The 2006 Lebanon War

The 2006 Lebanon War

On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah crossed the Lebanese-Israeli border and ambushed an IDF patrol. They killed eight soldiers and kidnapped two others. In the ensuing conflict, Israel bombed known Hezbollah strongholds while the terrorists launched rockets at Israel’s northern population centers. For nearly five weeks, Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets per day into Israel. Families slept in their bomb shelters.

To make matters more complicated, the IDF faced an enemy that purposely hid among the civilian population in Lebanon. The terrorists stored their weapons in private homes and fired their rockets from neighborhoods filled with women and children. Knowing that Israel values human life, Hezbollah used the Arab people as human shields. Israel was under intense international pressure and criticism for the unavoidable civilian deaths.

The war ended with a ceasefire on August 11, 2006. Israel withdrew without destroying Hezbollah, but the IDF was able to severely cripple their operations in Lebanon. Two years later, Hezbollah released the bodies of the two kidnapped IDF soldiers.