On 12 July 2006, Hezbollah fighters fired rockets at Israeli border towns as a diversion for an anti-tank missile attack on two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence.The ambush left three soldiers dead. Two Israeli soldiers were abducted and taken by Hezbollah to Lebanon.Five more were killed in Lebanon, in a failed rescue attempt. Hezbollah demanded the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the release of the abducted soldiers.Israel refused and responded with airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon. Israel attacked both Hezbollah military targets and Lebanese civilian infrastructure, including Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport.The IDF launched a ground invasion of Southern Lebanon. Israel also imposed an air and naval blockade.Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northern Israel and engaged the IDF in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions.The conflict have killed between 1,191 and 1,300 Lebanese people (mostly civilians) and 165 Israelis (including 44 civilians).It severely damaged Lebanese civil infrastructure, and displaced approximately one million Lebanese and 300,000–500,000 Israelis.On 1 October 2006, most Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon, although the last of the troops continued to occupy the border-straddling village of Ghajar.
The fighting resulted in a huge financial setback for Lebanon, with an official estimate of a fall in growth from +6% to 2% and US$5 Billion (22% of GDP) in direct and indirect costs, while the cost for Israel was estimated at US$3.5 billion. Indirect costs to Israel include a cut in growth by 0.9% and the cost to tourism was estimated at 0.4% of Israel's GDP in the following year. According to Imad Salamey in The Government and Politics of Lebanon, the main casualty was the fragile unity between Lebanon's sectarian and political groups
Hezbollah engaged in guerrilla warfare with IDF ground forces, fighting from well-fortified positions, often in urban areas, and attacking with small, well-armed units. Hezbollah fighters were highly trained, and were equipped with flak jackets, night-vision goggles, communications equipment, and sometimes with Israeli uniforms and equipment. An Israeli soldier who participated in the war said that Hezbollah fighters were "nothing like Hamas or the Palestinians. They are trained and highly qualified. All of us were kind of surprised." Hezbollah countered IDF armor through the use of sophisticated Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). According to Merkava tank program administration, 52 Merkava main battle tanks were damaged (45 of them by different kinds of ATGM), missiles penetrated 22 tanks, but only 5 tanks were destroyed, one of them by an improvised explosive device (IED). The Merkava tanks that were penetrated were predominantly Mark II and Mark III models, but five Mark IVs were also penetrated. All but two of these tanks were rebuilt and returned to service. On 14 July 2006, INS Hanit a Sa'ar 5-class corvette of the Israeli Navy, suffered damage after being struck by a Hezbollah C-802 (or C-701) anti-ship missile. Four crew members were killed during the attack but INS Hanit stayed afloat, extricated itself and made the rest of the journey back to Ashdod port for repairs on its own power. On July 19 a force from the Maglan special forces unit seized a fortified Hezbollah dugout adjacent to the Shaked post; two IDF soldiers and five Hezbollah operatives were killed in the battle.
On 16 July 2006, eight employees of the Israel Railways were killed by direct rocket hits on the Haifa train depot. During the war, the Hezbollah rocket force fired between 3,970 and 4,228 rockets at a rate of more than 100 per day. About 95% of these were 122 mm (4.8 in) Katyusha artillery rockets, which carried warheads up to 30 kg (66 lb) and had a range of up to 30 km (19 mi). An estimated 23% of these rockets hit cities and built-up areas across northern Israel, while the remainder hit open areas.About 95% of these were 122 mm (4.8 inches) Katyusha artillery rockets, which carried warheads up to 30 kg (66 lbs) and had a range of up to 30 km (19 miles). An estimated 23% of these rockets hit cities and built-up areas across northern Israel, while the remainder hit open areas.Hezbollah rocket attacks also targeted and succeeded in hitting military targets in Israel. The Israeli military censorship was, however, very strict and explicitly forbade Israel-based media from reporting such incidents. The war time instruction to media stated that "The Military Censor will not approve reports on missile hits at IDF bases and/or strategic facilities." A notable exception was the rocket attack 6 August, on a company of IDF reservists assembling in the border community of Kfar Giladi, which killed 12 soldiers and wounded several others. Initially Israel did not confirm that the victims were military but eventually relented. 6 August 2006, two elderly Arab women in Haifa were killed, and an Arab man was mortally wounded, by Hezbollah rocket fire.The day after Hezbollah leader Nasrallah appealed to Haifa's Arab community to leave the city so as not be hurt.
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ReplyDeleteOn 12 July 2006, Hezbollah fighters fired rockets at Israeli border towns as a diversion for an anti-tank missile attack on two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence.The ambush left three soldiers dead. Two Israeli soldiers were abducted and taken by Hezbollah to Lebanon.Five more were killed in Lebanon, in a failed rescue attempt. Hezbollah demanded the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the release of the abducted soldiers.Israel refused and responded with airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon. Israel attacked both Hezbollah military targets and Lebanese civilian infrastructure, including Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport.The IDF launched a ground invasion of Southern Lebanon. Israel also imposed an air and naval blockade.Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northern Israel and engaged the IDF in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions.The conflict have killed between 1,191 and 1,300 Lebanese people (mostly civilians) and 165 Israelis (including 44 civilians).It severely damaged Lebanese civil infrastructure, and displaced approximately one million Lebanese and 300,000–500,000 Israelis.On 1 October 2006, most Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon, although the last of the troops continued to occupy the border-straddling village of Ghajar.
ReplyDeleteThe fighting resulted in a huge financial setback for Lebanon, with an official estimate of a fall in growth from +6% to 2% and US$5 Billion (22% of GDP) in direct and indirect costs, while the cost for Israel was estimated at US$3.5 billion. Indirect costs to Israel include a cut in growth by 0.9% and the cost to tourism was estimated at 0.4% of Israel's GDP in the following year. According to Imad Salamey in The Government and Politics of Lebanon, the main casualty was the fragile unity between Lebanon's sectarian and political groups
ReplyDeleteHezbollah engaged in guerrilla warfare with IDF ground forces, fighting from well-fortified positions, often in urban areas, and attacking with small, well-armed units. Hezbollah fighters were highly trained, and were equipped with flak jackets, night-vision goggles, communications equipment, and sometimes with Israeli uniforms and equipment. An Israeli soldier who participated in the war said that Hezbollah fighters were "nothing like Hamas or the Palestinians. They are trained and highly qualified. All of us were kind of surprised." Hezbollah countered IDF armor through the use of sophisticated Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). According to Merkava tank program administration, 52 Merkava main battle tanks were damaged (45 of them by different kinds of ATGM), missiles penetrated 22 tanks, but only 5 tanks were destroyed, one of them by an improvised explosive device (IED). The Merkava tanks that were penetrated were predominantly Mark II and Mark III models, but five Mark IVs were also penetrated. All but two of these tanks were rebuilt and returned to service. On 14 July 2006, INS Hanit a Sa'ar 5-class corvette of the Israeli Navy, suffered damage after being struck by a Hezbollah C-802 (or C-701) anti-ship missile. Four crew members were killed during the attack but INS Hanit stayed afloat, extricated itself and made the rest of the journey back to Ashdod port for repairs on its own power. On July 19 a force from the Maglan special forces unit seized a fortified Hezbollah dugout adjacent to the Shaked post; two IDF soldiers and five Hezbollah operatives were killed in the battle.
ReplyDeleteOn 16 July 2006, eight employees of the Israel Railways were killed by direct rocket hits on the Haifa train depot. During the war, the Hezbollah rocket force fired between 3,970 and 4,228 rockets at a rate of more than 100 per day. About 95% of these were 122 mm (4.8 in) Katyusha artillery rockets, which carried warheads up to 30 kg (66 lb) and had a range of up to 30 km (19 mi). An estimated 23% of these rockets hit cities and built-up areas across northern Israel, while the remainder hit open areas.About 95% of these were 122 mm (4.8 inches) Katyusha artillery rockets, which carried warheads up to 30 kg (66 lbs) and had a range of up to 30 km (19 miles). An estimated 23% of these rockets hit cities and built-up areas across northern Israel, while the remainder hit open areas.Hezbollah rocket attacks also targeted and succeeded in hitting military targets in Israel. The Israeli military censorship was, however, very strict and explicitly forbade Israel-based media from reporting such incidents. The war time instruction to media stated that "The Military Censor will not approve reports on missile hits at IDF bases and/or strategic facilities." A notable exception was the rocket attack 6 August, on a company of IDF reservists assembling in the border community of Kfar Giladi, which killed 12 soldiers and wounded several others. Initially Israel did not confirm that the victims were military but eventually relented. 6 August 2006, two elderly Arab women in Haifa were killed, and an Arab man was mortally wounded, by Hezbollah rocket fire.The day after Hezbollah leader Nasrallah appealed to Haifa's Arab community to leave the city so as not be hurt.
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