieve the bodies of eight others. In October 2000, Hezbollah captured three IDF soldiers who were killed either during the operation or in its immediate aftermath at Shebaa Farms, and kidnapped an Israeli businessman and former army colonel Elchanan Tenenbaum in Kuwait. A prisoner swap was carried out on 29 January 2004: 30 Lebanese and Arab prisoners, the remains of 59 Lebanese militants and civilians, 400 Palestinian prisoners for Tenenbaum and the remains of the three soldiers. Hezbollah requested that maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon be included as part of the exchange. On 23 August 2006, one such a mine killed an Israeli soldier in South Lebanon.

Media coverage

Frontline reports

On Anderson Cooper's blog, CNN's Charlie Moore described a Hezbollah press tour of a bombed-out area in southern Beirut on 23 July 2006. The tour included an encounter with two men bearing Ak-47 in a side street who ensured that the CNN reporters had not filmed them, a street where bombs had "smashed nearly a quarter mile" of area with "virtually nothing left", a photo-opportunity involving a row of ambulances that was obviously a described as a "well coordinated and not-so-subtle piece of propaganda", and an interview in a bomb shelter. Moore described the tour as a "dog-and-pony show". On a street, "a Hezbollah resistance song is now blaring from an apartment", allegedly "on cue". Moore mocks Hezbollah's "crude propaganda machine" and alleges that "the Hezbollah guy" makes sure that "all the props are in place" on his cell phone, while at the same time regretting not to speak Arabic.

On 18 July 2006 Hezbollah Press Officer Hussein Nabulsi took CNN's Nic Robertson on an exclusive tour, also in Beirut. In an interview aired on 23 July 2006 Robertson stated that "Hezbollah has a very, very sophisticated and slick media operations" and that it "has very, very good control over its areas in the south of Beirut". Robertson reported that Nabulsi had "felt a great deal of anxiety about the situation" and that he was "very, very anxious" about the Hezbollah security officials telling him to leave the area. He confirmed that Hezbollah designated the places that they went to, and that they "certainly didn't have time to go into the houses or lift up the rubble to see what was underneath." According to his reports, there was no doubt that the bombs were hitting Hezbollah facilities, but from what he saw, there appeared to be "a lot of civilian damage, a lot of civilian properties."

In the same interview aired on 23 July 2006 CNN's John Roberts, who was reporting from an Israeli artillery battery on the Lebanese border, stated that he had to take everything he was told—either by the Israeli Defense Force or Hezbollah—"with a grain of salt". The Israelis would accuse Hezbollah of "firing indiscriminately at civilian positions", claiming that "all they're firing at is civilian positions" and that "they're not trying to hit military positions", while Hezbollah and the Lebanese government were accusing Israeli of bombing a lot of civilian targets, as well.

Photographs controversies

Reuters withdrew over 900 photographs by Adnan Hajj, a Lebanese freelance photographer, after he admitted to digitally adding and darkening smoke spirals in photographs of an attack on Beirut. Photographs submitted to Reuters and Associated Press showed one Lebanese woman mourning on two different pictures taken by two photographers, allegedly taken two weeks apart. While it is "common practice to send more than one photographer to an incident", questions remained as to whether the images were wrongly captioned or deliberately staged.

See also

Template:Campaignbox Arab-Israeli conflict

• 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict
• Israel-United States relations
• History of Lebanon
• History of Israel
• May 17 Agreement 1980s prospective peace agreement
• Arab-Israeli conflict
• Multinational Force in Lebanon in 1982
• United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon - UNIFIL (1978-current)
• History of the Middle East
• Views of the Arab-Israeli conflict
• International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict
• Arab-Israeli conflict facts, figures, and statistics
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701
• 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict photographs controversies

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154. "Lebanon evacuation gathers pace". BBC News. 2006-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
155. "Factfile: Hezbollah". Aljazeera. 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
156. "Israel, Hezbollah swap prisoners". CNN. 2004-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
157. "IDF soldier killed, two officers hurt, in South Lebanon". Haaretz. 2004-08-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
158. "Our very strange day with Hezbollah". CNN. 2006-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
159. "CNN RELIABLE SOURCES, Coverage of Mideast Conflict". CNN. 2006-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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External links

Media

• United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon, including maps of the UN deployment
• CNN News Website - Special Reports - Crisis in the Middle East
• BBC News: Middle East Crisis in depth
• JURIST - Legal news and resources on the conflict
• Google Earth layer
• MOSAIC: World News from the Middle East, Peabody Award-winning site that provides a daily compilation of news broadcasts (translated and dubbed where needed) from news agencies throughout the Middle East
• ABC News: The Middle East Conflict
• CTV News: Mideast Crisis
• MEMRI.ORG: Relevant Clips from Arab TV
• New York Times: Interactive map updated daily
• The Guardian - Israel & the Middle East

Israeli media

• Yedioth Ahronoth - Israel at War
• Israel Insider - Security
• JerusalemONLINE
• Haaretz - Lebanon crisis

Lebanese media

• Lebanon under Siege - Lebanese government
• Lebanon Live News Minute by minute news, constantly updated

Hezbollah media

• Al-Manar TV - Hezbollah TV station.

War photography

• Video showing degree of structural damage in major Lebanese cities (no casualties)

Warning: Extremely graphic wartime imagery below

• Graphic photographs of Lebanese civilian casualties hosted at the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, DC
• Graphic photographs of Lebanese civilian casualties from the 2006 Qana airstrike
• Graphic photographs of Israeli military and civilian casualties

Israeli blogs

• The Muqata جميل في المقاطعة — Israel@War: Special Edition at the Mukataa blog
• Israel North blog - A compilation of blogs of Russian-speaking residents of northern Israel, translated into English
• Israel Under Attack — Images and stories from the areas under attack.

Lebanese blogs

• Blog for Lebanon - The Center for Democracy in Lebanon
• BloggingBeirut.com — Finkployd's and other's regular war dispatches from Beirut, as featured in the New York Times
• Live from Lebanon Diaries — "Commentary, analysis, human rights and development information, and diaries from on the ground"
• Lebanese Political Journal — In-depth analysis on the political situation in Lebanon

1. "ISRAELI AIR ATTACK KILLS CIVILIANS". CNN. 2006-07-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Tom Zeller Jr. (2006-07-24). "Anne Frank 2006: War Diaries Online". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-07-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

• Current events
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• Battles of Israel
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• Israel Defense Forces Operations
• Wars of Israel