"Israeli" Invasion of Lebanon, 2006 - Causes of the attack

"Israeli" Invasion of Lebanon, 2006 - Causes of the attack
A casus belli created by "Israeli" Mossad's assassination of Rafik Haarri
Source: TBR, 6-4-2007
Both the State of "Israel" and the United States viewed Syria as a potentially dangerous enemy. Joint intelligence indicated that Syria was a strong supporter of the Hizbullah (occupation-resistance) group. "Israel" had planned a punitive military operation into Lebanon both to clip Hizbullah's wings and send a strong message to Syria to cease and desist supplying arms and money to the anti-"Israel" group. Because of its involvement in Iraq, the United States indicated it would be unable to supply any ground troops but would certainly supply any kind of weapon, to include bombs, cluster bombs and ammunition for this projected operation. A casus belli was created by the "Israeli" Mossad's assassination of Rafik Haarri, a popular Lebanese politician and subsequent disinformation promulgated and instigated by both "Israel" and the United States blamed Syria for the killing.
The "Israeli" Military was being supplied faulty and misleading intelligence information, apparently originating from Russian sources, that gave misinformation about Hizbullah positions and strengths and therefore the initial planning was badly flawed.
In full concert with the American president, the "Israeli" Military launched its brutal and murderous attack on July 12, 2006 and continued unabated until the Hizbullah inflicted so many serious casualties on the "Israeli" forces and also on the settler population of "Israel", that their government frantically demanded that the White House force a cease fire through the United Nations. This was done for "Israel" on August 14, 2007 and the last act of this murderous and unprovoked assault was when "Israel" removed their naval blockade of Lebanese ports.
The contrived incident that launched the "Israeli" attack was an alleged attack by Hizbullah into "Israeli" territory where they were alleged to have ‘kidnapped` two "Israeli" soldiers and subsequently launched a rocket attack to cover their retreat.
The conflict killed and wounded over six thousand people, most of whom were Lebanese, severely damaged Lebanese infrastructure, displaced 700,000-915,000 Lebanese, and 300,000-500,000 "Israelis", and disrupted normal life across all of Lebanon and northern "Israel". Even after the ceasefire, much of Southern Lebanon remained uninhabitable due to unexploded cluster bombs. As of 1 December 2006, an estimated 200,000 Lebanese remained internally displaced or refugees
During the campaign "Israel`s" Air Force flew more than 12,000 combat missions, its Navy fired 2,500 shells, and its Army fired over 100,000 shells. Large parts of the Lebanese civilian infrastructure were destroyed, including 400 miles of roads, 73 bridges, and 31 other targets such as Beirut International Airport, ports, water and sewage treatment plants, electrical facilities, 25 fuel stations, 900 commercial structures, up to 350 schools and two hospitals, and 15,000 homes. Some 130,000 more homes were damaged.
"Israeli" Defense (War) Minister Amir Peretz ordered commanders to prepare civil defense plans. One million "Israelis" had to stay near or in bomb shelters or security rooms, with some 250,000 settlers evacuating the north and relocating to other areas of the country.
"Israeli" shelling & attack of UN post
On 26 July 2006 "Israeli" forces attacked and destroyed an UN observer post. Described as a non-deliberate attack by "Israel", the post was shelled for hours before being bombed. UN forces made repeated calls to alert "Israeli" forces of the danger to the UN observers, all four of whom were killed. Rescuers were shelled as they attempted to reach the post. According to an e-mail sent earlier by one of the UN observers killed in the attack, there had been numerous occasions on a daily basis where the post had come under fire from both "Israeli" artillery and bombing. The UN observer reportedly wrote that previous "Israeli" bombing near the post had not been deliberate targeting, but rather due to "tactical necessity," military jargon which retired Canadian Major General Lewis MacKenzie later interpreted as indicating that "Israeli" strikes were aimed at Hizbullah targets extremely close to the post.
On 27 July 2006 Hizbullah ambushed the "Israeli" forces in Bint Jbeil and killed eighteen soldiers. "Israel" claimed, after this event, that it also inflicted heavy losses on Hizbullah.
On 28 July 2006 "Israeli" paratroopers killed 5 of Hizbullah`s commando elite in Bint Jbeil. In total, the "Israeli" Military claimed that 80 fighters were killed in the battles at Bint Jbeil. Hizbullah sources, coupled with International Red Cross figures place the Hizbullah total at 7 dead and 129 non-combattant Lebanese civilian deaths.
On 30 July 2006 "Israeli" airstrikes hit an apartment building in Qana, killing at least 65 civilians, of which 28 were children, with 25 more missing. The airstrike was widely condemned.
On 31 July 2006 the "Israeli" military and Hizbullah forces engaged Hizbullah in the Battle of Ayta ash-Shab.
On 1 August 2006 "Israeli" commandos launched Operation Sharp and Smooth and landed in Baalbek and captured five civilians including one bearing the same name as Hizbullah`s leader, "Hassan Nasrallah". All of the civilians were released after the ceasefire. Troops landed near Dar al-Himkeh hospital west of Baalbeck as part of a widescale operation in the area.
On 4 August 2006 the IAF attacked a building in the area of al-Qaa around 10 kilometers (six miles) from Hermel in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Sixty two farm workers, mostly Syrian and Lebanese Kurds, were killed during the airstrike.
On 5 August 2006 "Israeli" commandos carried out a nighttime raid in Tyre, blowing up a water treatment plant, a small clinic and killing 187 civilians before withdrawing.
On 7 August 2006 the IAF attacked the Shiyyah suburb in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, destroying three apartment buildings in the suburb, killing at least 120 people.
On 11 August 2006 the IAF attacked a convoy of approximately 750 vehicles containing Lebanese police, army, civilians, and one Associated Press journalist, killing at least 40 people and wounding at least 39.
On 12 August 2006 the "Israeli" Military established its hold in South Lebanon. Over the weekend "Israeli" forces in southern Lebanon nearly tripled in size. and were ordered to advance towards the Litani River.
On 14 August 2006 the "Israeli" Air Force reported that they had killed the head of Hizbullah's Special Forces, whom they identified as Sajed Dewayer, but this claim was never proven.. 80 minutes before the cessation of hostilities, the "Israeli" Military targeted a Palestinian faction in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon, killing a UNRWA staff member. Sixty two refugees had been killed in an attack on this camp six days prior to the incident.
During the campaign Hizbullah fired between 3,970 and 4,228 rockets. 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 built-up areas, primarily civilian in nature.
Cities hit included 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. Hizbullah also engaged in guerrilla warfare with the "Israeli" Military, attacking from well-fortified positions. These attacks by small, well-armed units caused serious problems for the "Israeli" Military, especially through the use hundreds of sophisticated Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). Hizbullah destroyed 38 "Israeli" Merkava main battle tanks and damaged 82. Fifteen tanks were destroyed by anti-tank mines. Hizbullah caused an additional 65 casualties using ATGMs to collapse buildings onto "Israeli" troops sheltering inside.
After the initial "Israeli" response, Hizbullah declared an all-out military alert. Hizbullah was estimated to have 13,000 missiles at the beginning of the conflict. "Israeli" newspaper Haaretz described Hizbullah as a trained, skilled, well-organized, and highly motivated infantry that was equipped with the cream of modern weaponry from the arsenals of Syria, Iran, Russia, and China. Lebanese satellite TV station Al-Manar reported that the attacks had included a Fajr-3 and a Ra`ad 1, both liquid-fuel missiles developed by Iran.
Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah defended the attacks, saying that Hizbullah had "started to act calmly, we focused on `Israel`[i] 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." Hizbullah apologized for shedding Muslim blood, and called on the Arabs of the "Israeli" city of Haifa to flee.
On 13 July 2006 in response to "Israel`s" retaliatory attacks in which 43 civilians were killed, Hizbullah launched rockets at Haifa for the first time, hitting a cable car station along with a few other buildings
On 14 July 2006 Hizbullah attacked the INS Hanit, an "Israeli" Sa`ar 5-class missile boat enforcing the naval blockade, with what was believed to be a radar guided C-802 anti-ship missile. 24 sailors were killed and the warship was severely damaged and towed back to port.
On 17 July 2006 Hizbullah hit a railroad repair depot, killing twenty-two workers. Hizbullah claimed that this attack was aimed at a large "Israeli" fuel storage plant adjacent to the railway facility. Haifa is home to many strategically valuable facilities such as shipyards and oil refineries.
On 18 July 2006 Hizbullah hit a hospital in Safed in northern Galilee, wounding twenty three.
On 27 July 2006 Hizbullah ambushed the "Israeli" forces in Bint Jbeil and killed forty one soldiers, and destroyed 12 "Israeli" Military vehicles and destroyed three armored vehicles and seriously damaged eight more. "Israel" claimed it also inflicted heavy losses on Hizbullah.
On 3 August 2006 Nasrallah warned "Israel" against hitting Beirut and promised retaliation against Tel Aviv in this case. He also stated that Hizbullah would stop its rocket campaign if "Israel" ceased aerial and artillery strikes of Lebanese towns and villages.
On 4 August 2006 "Israel" targeted the southern outskirts of Beirut, and later in the day, Hizbullah launched rockets at the Hadera region.
On 9 August 2006 twenty three "Israeli" soldiers were killed when the building they were taking cover in was struck by a Hizbullah anti-tank missile and collapsed.
On 12 August 2006 24 "Israeli" soldiers were killed; the worst "Israeli" loss in a single day. Out of those 24, five soldiers were killed when Hizbullah shot down an "Israeli" helicopter, a first for the militia. Hizbullah claimed the helicopter had been attacked with a Wa`ad missile.
One of the most controversial aspects of the conflict has been the high number of civilian deaths. The actual proportion of civilian deaths and the responsibility of it is hotly disputed.
On 24 July 2006, U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said "Israel`s" response violated international humanitarian law, but also criticized Hizbullah for knowingly putting civilians in harm`s way by " blending...among women and children". During the war, "Israeli" jets distributed leaflets calling on civilian residents to evacuate or move north.
In response to some of this criticism, "Israel" has stated that it did, wherever possible, attempt to distinguish between protected persons and combatants, but that due to Hizbullah militants being in civilian clothing (thus committing the war crime of perfidy this was not always possible.
Direct attacks on civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) initially estimated about 35,000 homes and businesses in Lebanon were destroyed by "Israel" in the conflict, while a quarter of the country`s road bridges or overpasses were damaged. Jean Fabre, a UNDP spokesman, estimated that overall economic losses for Lebanon from the month-long conflict between "Israel" and Hizbullah totaled "at least $15 billion, if not more."] Before andthroughout the war, Hizbullah launched over 4000 unguided rockets against "Israeli" population centers, seeking to terrorize the "Israeli" population. This was in direct response to "Israel`s" attack on residental sections and the deliberate targeting of civilians
Amnesty International published a report stating that "the deliberate widespread destruction of apartments, houses, electricity and water services, roads, bridges, factories and ports, in addition to several statements by `Israeli` officials, suggests a policy of punishing both the Lebanese government and the civilian population," and called for an international investigation of violations of international humanitarian law by both sides in the conflict.
"Israel" defended itself from such allegations on the grounds that Hizbullah`s use of roads and bridges for military purposes made them legitimate targets. However, Amnesty International stated that "the military advantage anticipated from destroying [civilian infrastructure] must be measured against the likely effect on civilians."
Human Rights Watch strongly criticized "Israel" for using cluster bombs too close to civilians because of their inaccuracy and unreliability, suggesting that they may have gone as far as deliberately targeting civilian areas with such munitions. Hizbullah was also criticized by Human Rights Watch for filling its rockets with ball bearings, which "suggests a desire to maximize harm to civilians"; the U.N has criticised "Israel" for its use of cluster munitions and disproportionate attacks.
Amnesty International stated that the "Israeli" Military used white phosphorus shells in Lebanon. "Israel" later admitted to the use of white phosphorus, but stated that it only used the incendiary against militants. However, several foreign media outlets reported observing and photographing "a large number" of Lebanese civilians with burns characteristic of white phosphorus attacks during the conflict.
Hizbullah casualty figures are difficult to ascertain, with claims and estimates by different groups and individuals ranging from 43 to 1,000. Hizbullah`s leadership claims that 43 of their fighters were killed in the conflict, while "Israel" estimated that its forces had killed 600 Hizbullah fighters. In addition, "Israel" claimed to have the names of 532 dead Hizbullah fighters but when challenged by Hizbullah to release the list, the "Israelis" dropped the issue. A UN official estimated that 50 Hizbullah fighters had been killed, and Lebanese government officials estimated that up to 49 had been killed.
The Lebanese civilian death toll is difficult to pinpoint as most published figures do not distinguish between civilians and militants, including those released by the Lebanese government. In addition, Hizbullah fighters can be difficult to identify as many do not wear military uniforms. However, it has been widely reported that the majority of the Lebanese killed were civilians, and UNICEF estimated that 30% of those killed were children under the age of 13
The death toll estimates do not include Lebanese killed since the end of fighting by land mines or unexploded US/"Israeli" cluster bombs. According to the National Demining Office, 297 people have been killed and 867 wounded in such blasts.
Official "Israeli" figures for the `Israeli` Military troops killed range from 116 to 120. The "Israel" Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives two different figures - 117 and 119 - the latter of which contains two "Israeli" Military fatalities that occurred after the ceasefire went into effect.In September 2006, two local "Israeli" news papers released insider information ensuring that the "Israeli" military death toll might climbed to around 540 soldiers. "Israel" refuses any outside agency access to its lists of the dead and wounded but an examination of all the accurate information available as of January 1, 2007 indicates that "Israeli" Military lost a total of 2300 killed with 600 of these dying in militatry hospital facilities subsequent to the conclusion of the fighting and an additional 700 very seriously wounded.
Hizbullah rockets killed 43 "Israeli" settlers during the conflict, including four who died of heart attacks during rocket attacks. In addition, 4,262 civilians were injured - 33 seriously, 68 moderately, 1,388 lightly, and 2,773 were treated for shock and anxiety
Last month, (March, 2007) the "Israeli" comptroller had planned to release an interim report that was expected to accuse the army and Olmert of leaving "Israeli" settlers virtually defenseless during last summer`s Lebanon war, in which Hizbullah guerrillas fired a barrage of rockets and missiles at northern "Israel".