2006 Lebanon War

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
Part of the 2006 Arab-Israeli conflict
File:54454.jpg An IDF M109 self-propelled howitzer fires into Southern Lebanon.
Date July 12 2006 – present Location Lebanon and Israel Result Conflict ongoing
Belligerents
Israel	Lebanon	File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah
Commanders and leaders
Dan Halutz (Chief of Staff) Udi Adam (Regional) Amir Peretz (Defense Minister)	Michel Sulaiman Elias Murr (Defense Minister)	Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General)
Casualties and losses
12 civilians killed 500 civilians injured 12 soldiers killed 6 soldiers wounded 2 soldiers captured 1 warship damaged 1 tank destroyed (Israeli media accounts)	209 civilians killed 415 injured 12 soldiers killed (Lebanese government accounts)	Undisclosed number of Hezbollah militants killed (at least 9)

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is a series of military actions in Lebanon and northern Israel. On July 12 2006, Hezbollah initiated their Operation Truthful Promise; Israel then responded with Operation Just Reward , later renamed Operation Change of Direction.

Hezbollah's military wing staged a cross-border attack on two Israeli Humvees. The attacks came two weeks after the beginning of the Gaza-focused Operation Summer Rains whose objective was to free the soldier Gilad Shalit captured by local militants in an earlier cross-border attack organized by Hamas. Eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two were captured. In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a military offensive into Lebanon and destroyed much of the civilian infrastructure of the country . In the following days, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah increased to a point of both parties exchanging tough rhetoric and escalating into deadly military campaigns, including bombings that hit civilian targets. On July 12, Israeli military officials separately called the captures an "act of war" warranting a "severe and harsh response" and threatened to "turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years." Israel proceeded by attacking Hezbollah targets as well as destroying energy and transportation infrastructure throughout Lebanon, focusing on highway infrastructure and initially claiming they were trying to prevent the captured soldiers from being removed to Iran. Israeli sources later justified their assault on the infrastructure claiming the roads and airports are used to transport the artillery rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward Israeli civilian population centers. Hezbollah, on the other hand, started launching Katyusha rockets towards northern Israeli cities, including Haifa.<ref=Manar />

Historical background

Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and French troops withdrew in 1946. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Lebanon became home to more than 110,000 Palestinian refugees who had fled from Palestine after the creation of Israel. The Lebanese Civil War lasted from 1975 to 1990. Syrian troops stayed in northern Lebanon from 1976 until 2005.

Israel bombed 13 of the Lebanese national air-fleet in December 1968. In April 1973 an Israeli commando unit, which included future Israeli Primer Minister Ehud Barak, raided Lebanon attacking the Palestine Liberation Organization. In 1978, as a response to PLO raids, Israel invaded Lebanon and with the support of Christian locals occupied the southern part of the country, resulting in the United Nations passing UN Resolutions 425 and 426, which called for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to military action in Lebanon. Israel mostly complied in 2000.

Israel again invaded Lebanon in 1982 citing the attempted assassination of its ambassador to the United Kingdom Shlomo Argov, and occupied southern Lebanon until 2000. During this 18-year period, Israeli troops were involved to varying degrees in a number of incidents, most notably the Qana shelling and the Sabra and Shatila Massacre which the Israeli Kahan Commission ruled was carried out by Lebanese Maronite Christian militias and named then Israeli Defence Minister (and future Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon, among several prominent Israelis, as bearing "personal responsibility" for the events.. Despite the exodus of PLO forces from Lebanon to several countries, mainly Tunisia in 1982, Israeli forces remained in Lebanon until 2000 when they eventually left, following years of attacks on Israeli civilian targets and military installations by Hezbollah, a non-Palestinian, Shia organisation formed in the wake of the Israeli invasion of 1982..

Since that time, Hezbollah's military wing has set up bases of operation along the Israeli border in Lebanon, near many Palestinian refugee camps. In 2004, a new Security Council resolution was issued, Security Council resolution 1559 which calls for the disbanding of any armed militias operating in the area, with Lebanon being required to disband Hezbollah. The Lebanese Government, failed to act against Hezbollah. Hezbollah has repeatedly launched attacks on Israeli forces in the Shebaa Farms area, a territory which the United Nations Security Council has ruled is an occupied territory of Syria, and not part of Lebanon. Israel has carried out numerous attacks aimed at striking Hezbollah bases, whilst Hezbollah has fired mortar rockets into Israel (see: Hezbollah activities).

Hezbollah

Main article: Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shi'a Muslim organization "inspired by the success of the Iranian Revolution" and "was formed primarily to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation." Hezbollah's political platform has consistently called for the destruction of Israel. "The United States and Israel say that Hezbollah is given financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training, from Iran and Syria. Syria says it supports Hezbollah, but denies supplying it with weapons." Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States. The Netherlands makes a distinction between the military elements of Hezbollah, which it considers to be terrorist, and the civilian elements, which it does not. The European Union as a whole does not consider Hezbollah a "terrorist organization" but does support measures aimed at disarming the militant group. It has a military and civilian wing, the latter participating in the Lebanese parliament, taking 18% of the chairs (23 out of 128) and the bloc it forms with others, the "Resistance and Development Bloc", a little less than thirty percent for a total of 35 seats, (see Lebanese general election, 2005). It is a minority partner in the current Cabinet.

Previous prisoners exchange

During an attack in October 2000 on Shebaa Farms, a small area of land claimed by Hezbollah but acknowledged by the United Nations as outside Lebanon, 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. The prisoner swap was carried out on January 29 2004: 30 Lebanese and Arab prisoners, the remains of 60 Lebanese militants and civilians, 420 Palestinian prisoners, and maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon were exchanged for an Israeli businessman and army reserve colonel Elchanan Tenenbaum captured in 2001 in a business trip, and the remains of the three IDF soldiers mentioned above. Three Lebanese nationals are still held in Israel's prisons (including Samir Kuntar, held in jail since his conviction in 1979 on charges of murder and terrorism, for killing two Israeli civilians and two Israeli policemen).

Current conflict

See also: Timeline of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis

Hezbollah raid

At 9:05 AM local time on July 12 2006 Hezbollah's military wing launched a barrage of 9K51 Grad rockets and mortars on Israeli military positions, apparently as a diversion. A force of infiltrators then moved 200 meters into Israel, attacked two armoured IDF Humvees patrolling the border near the Israeli village of Zar'it with anti-tank rockets, killing three soldiers and taking the remaining two in captivity to Lebanon's territory. Hezbollah has named this operation "True Promise."

The IDF confirmed that two Israeli soldiers were captured by Hezbollah, and identified them as Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. An Israeli Merkava Mark II tank was damaged by a 300 kg improvised explosive device as it attempted to pursue Hezbollah into Lebanon. All four of the crew members were killed. Another Israeli soldier was killed when he came under heavy fire during an attempted recovery of the bodies from the tank. In all, 8 soldiers were killed, 2 captured and 5 wounded.

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

Hezbollah's arguments for raid and Lebanese government political reactions

In negotiations for the 2004 prisoner exchange, Hezbollah had sought the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel. While many were released, Hezbollah failed to achieve the release of Samir Kuntar. Having failed to achieve this objective, Hassan Nasrallah declared that the organization would carry out further operations at a later date to gain the release of the remaining prisoners.

The Hezbollah leader later called for talks on prisoner exchange which was officially rejected by Olmert. However it is widely believed that negotiations are underway with Egypt as mediator. 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. Hezbollah's action aroused varying reactions among Lebanese political forces. It was harshly criticised by many members of the largely anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, while Michel Aoun, despite his understanding with the party, declared that he supported the government's position.

Israeli response

Israel retaliated with air strikes, carried out by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), destroying bridges and civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The television channel Al-Manar, classified by the United States as one of the "media arms of the Hezbollah terrorist network", has reported a total 55 civilians were killed.

An unnamed senior IDF officer stated that the strike was targeted against rocket launch sites and rocket storerooms, although many of them were intentionally located by Hezbollah in civilian population centers. An unnamed Lebanese official responded that "Hezbollah did not store arms in civilian areas.” Air strikes were also carried out against outposts of Hezbollah. Israel had named the overall operation "Just Reward."

Israeli Prime Minister 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 Defence 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." IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said "If the soldiers are not returned we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years." As of 15 July, it has not been confirmed if the two captured soldiers (Israel's casus belli for invading Lebanon) are in fact still alive and within the Lebanese borders.

Israel called up reserve troops, signaling a large-scale campaign, as operations continue in an attempt to free a soldier captured by Hamas in Gaza. Israel sent troops and tanks into southern Lebanon, and the Israeli cabinet met at 7 PM Local Time, 4 PM UTC, Noon Eastern Time, July 12 2006.

File:54368.jpg

Israeli Navy sailors survey the coast of Lebanon from the Israeli naval blockade.

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.

Early on July 13 2006 Israel sent IDF jets to bomb Lebanon's international airport near Beirut, forcing its closure and diverting its arriving flights to Cyprus. Israel also targeted Hezbollah's al-Manar television station, but Hezbollah continued transmission from another location. Hezbollah retaliated by bombarding the Israeli towns of Nahariya and Safed, as well as villages nearby, with 9K51 Grad rockets. 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. However, the spokesman did not disclose his source.

Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam of the Northern Command, says Israel has not ruled out sending ground forces into Lebanon.

Residents of Haifa, Israel, are reportedly being ordered into bomb shelters; an estimated 220,000 people across northern Israel have gone into shelters.

Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz has declared martial law throughout north Israel.

On July 15 2006, three Patriot anti-ballistic missile batteries were deployed in Haifa. These are aimed at intercepting missiles launched at Haifa. The last time Patriot missiles were deployed to the region was in 2003, during the Iraq War. However, the Patriots are useless against the Katyusha artillery rockets which have been fired from Lebanon.

On July 16, Sky News reported that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was wounded in a morning air strike on his Beirut compound, though Hezbollah affiliated sources have denied the reports as propaganda.

Haifa suffered an attack on July 16, resulting in 8 civilians killed and dozens injured.

Attacks on Lebanon

USA Today wrote: "Israelis have cheered the punishing counterattacks that have destroyed Lebanese infrastructure and killed more than 170 people, most of them civilians." Twelve members of one Lebanese family were reported by Lebanese authorities to have been killed when Israeli planes bombed their home in the Lebanese village of Zibqine, near Tyre. According to the Lebanese government, in Dweir, a small village near Nabatiye, Israeli planes dropped a bomb onto the home of a local Shia Muslim cleric, killing him, his wife and eight of his children. Another family from that same village was also reported to have lost seven members following an Israeli bomb. Israel intensified its response on Lebanon by attacking the Beirut International Airport and damaging three runways. Israel announced that it imposed an air, land and naval blockade on Lebanon. Israel attacked Hezbollah's TV station Al-Manar and radio station Al-Nour in Haret Hreyk (Harat Hurayk), a southern suburb of Beirut, and in Baalbeck. On July 13, Israeli warplanes bombed the road to Damascus, the capital of Syria.

Map of conflict as of July 14 2006. In yellow is the Israeli blockade, in red area regions of active conflict.

Israeli jets attacked two Lebanese military air bases, destroying runways (allegedly used by the Hezbollah to transfer supplies). Attacks against the Rayak air base in the eastern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border and the Qulayaat military airport (also known as Kleyate or Rene Mouawad airport) in northern Lebanon were the first attacks against Lebanon's army in the conflict.

Israel has now attacked Beirut's international airport four times and has destroyed the airport fuel depots. Israel has also neutralised the third and final military airport by bombing its runways. On July 15th, Israel attacked commercial ports in the towns of Beirut and Tripoli, as well as ports in Jounieh and Amsheet, two predominantly Christian towns.

Israeli planes have struck a bridge in a suburb south of Beirut, a place highly valued by Hezbollah. They also struck a power plant's fuel storage south of Beirut (but did not destroy the plant itself). People living in this region heard at least three strikes. No casualties have been reported yet.

According to the BBC, Lebanese police also reported an Israeli air strike early on Friday on a pro-Syrian Palestinian group in eastern Lebanon. The base of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command is less than two kilometres from the Syrian border.

News services report that three explosions have been heard in Beirut. Hezbollah TV reports that the air strike destroyed a building containing the headquarters of Hezbollah, with Hezbollah's chief, Hassan Nasrallah, likely inside. He was not harmed, however, and has since released a videotape.

A witness reported that at least 15 Lebanese villagers were killed on July 15 in an Israeli air strike on vehicles fleeing a village in southern Lebanon. The convoy left the border village of Marwahin, was refused asylum in a U.N. base and afterwards it was attacked. It is also reported that some hours before the strike, Israeli forces had told the inhabitants of the village to evacuate by loudspeaker.

On July 16th, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Lebanese military sources stated that Israeli forces had used white phosphorus incendiary bombs against civilian targets, accusing Israel of using banned weapons against Lebanese civilians.[2][3] This claim has not been verified. A Lateline interview on Australia's ABC mentioned that jet fighters were dropping flares as countermeasures against heat-seeking missiles; such flares would release white ash which could resemble white phosphorus. The same interviewee also personally witnessed an aircraft of some description crashing to the ground in Lebanon.

Some Israeli ground troops briefly made an incursion into Lebanon's southern portion with the intent of attacking Hezbollah bases on the border.

Attacks on Israel

Besides the initial raid, Hezbollah militants targeted several Israeli towns with 9K51 Grad rockets and there have been civilian injuries, including a 40-year-old woman who was killed in Nahariya, a 33-year-old man who died of his wounds in Safed, and a five year old and his grandmother who were killed in Meron.

But Nasrallah said "In the beginning, we started to act calmly, we focused on "Israel" (sic) military bases and we didn't attack any settlement, However, since the first day, the enemy attacked Lebanese towns and murdered civilians... Hizbullah militants had destroyed military bases, while the "Israelis" killed civilians and targeted Lebanon's infrastructure. He added that Hizbullah's arsenal had yet to take a direct hit "and so far we have used a small portion of our weaponry."[4]

On July 14, the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened the Israelis after Israeli attacks in Lebanon, "You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it."

Hezbollah had threatened to hit the city Haifa, "if the southern suburbs and the city of Beirut are subjected to any direct Israeli aggression". Two rockets hit Haifa, hours after the threat. Hezbollah denied firing any rockets at the city. IDF sources have reported that two rockets were fired from inside Lebanon. The attack is the first time rockets have hit so far south into Israel. One shock injury had been reported from these initial attacks on Haifa. Although later attacks (see below) on Haifa would claim several lives.

Map showing Israeli localities attacked by rockets fired from Lebanese soil

The Jerusalem Post reported that an attempt by a group of Hezbollah members to enter Israel was stopped by IDF on 14 July.

Some 220,000 Israeli civilians spent Thursday night in bomb shelters, after two civilians were killed in rocket attacks. 14 Israelis remain hospitalized following Thursday's rocket attacks.

On 14 July Hezbollah launched about 100 Katyusha rockets on Israeli towns of Nahariya, Safed, Hatzor HaGlilit, Rosh Pina, Kiryat Shmona, and Karmiel, and in the agricultural settlements Mattat, Sasa, Peki'in, Beit Jan, Biria, Biranit, Kabri, Gesher Haziv, Saar and Ben Ami, resulting in 30 injuries. Late the same day, a Katyusha in Meron killed two people, a grandmother and her 5-year-old grandson.

File:54449.jpg

The Sa'ar 5-class missile boat INS Hanit nearing Ashdod, Israel for repairs after being hit by a Hezbollah missile at its waterline, damaging the $260 million warship.

Also on 14 July, the Israeli Sa'ar 5-class missile boat INS Hanit that was blockading the waters 10 nautical miles off of the Lebanese coast was critically damaged in the stern after being hit by a C-802 (Yingji-82) anti-ship missile. Various sources are reporting that the missile is Chinese-made while others report that it was Iranian-made, a charge which Iran denies. It is known that China has provided Iran with this type of missile in the past.

Early on there were mistaken reports that it had been hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle packed with explosives. Israel immediately recovered one sailor's body, and three more were found Sunday.

Further to the attack on Israeli boats, an Egyptian civilian merchant ship was hit by a Hezbollah rocket on 14 July. The ship was registered in Cambodia, but sailing under Egyptian flag, carrying several hundred tons of cement. The ship sank in minutes, but the Egyptian crew managed to board lifeboats and was picked up by another civilian vessel. One crewman, however, was seriously injured.[5]

On the afternoon of 15 July Hezbollah attacks extended further south, with Katyusha rockets hitting Tiberias, 35 km south of the Israeli-Lebanon border.

As of 10:30 pm local time on July 15, Israeli news media reported that a total of 761 rockets had been launched into northern Israel .

On the morning of 16 July several barrages of Katyusha rockets hit the northern cities of Haifa, Acre, and Nahariya, and explosions were also heard in Rosh Hanikra. Eight were killed in Haifa, and several were seriously wounded when unguided rockets hit a railway maintenance depot. Al-Manar has reported that the Hezbollah attack included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1 liquid-fuel missiles, developed by Iran.<ref=Manar>"Hezbollah rockets kill 9 in Israeli city". Associated Press. 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)</ref> Hezbollah claimed the attack was aimed at a large Israeli fuel storage plant adjacent to the railway facility. Photo of the area, with oil drums and smoke rising from the railway depot. Rockets also hit the villages of Shetula and Zar'it, the site of the original Hezbollah attack. Additional barrages hit the Israeli Arab town of Ghajar and kibbutz Ma'ayan Baruch as well as striking Meron and Safed again, all with no injuries. On Sunday evening Hezbollah militants attempted to infiltrate an Israel Defense Forces post on the Lebanese border at Avivim near Kiryat Shemona; the infiltrator was killed amid a heavy gun battle.

Rockets also hit the Jezreel Valley cities of Upper Nazareth, Afula, and Migdal HaEmek for the first time on 16 July, but no casualties were inflicted.

On July 17, 2006, three rounds of Hezbollah rockets struck the port city of Haifa, wounding two people and destroying a three-story residential building.

Also on July 17, 2006, Rockets were also reported to have hit the town of Atlit, 56 km south of the border and 8 km south of Haifa. No injuries were reported.

Also on July 17, 2006, Hezbollah has been reported to have struck a hospital in the Northern Israel town of Safed.

Casualties

Israeli

• Twelve Israeli soldiers were killed, two captured, and six more wounded.
• 12 civilians have been killed, Eight in Haifa city on 16 July, and another 500 civilians were injured, 56 seriously.
• The INS Hanit was fired upon and damaged. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz confirms 4 sailors dead.

Lebanese

• At least nine Hezbollah members have been killed as well as 11 soldiers in the Lebanese army.
  
• Reuters reports that 166 Lebanese civilians have been killed and over 500 have been wounded, while CNN puts the wounded at 415.
  
• AFP reports the number of killed in the Israeli raids, as of 17 July, to be 195 civilians and 12 soldiers.
  
• BBC News reports the total killed, as of 17 July, to be "at least 150".
  
• CNN International cites Lebanese authorities as reporting about 130 total killed.

Foreign nationals

• The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry has reported that two Kuwaiti nationals have been killed by Israeli bombing.
• A family of four Brazilians, including two children, was killed in the Israeli bombings in Srifa, drawing condemnation from foreign relations minister Celso Amorim.
• Four members of a German-Lebanese family, including 2 minors, from Mönchengladbach, Germany were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Chehour in southern Lebanon while on vacation.
• An Argentinean woman died in a rocket attack on Nahariya, Israel.
• Seven Canadians, including four children, were killed and 6 severely injured by an Israeli attack on Aitaroun in South Lebanon on 16 July.

Possible expansion and resolution

There are concerns of escalation. According to Professor Gerald Steinberg, a Senior Research Associate at the pro-Israeli Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, "Israel may have to take alarming force as an outcome of the latest attacks, which may even result in the disarming of the Hezbollah," and that "Lebanon continues to allow these terrorist activities to take place within its borders and therefore the Lebanese government plays a key role in the reoccurrence of these events."

The pro-Israeli DEBKAfile, has reported that Iranian national security advisor and senior nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani flew to Damascus. According to the report, he will remain there for the duration of the crisis in line with an Iranian-Syrian mutual defense pact, and would deem any attack on Syria an assault on Iran. DEBKAfile also reports that Hezbollah "acted on orders from Tehran to open a second front against Israel, partly to ease IDF military pressure on the Hamas in the Gaza Strip". According to DEBKAfile, Iran is also taking up this action to divert attention at the upcoming G8 summit away from the Iranian nuclear crisis, and onto this flare-up instead. Finally, they report that both Syrian and Iranian armed forces have been brought to a state of high alert.

Meanwhile, Israel has issued a warning to people living in a Shi’ite neighbourhood in southern Beirut, the Lebanese capital, telling them to leave. It considers the area a Hezbollah base of operations.

As Hezbollah operates freely along the border with Israel and is a member of the elected government, Israel held the whole Lebanese government accountable and targeted strategic locations throughout the country.

According to Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, Hezbollah is attempting to transfer the captured soldiers to Iran. Regev has not disclosed the source of this information. But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman denied the accusation, calling it "simply nonsense."

The situation is further complicated by the thousands of foreign nationals who are stranded in the country. Although at least 15,000 tourists and Lebanese citizens fled via road into Syria on 13 July, an Israeli strike on that road has now made travel into or out of the country much more difficult.

Also on 14 July, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that Hezbollah is ready for "open war" with Israel. In addition, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, warned Israel of a "fierce response" if it attacks Syria.

Again on 14 July the ruling party in Syria, Baath, said that Syria fully backs Hezbollah against the "barbaric Israeli aggression".

A report in Al-Hayat on 15 July mentioned rumours in Washington, D.C. of an Israeli ultimatum to Syria to stop Hezbollah's activity along the Israeli border, and force the release of the two captured Israeli soldiers in 72 hours, or it would face serious consequences. Al-Hayat's source refused to confirm or deny the rumours.

The report said "a senior Pentagon source warned that should the Arab world and international community fail in the efforts to convince Syria to pressure Hezbollah into releasing the soldiers and halt the current escalation, Israel may attack targets in the country."

Al-Hayat quoted the source as saying that "the US cannot rule out the possibility of an Israeli strike in Syria."

On 15 July in response to the report of an Israeli ultimatum, an officer with the Israel Defence Force stated that it wouldn't be right to bring Syria into the campaign.

Proposed ceasefire

Almost immediately after hostilities began, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for a ceasefire. On July 14, 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, he said "We call for an immediate ceasefire backed by the United Nations."

Hezbollah has demanded that Israel trade three Lebanese prisoners for the two Israeli soldiers but Israel refused.

On July 14, 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.

But on July 16, 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.

Indeed, Condoleezza Rice, speaking from St. Petersburg, Russia on July 16, seemed to oppose an immediate cessation of violence under Lebanon's terms, claiming that the ceasefire demanded by Siniora wouldn't work unless it addressed Hezbollah violence and the support it gets from Syria and Iran. She said, "What we really need is to concentrate on a way forward that is going to permit the cessation of violence which first of all will be sustainable, that we won't be back three weeks from now talking about getting another cessation of violence." 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".

On Monday, July 17, 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.

International reactions

Main article: International reactions to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

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 and organizations (including the G8, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada) have asserted Israel's right to self-defense whilst urging restraint. Bush supports the Israeli attacks and on July 13 said Israel has a right to defend itself. [6] On the other hand, a number of European countries criticize the Israeli offensive which they fear may lead to war. Jacques Chirac castigated the Israeli offensive into Lebanon on July 14. [7] The EU says Israel's use of force is disproportionate.[8] The Vatican also deplored the Israeli attack on Lebanon in an official statement on July 14 [9].

Other states such as Iran, Syria, Morocco 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.

On 16 July the Lebanese special envoy to the UN, Nouhad Mahmoud, accused the United States of obstructing a Security Council statement calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

On 17 July UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and UK Prime Minister called for an international force to be sent to Lebanon to stop the attacks on Israel by Hezbollah. Mr Blair was quoted as saying that the force could "stop the bombardment coming over into Israel and therefore gives Israel a reason to stop its attacks on Hezbollah".

External links

• Ha'aretz (English version of Israeli newspaper)
• Jerusalem Post
• Al-Jazeera (English version)
• Yahoo News coverage
• Lebanon Daily Star
• Factfile: Hezbollah
• An overview of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, from the 1978 invasion to today. From the History Guy Website