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2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict (Arab-Israeli conflict)
Part of the 2006 Middle East conflict
File:54995.jpg An IDF M109 self-propelled howitzer fires into Southern Lebanon
Date 12 July 2006 — present Location Lebanon and northern Israel Result Ongoing
Belligerents
File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah	Israel	Lebanon
Commanders and leaders
Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General)	Dan Halutz (CoS) Udi Adam (Regional)	Michel Sulaiman (CoS)
Casualties and losses
Hezbollah militia: 56-400+ killed and 16 captured (Israeli government and Hezbollah reports) Amal militia: 8 killed PFLP-GC militia: 1 killed	Civilians: 39 killed 1,293 injured (of which 1,200 lightly injured or treated for shock) 300,000 displaced Soldiers: 64 killed 214 wounded 2 captured	Civilians: > 998 killed 3,400 injured ((Lebanese government reports) One million displaced Soldiers: 35 killed, 80 wounded
For other casualties see Casualties of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is an ongoing military conflict in northern Israel and Lebanon primarily between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with the Lebanese Army involved in the margins.. The conflict began two weeks after the start of the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict, which continues in parallel.

Triggered by a cross-border Hezbollah raid which resulted in the capture of two and killing of three Israeli soldiers, Israel initiated an air and naval blockade of Lebanon, widespread airstrikes across much of the country, and ground incursions into southern and eastern Lebanon . Hezbollah has engaged Israeli forces on the ground with hit-and-run guerrilla attacks and frequent rocket attacks into Northern Israel .

The conflict has killed hundreds of people, caused widespread infrastructure damage in Lebanon, and has displaced more than a million people and disrupted normal life across most of Lebanon and the northern part of Israel. Attacks on civilian population centers and infrastructure have drawn sharp criticism internationally.

Beginning of conflict

On 12 July 2006 a ground contingent of Hezbollah militants attacked two Israeli armored Humvees along the Israel-Lebanon border with anti-tank rockets, capturing two Israeli soldiers, and killing three. Five others were killed later on the Lebanese side of the border on 12 July during a mission to rescue the two captured soldiers. In an initial report the Lebanese police force stated that the Israeli soldiers were attacked and captured on the Lebanese side of the border on 12 July during a mission to infiltrate the Lebanese town of Ayta al-Sha`b, though the U.N, EU, G8, and prominent news agencies have characterized the Hezbollah action as "cross-border". In an interview with the London Times, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: "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 Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah to capture Israeli soldiers and swap them for Samir Kuntar and other Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.Later on, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah declared: “No military operation will return them… The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade of prisoners.”

Israeli action

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.”CNN reported that "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." Retired Israeli army Col. Gal Luft, a former commander in the town of Ramallah, said: "Israel is attempting to create a rift between the Lebanese population and Hezbollah supporters by exacting a heavy price from the elite in Beirut. The message is: If you want your air conditioning to work and if you want to be able to fly to Paris for shopping, you must pull your head out of the sand and take action toward shutting down Hezbollah-land."

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 IAF jets to bomb Lebanon's international airport near Beirut, forcing its closure and diverting its arriving flights to Cyprus. Israel is now imposing an air and sea blockade on Lebanon, and has bombed the main Beirut–Damascus highway.

The Israeli Air Force has carried out nearly 2,000 bombing sorties across Lebanon, especially targeting transportation infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Israel says these missions are essential for weakening Hezbollah's rocket-launching capability.Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said that the ground operations would be limited.

On 23 July 2006 Israeli land forces crossed into Lebanon in the Maroun al-Ras area, which overlooks several other locations said to have been used as launch sites for Hezbollah rockets.

On 25 July IDF forces attacked Bint Jbeil, an important Hezbollah stronghold opposite the Israeli border. On 27 July, Hezbollah ambushed the Israelis and killed 8 soldiers, though Israel says it also inflicted heavy losses on Hezbollah. By 29 July, the bulk of the combat had ended, and Israel withdrew its battle-weary troops and left the town.

On 1 August Israeli commandos landed in Baalbeck. Troops had landed near Dar al-Himkeh hospital west of Baalbeck as part of a 'widescale operation' in the area.

Propaganda effort

In addition to its many radio stations, television networks and newspapers, Israel relies on sympathetic western media organisations to promote and justify its position. In addition, Israel has brought to bear its permanent hasbara propaganda campaign to explain its actions in the current conflict. The director of Public Affairs Department at the Israeli Foreign Ministry Amir Gissin has reportedly ordered trainee diplomats to track websites and chatrooms so that networks of groups with hundreds of thousands of Jewish activists can post messages and automatically flood internet polls in support of Israel. The World Union of Jewish Students has distributed so-called "megaphone software" as part of its efforts.

Hezbollah action

According to Haaretz "the IDF is not fighting a small guerrilla organization. It is dealing with 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, and which is very familiar with the territory on which it is fighting. In such a showdown, even when you have tanks and fighter planes, the going is very slow, and, sadly, you must also pay a heavy price in terms of casualties. " Hezbollah has fired rockets at civilian targets throughout the conflict, landing in all major cities of northern Israel including 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 8.

On 14 July, following Israeli bombing raids on Lebanon that killed 60 civilians Nasrallah said, addressing Israel: "You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it."

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 many of the nearly 1,000,000 civilians living in Northern Israel have been sent to bomb shelters or fled their homes to other parts of the country. 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.

Hezbollah attacks have hit as far south as Hadera in central Israel, as well as Israel's third largest city, Haifa, 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. The plant has not been hit to date. Haifa is home to many strategically valuable facilities such as shipyards and oil refineries.

On 3 August, which saw eight Israeli civilians killed by rocket attacks, Nasrallah explicitly warned Israel "if you hit our capital we will hit your capital Tel Aviv". Israel has yet to strike the central part of Beirut. IBA military correspondent cited a "most senior IDF source" who stated in response that "if Tel Aviv is attacked, the national infrastructure of Lebanon will be destroyed." In his 3 August speech, Nasrallah stated for the first time, however, that if Israel ceases aerial and artillery strikes of Lebanese towns and villages, Hezbollah will stop its rocket campaign. On 4 August Israel attacked the southern outskirts of Beirut, and later in the day, Hezbollah launched rockets at the Hadera region, its southernmost rocket attack to date.

Propaganda effort

In addition to the its own al-Manar TV-channel, Hezbollah relies on sympathetic pan-Arab media to spread its message. Also, a Lebanese photographer's pictures were recently expunged by Reuters, after at least two images were found to be modified with Image-Editing Software to exaggerate damage from an IAF raid.

Targeting of civilian areas

Strikes on Lebanon's civilian population and infrastructure include Beirut airport, residential buildings, clearly marked ambulances, fleeing civilians prominently waving white flags, United Nations posts and personnel, ports, a lighthouse, grain silos, bridges, roads, factories, medical and relief trucks, mobile telephone and television stations, fuel containers and service stations, and the country's largest dairy farm Liban Lait. Hezbollah has fired rockets, sometimes at a rate of more than 150 per day, at civilian targets throughout the conflict, landing in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula Kiryat Shmona, Karmiel, and Maalot, and dozens of kibbutzim, moshavim, and Druze and Arab villages.

UN High Commission for Human Rights reports

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 reports

Amnesty International also condemned both sides for attacks on civilians, and has warned against the use of white phosphorus by the IDF: "There are reports that Israel has used incendiary weapons, such as white phosphorous shells, in attacks in Lebanon. The use of armor-piercing depleted uranium munitions by the Israeli Defense Forces has been criticised by Amnesty International because some studies suggest that they may pose a significant health risk. Lebanon also accused Israel of using the weapons in violation of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, to which neither Israel nor Lebanon are signatories .

Human Rights Watch reports

HRW has been issuing many reports accusing Israeli and Hezbollah tactics of being "war crimes". Senior Emergencies Researcher for Human Rights Watch, Peter Bouckaert, states that "Not only has Israel failed to distinguish between military and civilian targets; its own officials suggest that they have decided any civilian still in the south is fair game."

Israeli position

Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Convention makes it clear that “he presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.” Further, Article 29 states that “he Party to the conflict in whose hands protected persons may be, is responsible for the treatment accorded to them by its agents, irrespective of any individual responsibility which may be incurred.” Therefore, Israel has defended its position by arguing that since, as they claim, Hezbollah are using civilians as human shields and hiding weapons among civilians, they would be responsible under international law for any civilian deaths caused by Israel, so long as Israel is aiming at military targets.

Hezbollah position

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defended the 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."

On 24 July Hossein Safiadeen, Hezbollah envoy to Iran, told a conference that included the Tehran-based representative of the Palestinian group Hamas and the ambassadors from Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority "We are going to make Israel not safe for Israelis". He further outlined his organization's strategy of terrorizing Israeli civilians into leaving their country: "We will expand attacks," he said: "The people who came to Israel, (they) moved there to live, not to die. If we continue to attack, they will leave."

Advance warnings of attacks by Israel

Israel has defended its bombing raids, pointing out that it drops leaflets warning civilians to leave the area before it attacks. However, these advance warnings have come under criticism for being used as an excuse to kill citizens who didn't leave. It was claimed by the Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon on 26 July that any civilians remaining in South Lebanon after being issued such leaflets should be considered "terrorists". But, according to the Human Rights Watch, thousands of residents in southern Lebanon do not have the means to leave or they fear Israeli attacks on vehicles.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a 30 July statement on the IDF's attack on Qana:

"Issuing advance warning to the civilian population of impending attacks in no way relieves a warring party of its obligations under the rules and principles of international humanitarian law. In particular, the principles of distinction and proportionality must be respected at all times"

Allegations of Hezbollah's human shield usage

Hezbollah has also been criticized by Israel for what they claim is a Hezbollah attempt to deliberately maximize civilian casualties in Lebanon by using the Lebanese civilian population as "human shields". Upon his visit to Lebanon, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland accused Hezbollah of “cowardly blending…among women and children. I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don't think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men.”

National Public Radio correspondent Ivan Watson reported that Hezbollah in southern Beirut were operating in civilian clothes and unmarked vehicles. The Sunday Herald Sun printed pictures that were smuggled out of Lebanon showing Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons. New Republic reporter Annia Ciezadlo reported that Hezbollah kept Shia families in an abandoned underground parking garage in Haret Hreik, bringing them food and water, under the auspices of "keeping them safe from the enemy" but in actual fact preventing their evacuation from a combat zone.

Ordinary Lebanese, although supportive of "Resistance to Israel", have also harshly criticized Hezbollah for its tactics of using civilian structures as cover. "We are all for resistance against Israel but they have no right to fire their rockets and then come and hide between our houses," shouted Nazih Sliqa of Fardees, at the funeral of a Druze man killed during an Israeli air raid. He continued, "s Hassan Nasrallah standing here in the line of fire? We came here after the Israelis hit our village, after these people who claim they are resistance fired and hid in our village."

BBC World News displayed a video on July 8th, provided by Israel, which apparently shows a Hezbollah rocket being launched from the roof of a civilian building.

Criticisms of the allegation that Hezbollah is using human shields

Jonathon Cook criticised the allegation that Hezbollah is human shields based on several arguments, including what he suggested is the confirmation bias of readers who are willing to believe the allegation concerning Hezbollah, but would not believe the same allegation concerning Israel, by citing Human Rights Watch reports, and by the nature and practice of Israeli censorship rules.

Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch stated "The pattern of attacks shows the Israeli military's disturbing disregard for the lives of Lebanese civilians. Our research shows that Israel's claim that Hezbollah fighters are hiding among civilians does not explain, let alone justify, Israel's indiscriminate warfare," and "The image that Israel has promoted of such shielding as the cause of so high a civilian death toll is wrong. In the many cases of civilian deaths examined by Human Rights Watch, the location of Hezbollah troops and arms had nothing to do with the deaths because there was no Hezbollah around."

Jonathon Cook argues that if Hezbollah soldiers are using human shields, then Israeli soldiers are also using human shields. He stated, "Israel and its soldiers, who return from the battlefront (in this case inside Lebanon, as they are now an invading army) to live with parents or spouses in Israeli communities. Armed and uniformed soldiers can be seen all over Israel, sitting in trains, queuing in banks, waiting with civilians at bus stops. Does that mean they are 'cowardly blending' with Israel's civilian population?"

He summarises saying that "Egeland and Freedland’s criticism seems to amount to little more than blaming Hizbullah fighters for not standing in open fields waiting to be picked off by Israeli tanks and war planes."

Cook, who lives in Israel, also argues that strict Israeli censorship rules prevent open debate about whether or not Hezbollah targetted military or civilian targets in Israel.

Use of weapons with wide blast patterns

Of Israel, the Human Rights Watch has said that there is evidence that has Israel used cluster munitions on civilians and described them as "unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable weapons when used around civilians" and that "they should never be used in populated areas". Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using cluster munitions in an attack on Bilda, a Lebanese village, on 19 July which killed 1 civilian and injured 12, including seven children. The Israeli ambassador to Moscow dismissed the reports as "Hezbollah propaganda".

Of Hezbollah, Human Rights Watch has said: "Hezbollah has launched rockets toward Haifa that contained thousands of metal ball bearings. Human Rights Watch is of the view that neither weapon should be used in or near civilian areas as a matter of international law"

Reports of Israeli pilots refusing to bomb civilian areas

According to a report published in The Guardian, at least two Israeli fighter pilots have deliberately missed civilian targets in Lebanon and that this refusal has come amongst reported discontent in the Israeli military about flawed intelligence.

Yonatan Shapiro, a former Blackhawk helicopter pilot dismissed from reserve duty after signing a "refusenik" letter in 2004, said he had spoken with Israeli F-16 pilots in recent days and learnt that some had aborted missions because of concerns about the reliability of intelligence information. According to Shapiro, some pilots justified aborting missions out of 'common sense' and in the context of the Israeli Defence Force's moral code of conduct, which says every effort should be made to avoiding harming civilians.

Environmental consequences of attacks

• Hezbollah rockets have 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, have been damaged by fires caused by Hezbollah rockets, and at least one forest has lost nearly 75% of its trees.
• IDF strikes on the Jiyeh power plant on 13 July and 15 July caused 25,000 tonnes of oil to spill into the Mediterranean and constitutes an environmental disaster for the region. As of 1 August a 10km wide oil slick covers 80km of Lebanon's and 20km of Syria's coastline, moving north towards towards Turkey and Cyprus. The slick is reportedly causing breathing problems, killing fish, and threatening the habitat of the endangered green sea turtle.

Historical background

Israeli-Lebanon conflict

The history of conflict between Israel and Lebanon began in 1947, when Lebanon's founding Prime Minister Riad as-Solh sparked the Arab League decision to enter the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and sent his army into the disintegrating British Mandate of Palestine. The army was defeated, and retreated back into Lebanon, where it signed an armistice that lasted until shortly after the 1967 Six Day War.

After the war, and following the Black September in Jordan, over 110,000 Palestinian refugees migrated to Lebanon, making up over 400,000 refugees today. . 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. In response to numerous attacks launched from southern Lebanon, Israel invaded in 1978 in an attempt to rout out Palestinian militants. 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. Israel invaded again four years later in 1982, forcing PLO forces out of Lebanon (mostly to Tunisia), and Israel occupied the southern part of the country. A US brokered peace treaty was ratified by the Lebanese parliament in 1983, but President Amine Gemayel decided against signing in 1984. In 1985, Israel withdrew its forces from parts of Lebanon and remained in a 4–6 kilometre (2.5–3.75 mi) deep strip of southern Lebanon, described by Israel as a "security zone" which it justified as a protective measure to defend its northern towns against Hezbollah attacks. This occupation lasted until 2000. On 24 May2000 after the collapse of the South Lebanon Army and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon.

The SLA's equipment and positions in South Lebanon largely fell into the hands of Hezbollah, which has put considerable effort into fortifying the former security zone and establishing new firing positions. Since then, Hezbollah has repeatedly attacked Israeli military positions, whilst Israel has carried out numerous attacks aimed at striking Hezbollah bases (see Hezbollah activities).

UN Security Council Resolution 1559

On September 2, 2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1559 calling for the disbanding of all Lebanese militias, among other things, and an armed Hezbollah in South Lebanon is seen by many to be a contravention of the resolution, though the Lebanese government differs on its interpretation, and the United Nations has not ruled on this matter.

Previous 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 who was a 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.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shi'a Muslim Islamist organization formed in 1982 "primarily to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation." Hezbollah's political stance has consistently called for the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah is classified to differing degrees as a terrorist organisation by the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. The European Union has no organizational listing, but does list Hezbollah's senior intelligence officer Imad Mugniyah.

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.

Casualties

Position of Lebanon

While Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for the Hezbollah attacks due to Lebanon’s failure to implement Resolution 1559 calling on it to disarm Hezbollah, Lebanon disavows the raids, stating that the government of Lebanon does not condone them, and that in any case Israel has its own history of disregarding inconvenient (or impossible) UN resolutions. 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.”

Negotiations for ceasefire

Terms for a ceasefire have been drawn and revised several times, yet have not been successfully agreed upon by the two sides. Hezbollah has maintained that it insists on an unconditional ceasefire , while Israel has insisted that it will agree to a ceasefire only under certain conditions, including the return of two captured Israeli soldiers.

On 27 July Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora presented the 7-point Siniora Plan at a 15-nation conference in Rome, calling for a mutual release of Lebanse and Israeli prisoners and detainees, a withdrawal of the Israeli ground troops behind the Blue Line, and that the disputed Shebaa Farms area is placed under UN jurisdiction until the ownership issue has been settled .

On 4 August the United States and France proposed a United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution that calls for the disarmament of all groups in Lebanon besides the Lebanese Army and an international force that would protect the border with Israel. Lebanon has rejected the proposed resolution, as it does not call for immediate Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, nor for an immediate ceasefire. Syria has also rejected the resolution, with their foreign minister saying that it is "a recipe for the continuation of the war." He also has said that "If Israel attacks Syria by any mean, on the ground, by air, our leadership ordered the armed forces to reply immediately." and that "Syria is ready for the possibility of a regional war if the Israeli aggression continues."

International reaction

International reactions to the conflict have included widespread concern over current damage and over the possible escalation of the crisis, as well as mixed support and criticism of both Hezbollah and Israel. A number of governments, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Canada, have asserted Israel's right to self-defense. Further, the United States authorized Israel's request for the expedited processing and shipment of precision-guided bombs to Israel. The United States did not announce the shipment publicly. The majority (10) of the UN Security Council members have demanded an immediate cease-fire through a UN draft resolution, which was vetoed by the US and abstained from by 4 nations (UK, Peru, Slovakia, Denmark).

Neighboring Middle Eastern nations have been split in their response. Iran, Syria and Yemen have voiced strong support for Hezbollah, and the Arab League has issued a statement condemning Israel's response. Iran has been reported as promising to supply a steady supply of weapons `"for the next stage of the confrontation". In addition, Tehran reportedly sends Hezbollah $60-100 million per year. In contrast, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan criticized Hezbollah's actions, as well as Iran and Syria for extending support to the organization, although they are under pressure to change their stance.

Protests and demonstrations have been held worldwide, mostly appealing for an immediate ceasefire on both sides and to express concern for the heavy loss of civilian life, but some also showing support exclusively to Lebanon or Israel. In addition there have been numerous newspaper advertising campaigns, text and email appeals and on-line petitions

Various foreign governments have stepped in to assist in the evacuation of their citizens from Lebanon.

The Israeli bombing of an apartment building in Qana on 30 July has led to widespread condemnation from around the world. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed the Unites States' desire for a mutually acceptable ceasefire as soon as possible but declined to call for an immediate halt to hostilities.

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40. ["Big Israeli airborne assault in eastern Lebanon". Monsters & Critics. 2 August 2006. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
41. "Israel backed by army of cyber-soldiers". Times Online. 2006-07-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
43. Major Attacks in Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza Strip, New York Times
44. "Safed: Man seriously injured in Katyusha attack". Ynet. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
45. "Long-range rocket lands near Jenin". Ynet. 2006-08-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
46. %5b%5bBritish Medical Journal%5d%5d "Hizbollah rocket hits hospital". 2006-07-29. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
47. "Hezbollah leader vows 'open war'". BBC. 07-15-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
48. "Israeli Attacks Increase; Hezbollah Vows 'Open War'". NPR. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
49. "Israeli Couple Weds in Bomb Shelter". Associated Press. 2006-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
50. ^ "Katyusha rockets hit Galilee". Ynetnews. 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
51. "Hezbollah rockets kill 9 in Israeli city". Associated Press. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
52. "Hizbullah: One of the rockets is a Ra'ad 1". Ynet. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
53. "2 wounded in Hezbollah strike on Haifa". The News-Sentinel. 2006-07-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
54. "Israel hammers at Lebanese infrastructure". The Associated Press. {{cite news}}: Text "2006-07-17" ignored (help)
55. "Lebanese Hezbollah warns of rocket attacks at Tel Aviv if Beirut struck", People's Daily, 4 August 2005
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59. "Israeli air attack kills 60 civilians, including 19 children". CNN. 2006-07-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
60. "'10 buildings for each rocket'". News24/AFP. 2006-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
61. "CNN Live Saturday". CNN. 2006-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
62. "To Flee or to Stay? Family Chooses Too Late and Pays Dearly". New York Times. 2006-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
63. "Israel troops 'ignored' UN plea". BBC News. 2006-07-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
64. "Howard says Lebanon evacuation possible by ferry". ABC. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
65. "UAE aid truck bombed by Israel". Gulfnews. 2006-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
66. "Israel hits Lebanon telecoms, plans more incursions". Reuters. 2006-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
67. "By the numbers: heavy damage to infrastructure". FT.com. 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2006-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
68. "Mayhem in middle east: it gets worse". The Daily Mirror. 2006-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
69. "Hizbullah attacks northern Israel and Israel's response". MFA. 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
70. Kraft, Dina. "Israelis Rally to Aid Displaced." International Herald Tribune. 1 August 2006: 4.
71. Major Attacks in Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza Strip, New York Times
72. "Safed: Man seriously injured in Katyusha attack". Ynet. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
73. "Anxious northern Israel endures rocket fire". CNN. {{cite news}}: Text "date2006-07-14" ignored (help)
74. "Northern Israel under attack; missile fired at Haifa". Ynetnews. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
75. "UN warning on Mid-East war crimes". BBC. 2006-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
76. "Toll Rises in Middle East". New York Times. 2006-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
77. "UN: Security Council must adopt urgent measures to protect civilians in Israel-Lebanon conflict". Amnesty International.
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79. "Lebanon under Israeli attack: Sunday Roundup". Daily Star (Lebanon). 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
80. Geneva Conventions and list of signatories per protocol
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82. "Rocket Attacks on Civilians in Israel Are War Crimes". HRW. 2006-08-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
83. "For Israel, innocent civilians are fair game". Herald Tribune. 2006-08-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
84. "Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes". Trinicenter. 2006-08-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
85. Remba, Gideon D. (21 July 2006). "Are Israel's Military Operations in Lebanon Proportional?Is Israel Guilty of War Crimes? What International Law Really Says". Zionism-Israel Information Center. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
86. "Hizbullah leader promises enemy 'more surprises'". Islamic Resistance Lebanon. July 17 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
87. "Hezbollah envoy: War on Israel to widen". Associated Press. 24 July 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
88. de Quetteville, Harry (28 July 2006). "You're all targets, Israel tells Lebanese in South". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
89. "Lebanon/Israel: IDF Fails to Explain Qana Bombing". HRW. 08-03-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
90. "Lebanon/Israel: ICRC alarmed by high number of civilian casualties and disrespect for international humanitarian law". 2006-07-30. Retrieved 2006-08-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
91. Associated Press (25 July 2006). "UN humanitarian chief blasts Hizbullah". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
92. Frayer, Lauren (24 July 2006). "U.N. Exec Blames Hezbollah for Deaths". Forbes. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
93. "Violence May Aid Hezbollah in Lebanon". NPR. 2006-07-18.
94. Link, Chris (30 July 2006). "Photos that damn Hezbollah". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
95. "Entombed". TNR. 2006-07-20.
96. Noueihed, Lin (24 July 2006). "South Lebanon caught in cross-fire". Reuters. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
97. "BBC World News". BBC. 2006-08-08.
98. ^ Cook, Jonathon (August 4, 2006). "Israel, not Hizbullah, is putting civilians in danger on both sides of the border". Z Communications. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
99. "Israeli Cluster Munitions Hit Civilians in Lebanon". Human Rights Watch. 2006-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
100. "Middle East: Rice Calls For A 'New Middle East'". Radio Free Europe. 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
101. "Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Dismisses Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon as "Hezbollah Propaganda"". MOSNews.com. 2006-07-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
102. "Questions and Answers on Hostilities Between Israel and Hezbollah". Human Rights Watch. 2006-07-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
103. "Israeli pilots 'deliberately miss' targets". The Guardian. 2006-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
104. %5b%5bBBC News%5d%5d "In pictures: Conflict enters fourth week: Picture 8: "Some Hezbollah rockets have started forest fires in Israel"". 2006-08-02. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
105. Kraft, Dina (8 August 2006). "Dry Forests in Northern Israel Are Damaged as Hezbollah's Rocket Attacks Ignite Fires". The Environment. New York Times. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
106. DLR: Oil Spill at the Lebanese Coast
107. BBC. "Environmental 'crisis' in Lebanon". {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |pub= (help)
108. CIA Factbook
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110. Israel-Lebanon border, June 1982
111. "Israeli jets hit Lebanon targets". BBC News Online. 2004-01-20. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
113. "Hezbollah rejects call to disarm". ABC (AU). 2005-04-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
114. "Factfile: Hezbollah". Aljazeera. 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
115. "Israel, Hezbollah swap prisoners". CNN. 2004-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
116. ^ "Who are Hezbollah?". BBC News Online. 2002-04-04. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
117. "Lebanon says Bush to press Israel to limit attacks". Reuters. 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
118. "Lebanese PM demands ceasefire". ABC News. 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
119. "Hezbollah wants an unconditional ceasefire". CTV.ca. 2006-07-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
120. "Israel sends instructions to Lebanon through Italy". Jerusalem Post. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
121. "One way out: the Siniora plan". Daily Star (Lebanon). 2006-08-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
122. "Draft truce calls for 'full cessation of hostilities'". Reuters. August 4 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
123. "Mideast violence rages, UN resolution nears". Reuters. August 4 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
124. "Syrian Minister Rejects Cease-Fire Plan". Associated Press. August 6 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
125. "Syria 'ready for possible regional war'". The Jerusalem Post/Associated Press. August 6 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
126. "Developments in Israel-Lebanon Crisis". Forbes. 07-13-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
127. Office of the Press Secretary (2006-07-13). "President Bush and German Chancellor Merkel Participate in Press Availability". The White House. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
128. Reuters (2006-07-22). "US Rushes Precision-Guided Bombs to Israel". Reuters. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
129. "United States Vetoes Security Council Draft Resolution on Events in Gaza(.doc)". United Nations. 07-13-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
130. "Arabs divided over Hezbollah's role in Lebanon crisis". Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 07-15-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
131. "Missiles neutralizing Israeli tanks". Yahoo!. 08-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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134. "Arab world fed up with Hizbullah". The Jerusalem Post. 07-17-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
135. "Public Challenges Arab Leaders on Lebanon Conflict". NPR. 07-28-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
136. "Ads urge call for Lebanon ceasefire". The Guardian. 2006-07-28. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
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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

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
• Human Rights Watch report: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon
• 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
• Haaretz - Lebanon crisis

Lebanese media

• Lebanon under Siege - Lebanese government
• Roadmap to Victory - The Center for Democracy in Lebanon
• History Will Judge Us All On Our Actions, Michel Aoun in The Wall Street Journal, 31 July 2006

Hezbollah media

• Al-Manar TV - Hezbollah TV station.

Front-line photographs

Warning: Extremely graphic wartime imagery

• Photographs of the Lebanese Civilian Casualties (Children) Inflicted By Israel — Photographs of civilian deaths and infrastructure damage
• CNN Photographs of the Israel Airstrike on Qana — Graphic photographs of Lebanese civilian casualties at the 2006 Qana airstrike
• Google map of Haret Hreik — Satellite photograph of the Haret Hreik neighborhood in the Dahieh district of Beirut, Lebanon, before Israeli airstrikes.
• DigitalGlobe photograph of Haret Hreik — Satellite photograph of the Haret Hreik neighborhood, 22 July 2006.
• From Israel To Lebanon — Photographs of Lebanese civilian targets and casualties.

More background

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