2006 Lebanon War

in July 2006]]
The **2006 Lebanon War**, also known as the **Second Lebanon War**, was a conflict between the paramilitary forces of the Hezbollah and the Israeli army. It lasted 34 days between the 12th of July 2006 and the 14th of August 2006, triggered by the killing of eight Israeli soldiers and abduction of two additional Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah.

The war was particularly characterized by the amount of air strikes and rockets launched by each side. It caused the death of 1,109 Lebanese and 159 Israelis.

## Background 
Hezbollah (also known as "the Party of God") is a Shi'a Lebanese political party with a military branch. It emerged as a movement of resistance against the second Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Their departure was depicted as an important victory for Hezbollah.

With a few exceptions, from 2000 to July 2006 the situation in South Lebanon was stable, with minor episodes of attacks and retaliation between Israel and Hezbollah.

## The war 
### Start of the war 
On July 12th 2006, Hezbollah launched an attack against an Israeli division while it was patrolling along the border. In addition to the first three casualties, five other Israeli fighters were killed due to a Hezbollah anti-tank mine while trying to rescue their colleagues. This bombing not only targeted military objectives but also civilian ones. Israel bombed South Lebanon villages, as well as numerous building blocks in the South of Beirut. One of the most significant of these attacks was the bombing of the Beirut airport, which killed 44 civilians. Early in the hours of the next day, Israeli forces conducted Operation Density, an aerial attack lasting 34 minutes that wiped out much of Hezbollah's missile and rocket supply, though Israeli reports often exaggerated the toll. Much of the war was conducted in the air, with the Israeli Air Force flying 11,897 missions in total and the Israeli artillery firing 170,000 shells. These were unprecedented numbers for the military.
Aside from airstrikes, from the first days of the conflict, Israel launched a ground attack on South Lebanon against Hezbollah.

### Hezbollah during the war 
From the 13th of July onward, Hezbollah retaliated to Israeli airstrikes by launching hundreds of rockets over the Israeli territory.

On the ground, Hezbollah fighters were able to resist Israeli offensives.
## End of the war 
### United Nations Resolution 1701 
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah was ended by the United Nation Resolution 1701. It was asked to the Hezbollah and Israeli forces to stop the hostilities. The resolution was accepted by both sides and the cease-fire took effect the 14th of August. It called for the deployment of the Lebanese Army in the South of the country with the assistance of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. During and after the war, they created posters and spread the message of a "divine victory".

### Israel perception 
The Israeli government claimed victory over Hezbollah. However over the years, the conflict has increasingly been considered a defeat. As for Israel, about 159 Israelis were killed during the conflict and 1,500 were injured.

In addition to the numerous people killed, the fighting also resulted in the displacement of over a million of Lebanese. Additionally, between 300,000 and 500,000 Israeli citizens were relocated to other parts of the country. This was part of the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner exchange in which Israel also returned Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of nearly 200 fighters who had been captured.

### Material consequences 
In light of the number of air strikes and rockets launched during the 34 days of war, there was significant material damage. The estimated damages for Lebanon were about 3.5 billion U.S. dollars. On the Israeli side, the cost of the damage was estimated to be about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.

## References