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2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
Part of the 2006 Middle East conflict
File:54454.jpg
Date 12 July 2006 – present Location Lebanon and northern Israel Result Ongoing
Belligerents
File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah	Israel	Lebanon note: AA only
Commanders and leaders
Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General)	Dan Halutz (CoS) Udi Adam (Regional)	Michel Sulaiman (CoS)
Casualties and losses
Militants: Unclear. 13 confirmed by Hezbollah. The IDF claims that 100 militants have been killed. Israel claims to have captured 2 Hezbollah guerillas in Southern Lebanon.	Civilians: 17 killed 418 injured, 875 treated for shock Tens of thousands displaced Soldiers: 20 killed 33 wounded 2 captured (Israeli military accounts) 1 warship damaged	Civilians 350 killed 1100 injured 700,000 displaced Soldiers: 22 killed 63 wounded (Lebanese government accounts.)

Template:Campaignbox Arab-Israeli conflict

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is a series of ongoing military actions and clashes in northern Israel and Lebanon between Hezbollah's armed wing and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). On 12 July 2006 Hezbollah initiated Operation Truthful Promise, named for a “promise” by its leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, to capture Israeli soldiers and swap them for the remaining three Lebanese held by Israel, mainly Samir Kuntar. Israel then responded with Operation Just Reward, later renamed Operation Change of Direction. Israel's retaliatory strike has thus far encompassed bombing raids by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), an air and Israeli Sea Corps naval blockade of Lebanon (especially southern Lebanon and Beirut), a force of tanks and armored personnel carriers, and some small raids into southern Lebanon by IDF ground troops. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has engaged in artillery rocket bombardment on Israel's northern cities and towns, including Haifa.

The Lebanese government has consistently disavowed Hezbollah's actions and refused to condone them while urgently calling for international peacemakers to end the conflict.

On 23 July 2006, Israel crossed into Lebanon proper into the Maroun al-Ras area, which overlooks several other sites said to have been used as launch pads for Hezbollah rockets. and that Iranian soldiers join Hizbullah in fighting against israeli forces

Military operations

Beginning of conflict

At 9:05 AM local time (0605 GMT), on 12 July 2006, the Lebanese Islamist militant group Hezbollah initiated a rocket and mortar attack on northern Israel, mainly on the village of Shelomi, resulting in five civilian casualties. A large ground contingent of Hezbollah militants then attacked two Israeli armored IDF Humvees on a routine patrol of the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border road near the Israeli village of Zar’it with anti-tank rockets. The militants killed three soldiers and kidnapped two others. According to the Lebanese police the two Israeli soldiers were captured in the town of Aitaa al-Chaab in Lebanon.

The IDF confirmed that two Israeli soldiers were captured by Hezbollah, and identified them as Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, both reservists who were on their last day of operational duty.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israel responded within 2 hours.

"A force of tanks and armored personnel carriers was immediately sent into Lebanon in hot pursuit. It was during this pursuit, at about 11:00 A.M. … a Merkava tank drove over a powerful bomb, containing an estimated 200 to 300 kilograms of explosives, about 70 meters north of the border fence. The tank was almost completely destroyed, and all four crew members were killed instantly. Over the next several hours, IDF soldiers waged a fierce fight against Hezbollah gunmen … During the course of this battle, at about 3:00 P.M., another soldier was killed and two were lightly wounded."

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah then declared that “No military operation will return them… The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade .”

Israeli response

According to CNN:

The Israeli Cabinet authorized "severe and harsh" retaliation on Lebanon . . . Israel's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, told Israel's Channel 10, "If the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years."'

Prime Minister of Israel 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 Defense 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.”

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.

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. Hezbollah then bombarded the Israeli towns of Nahariya and Safed, as well as villages nearby with rocket fire. 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. Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam of the Northern Command, says Israel has not ruled out sending ground forces into Lebanon.

Following Israeli bombing raids on Hassan Nasrallah's Lebanese civilians 14 July, a recorded message was broadcast on Al-Manar, where the Hezbollah leader said, addressing Israel: "You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it."

On Sunday evening Hezbollah militants attempted to infiltrate an Israel Defense Forces post on the Lebanese Border.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz says that the ground operations would be limited though.

Hezbollah rocket campaign

After the Israeli initial 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, Defense Minister Peretz told commanders to prepare civil defense plans, and some 220,000 Israeli civilians were sent to bomb shelters. Hezbollah continued to fire hundreds of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel's towns and cities, including Nahariya, Safed, Hatzor HaGlilit, Rosh Pina, Kiryat Shmona, and Karmiel, and numerous small agricultural villages.

For the first time, Hezbollah attacks have penetrated as far south as Haifa, Israel's third largest city, as well as Atlit and the Jezreel Valley cities of Nazareth and Afula. Al-Manar has reported that the Hezbollah attack included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1 liquid-fuel missiles, developed by Iran. 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, and their targeting by Hezbollah is seen as an escalation.

Defence Minister Amir Peretz has declared martial law throughout northern Israel.

Targeting of civilian areas

Attacks on civilians in Lebanon and Israel on the part of all combatants has been a major component in the conflict.

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."

Amnesty International condemned both Israel and Hezbollah and called for UN intervention, stating: "The past few days has seen a horrendous escalation in attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. Yet the G8 leaders have failed conspicuously to uphold their moral and legal obligation to address such blatant breaches of international humanitarian law, which in some cases have amounted to war crimes."

One day after the call for a ceasefire by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on 20 July 2006, a U.N.-run observation post located near Zarit, Israel near the Lebanese border was hit by direct fire during fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militia. The Israeli army claimed that Hezbollah rockets hit the U.N. post; however, a U.N. officer said that the post "was hit by an Israeli artillery shell."

By Hezbollah

Artillery rockets by Hezbollah were fired at civilian targets throughout the conflict, landing in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula Kiryat Shmona, and Karmiel, and numerous small agricultural villages.; some 220,000 Israeli civilians were sent to bomb shelters.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Human Rights Watch stated on 18 July that "Hezbollah's attacks were at best indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas, at worst the deliberate targeting of civilians. Either way, they were serious violations of international humanitarian law and probable war crimes." The reasoning was that "the warheads used suggest a desire to maximize harm to civilians. Some of the rockets launched against Haifa over the past two days contained hundreds of metal ball bearings that are of limited use against military targets but cause great harm to civilians and civilian property. The ball bearings lodge in the body and cause serious harm."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that "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."

By Israel

Strikes on Lebanon's civilian infrastructure include Beirut airport, ports, a lighthouse, grain silos, bridges, roads, factories, medical and relief trucks, mobile telephone and television stations, and the country's largest dairy farm Liban Lait. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported from Beirut: "We're hearing stories -- confirmed stories now about ambulances actually being attacked. Hospitals actually being bombed, so much so, that they can no longer function. " According to Mohamad Jawad Khalifeh, the Lebanese Minster of Health, ambulances and hospitals were hit because "such heavy shelling won't discriminate among civil workers, among the health workers and amongst the hospitals". Avi Israeli from the Israeli Ministry of Health made the following comment: "We are doing our utmost not to injure any civilians and, of course, no hospital or no ambulances. We are doing our best in order to avoid it. If something like this happened it's very sad and it's a tragedy." Widespread damage to fuel containers and service stations also raised the likelihood of fuel shortages. The BBC reported that families evacuating the village of Marwahin in South Lebanon were struck on an open road by an Israeli missile attack; killing 17, many of them women and children. Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into this incident. In response to American support and Israel's military tactics, Kim Howells, British Foreign Secretary, said in an interview with CNN, "I hope that the Americans understand what's happening to Lebanon: the destruction of the infrastructure, the death of so many children, and so many people. These have not been surgical strikes, and it's very, very difficult I think to understand the kind of military tactics that have been used. You know if they're chasing Hezbollah, well go for Hezbollah. You don't go for the entire Lebanese nation, and that's the difference."

Israel has stated that "Hezbollah has a huge arsenal and has fired 1,000 missiles at us. We are acting in self-defence. We are targeting only military objectives, including transport facilities that Hezbollah can use, but you have to remember that Hezbollah often hides in civilian areas. We sent flyers and gave other warnings to civilians to leave before our attacks."

The UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland has said that one third of the dead are children, and declared that the "horrific" levelling of "block after block" of buildings in Beirut "makes it a violation of humanitarian law."

Claims of white phosphorus use by Israeli forces

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud claimed Israeli forces have used "phosphorus incendiary bombs, which are a violation of international laws, … against Lebanese civilians." Information Minister Ghazi Aridi also said, "Israel is using internationally prohibited weapons against civilians." The Lebanese claim remains unverified.

The deliberate use of incendiary weapons against civilians is prohibited by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Protocol III, which has been signed by neither Israel nor Lebanon. The use of incendiary weapons against military targets is not regulated by that treaty.

Opinions on civilian attacks

Israel says that it strives to minimize civilian casualties, but that this is a difficult task in Lebanon because Hezbollah uses civilian homes, Lebanese municipal infrastructure, and even medical facilities as live shields. Israeli military spokesman Capt. Eric Snider also asserts that Israel's targets had direct military significance, because "A lot of the rockets are stored in people's homes in urban areas, fired from within villages and brought in from the Damascus-Beirut highway." In addition, The Israeli Air Force informs Lebanese civilians of future operations by way of leaflet droppings. These leaflets indicate where and after when it is unsafe to be in a particular area, giving civilian populations time to evacuate despite providing an early warning to the intended target, Hezbollah militants. Also, general leaflets explaining Israel's desire not to bring harm to the Lebanese populace have been dropped, asking civilians to "Refrain from being located in places in relation to Hezbollah". The IDF reports that Hezbollah militants are preventing or impeding the evacuation of civilians from southern Lebanon despite warnings by Israel to do so, thereby keeping civilians inside the military theatre and exposing them to danger.

Other analysts have questioned Israeli tactics and their overall strategic framework. James Dobbins, head military analyst of the Rand Corporation, claimed that "The military rationale seems rather thin, since many of the targets have no conceivable relationship to Hezbollah." Juan Cole, Professor of Middle East and East Asian Studies at the University of Michigan, wrote "The current Israeli plan for Lebanon appears to seek to repeat Israel's success in Jordan in 1970–71. … By bombarding and menacing Jordan, Israel forced King Hussein and his Bedouin tank corps to attempt to curb the PLO. … he struggle turned into a civil war with Palestinian Jordanians, in which the PLO was crushed … Ethically, is monstrous, involving war crimes on a vast scale insofar as it targets a civilian population for forcible relocation."

Historical background

Israeli-Lebanon conflict

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, 110,000 Palestinians fled or emigrated from Israel to take refuge in Lebanon, and make up 695,000 refugees in Lebanon as of today. From 1970 to 1973, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was engaged in the Black September in Jordan, which routed a large number of Palestinian fighters and refugees into neighboring Lebanon. By 1975, they numbered more than 300,000, creating an informal state-within-a-state in South Lebanon. The PLO became a powerful force and played an important role in the Lebanese Civil War. Continual fighting occurred between Israel and the PLO from 1968 onward. In 1978, Israel invaded Lebanon in an attempt to rout out Palestinian militants who had been using southern Lebanon as a base for raids on northern Israel since 1968. As a result the United Nations passed UN Resolutions 425 and 426, which called for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to military action in Lebanon At the end of the operation, Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon, leaving behind a UNIFIL force, and their allies, the South Lebanon Army.

Israel invaded again four years later in 1982 in response to an assassination attempt against Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov by Fatah - Revolutionary Council and to artillery attacks launched by the PLO against populated areas in northern Israel. Israel’s attack forced PLO forces out of Lebanon (mostly to Tunisia), and Israel occupied the southern part of the country. In 1985, Israel withdrew its forces from parts of Lebanon and remained in a 4–6 km deep strip of southern Lebanon named by Israel “The Security Zone”, which Israel cited as a protective measure to defend its Northern towns against Katyusha rockets. This occupation lasted until 2000. During the 18-year period from 1982, Israel was involved to varying degrees in a guerrilla conflict and a number of incidents including the Qana shelling and the Sabra and Shatila Massacre.

On 24 May 2000, Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon, more than six weeks before its stated deadline of 7 July. This was considered by some Lebanese a victory for Hezbollah and boosted its popularity hugely in Lebanon.

The pullout was certified by the UN as complete as of 18 June 2001, in compliance with the mandate of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 for Israel to “withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory”. However, Lebanon claims the Shebaa Farms, a 35 square kilometre (13.5 sq mi) area, controlled by Israel, to be Lebanese territory. This is territory which the United Nations Security Council has ruled is an occupied territory of Syria, and not part of Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired mortar rockets into Israel, whilst Israel has carried out numerous attacks aimed at striking Hezbollah bases (see: Hezbollah activities).

In June 2006, the Lebanese military arrested an alleged assassination squad led by former South Lebanese Army corporal Mahmoud Abu Rafeh. According to army statements, the cell was trained and supported by the Israeli Mossad and "used … to carry out assigned assassinations in Lebanon." Among the killings attributed to the squad are those of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Mahmoud Mjzoub and his brother (May 26, 2006), and Hezbollah officials Ali Saleh (2003) and Ali Hassan Dib (1999).

Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shi’a Muslim Islamist organization formed in 1982 "primarily to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation." According to a BBC report, Hezbollah's political doctrine has consistently called for the destruction of Israel.

It has a military and civilian wing, the latter participating in the Lebanese parliament, currently with 18% of the seats (23 out of 128) and the bloc it forms with others, the "Resistance and Development Bloc", a little less than 30% for a total of 35 seats (see Lebanese general election, 2005). It is a minority partner in the current Cabinet.

Hezbollah's armed wing is called Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiyya ("The Islamic Resistance").

Previous prisoner exchanges

During an attack in October 2000 on Shebaa Farms Hezbollah captured three IDF soldiers who were killed either during the operation or in its immediate aftermath. Hezbollah sought to obtain the release of 14 Lebanese prisoners in exchange, together with Palestinian prisoners. 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, and maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon were exchanged for an Israeli businessman and army reserve colonel Elchanan Tenenbaum captured in 2000 in a business trip, and the remains of the three IDF soldiers mentioned above.Three Lebanese nationals are still held in Israel's prisons.

Casualties

Lebanese

According to various media, between 300 and 330 people are reported dead. Additionally, there have been between 480 and 600 people wounded, and over 700,000 have been made refugees, with an unknown number of missing civilians in the south.

Hezbollah acknowledges 6 killed. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. General Dan Halutz has claimed that close to 100 Hezbollah fighters have been killed. However he provided no evidence for the claim.

Israeli

• 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed (including one pilot, killed in an collision between two helicopters), 2 captured, and 33 more wounded.

• 17 civilians have been killed, while another 418 civilians were treated in hospitals, 19 of whom were seriously injured, and another 875 treated for shock.

Foreign nationals

• Seven Canadian members of a family from Montreal, including four children, were killed and six severely injured by an Israeli attack on Aitaroun in South Lebanon on 16 July. An eighth member of the family died later from injuries sustained in the blast.
• A family of four Brazilians, including two children, was killed in the Israeli bombings in Srifa, drawing condemnation from foreign relations minister Celso Amorim. Another Brazilian child was killed in an Israeli strike in Tallousa.
• 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.
• A Sri Lankan was killed in an Israeli bombing.
• One Iraqi was killed by Israeli bombing.
• One Jordanian was killed when Israeli missiles hit trucks near Zahleh in the mountains above the eastern Bekaa Valley.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
• An Argentinian woman was killed by a Hezbollah rocket in Nahariyya.

Position of Lebanon

Even though Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for the Hezbollah attacks, Lebanon disavowed the Hezbollah raids and did not condone them. An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position. Almost immediately after hostilities began, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for a ceasefire. On 14 July, following a phone call between Siniora and President Bush, the Prime Minister’s office issued the statement that “Prime Minister Siniora called on President Bush to exert all his efforts on Israel to stop its aggression on Lebanon, reach a comprehensive ceasefire and lift its blockade.”

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

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. In fact, "he Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported the U.S. was the sole member of the 15-nation UN body to oppose any council action at all at this time." Condoleezza Rice, speaking from St. Petersburg on 16 July, seemed to oppose an immediate cessation of violence, claiming that the ceasefire demanded by Siniora would be unworkable unless it addressed Hezbollah violence and the support it gets from Syria and Iran. 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”.

Many Lebanese feel the international community is not doing enough to end the conflict and consider Israel's attack to be unjustly punishing a country that has hardly any control over Hezbollah. There is also anger at Hezbollah for provoking Israel into attacking Lebanon. Due to a pro-American government coalition being in power in Lebanon since the assassination of Rafik harari, and the partial purging of Syrian influences over Lebanese society, many now feel betrayed by the reality of the American pro-Israeli response.

According to MSNBC, "Today, we sat down with Lebanon‘s prime minister. He said that in the last five days, Israel has set his country back 50 years."

Despite the Lebanese government repeatedly saying it is unable to control Hezbollah or move its troops to the south of its own country, the Lebanese defense minister recently announced that any Israeli ground incursion would be met by the Lebanese army. While the Lebanese government claims it is unable to handle Hezbollah, a militia, its defense minister feels confident enough to challenge what is considered to be the strongest military in the region.

Negotiations for ceasefire

Hezbollah has demanded that Israel trade three Lebanese prisoners for the two captured 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.

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.

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

Yet "he Bush administration has openly rejected calls for a ceasefire. The New York Times reports that U.S. and Israeli officials have agreed the bombings will continue for another week." Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice rejected an immediate ceasefire and said one could only occur once certain conditions are met." John Bolton, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, rejected the call for a ceasefire: "The notion that you just declare a ceasefire and act as if that is going to solve the problem, I think is simplistic.”

On Saturday 2006-07-15 the United Nations Security Council again rejected pleas from Lebanon that it call for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported the U.S. was the sole member of the 15-nation UN body to oppose any council action at all at this time.

International reaction

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. Some nations, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada, have asserted Israel's right to self-defense. The nations of the G8 blamed the upsurge in violence in the Middle east on "extremists" and accepted Israel's right to self-defense whilst exercising restraint.

George W. Bush supports the Israeli attacks and on 13 July said Israel has a right to defend itself. At the G8 Summit, President Bush said "the root of the problem is Hezbollah" and that the U.S. is "never going to tell a nation how to defend herself." Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his support for Israel's actions, calling the Israeli response "measured". According to Reuters and the New York Times, The Bush administration authorized the expedited processing and shipment of precision-guided bombs to Israel to support the Israeli campaign, but did not announce the shipment publically.

On the other hand, a number of European countries criticize the Israeli offensive which they fear may lead to war. Jacques Chirac, president of France — a country which maintained close links with Lebanon since the days of the League of Nations mandate — castigated the Israeli offensive into Lebanon on 14 July. Furthermore, Foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy qualified the Israeli offensive as a "disproportionate act of war with negative consequences" which could "plunge Lebanon back into the worst years of the war with the flight of thousands of Lebanese who … were in the process of rebuilding their country.”

Russia sharply criticized Israel over its onslaught against Lebanon, now in its ninth day, sparked when Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers. The Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov said Israel's actions have gone "far beyond the boundaries of an anti-terrorist operation" and repeating calls for an immediate cease-fire. He said "this is a disproportionate response to what has happened and if both sides are going to drive each other into a tight corner then I think that all this will develop in a very dramatic and tragic way." He added: "We firmly reaffirm support for Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity." and a Russian newsagency said "Putin believes that Israel pursues other aims in the Middle East, except for the return of hostages."

Iran, Syria and Yemen have given support to Lebanon and Hezbollah. 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 and blame them for starting the conflict (while simultaneously criticizing Israel for what they view as an over-escalated response). On 20 July UN Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded both sides stop all violence immediately, condemning Hezbollah for sparking the conflict but also attacking Israel for its "excessive use of force". According to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan: "What is most urgently needed is an immediate cessation of hostilities for three vital reasons: . . ."

Demonstrations against the conflict have taken place across the globe, from Australia to Canada, Malaysia to Yemen.

See also

• Military operations of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• Timeline of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• International reactions to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• Hezbollah
• Israel-United States relations
• History of Lebanon
• History of Israel
• Arab-Israeli conflict
• 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

External links

Additional commentary, fact files, and miscellaneous

• New York Times: Interactive map updated daily
• BBC: Map updated daily
• Guardian: Siege of Beirut
• 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
• United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon, including maps of the UN deployment
• CS Monitor "Hezbollah's Aim to Shift Mid-East Power Balance"
• IDF Home Front Command Website Comes Under Fire
• CS Monitor "Wider War in Mid-East Not Likely"
• Google Earth kmz file showing location of events with links to news sources
• Salon.com "Israel's maximal option" by Juan Cole, 18 July 2006
• SaveLeb.org, News and Information about the current conflict
• Legal news and resources on the conflict, JURIST
• Obelus.org Analysis
• Yahoo News coverage
• The Depth of this Conflict: Jerusalem!
• NewsXS aggregated news headlines and rss-feed
• Electronic Lebanon
• Truth Laid Bear, aggregates Lebanese, Israeli, Palestinian blogs
• Truth Laid Bear, map of Middle East blogs
• Victims of Israeli airstrikes and bombings
• U.S.-Backed Israeli Policies Pursuing "End of Palestine". Democracy Now. 14 July 2006
• Ra'aan Gissin: "It's Iran, Stupid" Jerusalem Post 21 July
• Israel - a metaphysical perspective
• BBC: The Destruction of Beirut in pictures
• alexwrege.com: A detailed discussion among peace scholars
• stopdestroyinglebanon.com — Graphic photographs of civilian targets and casualties
• Who Attacked Israel? , What is Hezbollah? , What Caused this War? and Understanding the US position Historical and Investigative Research

References

1. "Lebanese Army Seen As Key to Mideast Peace". Associated Press. 2006-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. "Halutz: Hizbullah loses 100 fighters". Jerusalem Post. 2006-07-21.
3. "All-out Israeli invasion looms". The Age. 2006-07-22.
4. ^ "Dozens die in fresh Lebanon raids". BBC news. 2006-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. ^ "Some 1,300 Israelis hurt since fighting began". Ynetnews. 2006-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. "Israel Stages Operations in Southern Lebanon". Washington Post. 2006-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. "2 IDF troops killed during fighting in Lebanon". The Jerusalem Post. 2006-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. ^ According to the Associated Press, 2 militants were killed before 18 July. "Mideast Casualties at a Glance". Associated Press. 2006-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. ^ "Israel hints at full-scale Lebanon attack". Associated Press. 2006-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. ^ "Israel says soldiers killed in clash with Hezbollah". KBCI 2. 2006-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. ^ "Hezbollah kills 8 soldiers, kidnaps two in offensive on northern border". Haaretz. 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. "45 killed in new strikes". News24. 2006-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. "Civilian Death Toll in Lebanon Passes 300". Chosun Ilbo. 2006-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. "" 2006-07-22, Kofi Annan in Washington Post
15. Editorial; Lebanese brace for Israel's strategy of collective punishment. The Daily Star, 13 July 2006.
16. http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=500&sid=810114
17. "It's war by any other name". 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "publisherAsia Times" ignored (help)
18. "Israel for rules change in south Lebanon". United Press International. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
19. "Israel to Lebanon: No to ceasefire". Ynetnews.com. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. ^ "IDF releases names of two reserve soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah". Haaretz. 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. "Lebanon-Israel Developments". Forbes. 2006-07-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. "Rockets fired at Meron, Safed; no injuries". Ynet. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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24. ^ "Siniora's Cabinet makes clear it had nothing to do with 'what happened'". Daily Star (Lebanon). 2006-06-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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31. http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Palestine/200711
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67. "Hizbullah leader promises enemy 'more surprises'".
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100. Timeline: Lebanon. BBC News, 13 July 2006
101. See:
     • Margaret Hall, American Myopia: American Policy on Hizbollah. The Muslim World: Questions of Policy and Politics. Cornell University undergraduate research symposium. 8 April 2006.
     • “…Hezbollah enjoys enormous popularity in Lebanon, especially in southern Lebanon…”, Ted Koppel on NPR report: Lebanon’s Hezbollah Ties. All Things Considered, 13 July 2006.
     • BBC
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102. Security Council Endorses Secretary-General’s Conclusion on Israeli Withdrawal from Lebanon as of 16 June, accessed 18 July 2006
103. In focus: Shebaa farms BBC, 25 May 2000
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105. "Press Release SC/8299". United Nations Security Council. 2005-01-28. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
106. "Israeli jets hit Lebanon targets". BBC News Online. 2004-01-20. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
107. "Israeli jets attack south Lebanon". BBC News Online. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
108. "Israel hits back at Hezbollah". BBC News Online. 2005-04-05. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
109. "Israeli jets hit deep in Lebanon". BBC News Online. 2004-06-07. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
110. "Israeli planes attack in Lebanon". BBC News Online. 2005-12-28. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
111. "Lebanon: Israeli spying cell busted". Xinhua. 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2006-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
112. ^ "Who are Hezbollah?". BBC News Online. 2002-04-04. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
113. "Factfile: Hezbollah". Aljazeera. 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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116. "Lebanon shudders under deadly strikes as toll soars". AFP. 2006-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
117. Dozens die in fresh Lebanon raids, BBC News Wednesday, 19 July 2006
118. "Crude Oil Rises From One-Week Low as Lebanon Conflict Continues". Bloomberg. 2006-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
119. "Israeli Forces Gather at Border". Washington Post. 2006-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
120. "Eight Canadians killed in Lebanon: Ottawa". Reuters. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
121. Template:Pt icon "Itamaraty confirma morte de brasileiros no Líbano". Globo. 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
122. Template:Es icon "IBrasil consternado por ataque que mató a cuatro brasileños en el Líbano". La Tercera. 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
123. Template:Pt icon "Leia íntegra do Itamaraty sobre morte de criança brasileira no Líbano". Folha de S. Paulo. 2006-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
124. Template:De icon "Deutsch-libanesische Familie umgekommen". Süddeutsche Zeitung. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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128. "Lebanese PM demands ceasefire". ABC News. 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
129. Al Jazeera.net (2006-07-16). "Lebanon blames US for UN silence". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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132. Al Jazeera. "Lebanese question world's silence". AlJazeera.net.
133. "Retaliation monstrous and disproportionate". Al Jazeera. 2006-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
134. "'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for July 16". MSNBC. July 16, 2006.
135. "In Israel, fury mixed with fears". USA Today. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
136. "Israel hits Hezbollah leader's HQ". BBC News. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
137. AP (2006-07-16). "Israel sends instructions to Lebanon through Italy". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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139. "Hezbollah spokesman says they want unconditional ceasfire".
140. "Reserve IDF division called up in wake of attack; Nasrallah: Prisoner swap only way to free soldiers". Haaretz. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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150. Reuters (2006-07-22). "US Rushes Precision-Guided Bobms to Israel". Reuters. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
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152. "Israel intensifies Lebanon offensive, 36 civilians killed". Aljazeera.com. 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
153. "France Condemns Israeli Attacks, Hezbollah Kidnapping". Fox News. 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
154. Dakroub, Hussein, Israelis, Hezbollah Clash Again in Lebanon, Forbes.com, 20 July 2006. Accessed 22 July 2006.
155. "Bush defends Israel actions, Russia condemns attacks". Reuters. 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
156. http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=10628944&PageNum=0
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160. "30 Lebanese Killed in Israeli Strikes". Democracy Now!. July 21, 2006.

More background

• Current events
• 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• 2006
• Arab-Israeli conflict
• Battles of Israel
• Hezbollah
• History of Israel
• History of Lebanon
• History of Syria
• History of Iran
• Israel Defense Forces Operations