The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict #85: War Number 7 Boom

Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to our daily history class. I trust you're all feeling ready for another day of learning. Let's continue our journey through the past from where we left off yesterday. Remember to keep your notebooks handy for any important points. If you have any questions along the way, don't hesitate to ask. Let's dive right in.

At the beginning of 2006, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke, which led to the appointment of Ehud Olmert as his replacement until the next elections. The Israeli public was very satisfied with Ehud Olmert's performance in the government on the economic and civil levels, so he won the elections and was appointed prime minister in early May 2006. Among the amazing achievements led by his government, which included the Kadima Party and the Labor Party, are raising the minimum wage, lowering the VAT, and maintaining the growth rate. In this government, for the first time in Israel's history, a Muslim minister, Ralav Majadala, was appointed on behalf of the Labor Party.

Attacks From Southwest: Gaza

But despite the many achievements of the government, from the day it was established, it had to deal with the continuous firing of Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli settlements without success. The situation worsened dramatically when, in June 2006, Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped from Israeli territory. The kidnapping took place during a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, during which the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, also murdered two IDF soldiers. As a result, the Israeli government decided to launch a military operation, Summer Rains, to free him. Despite the intense military activity, the IDF was unable to locate Gilad Shalit and release him by force. At the same time, negotiations that took place with the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip did not bear fruit. Therefore, Israel and the Gaza Strip, under the leadership of the Hamas government, agreed on a ceasefire, and the frequency of Qassam rockets firing decreased relative to the situation that preceded the activity but did not stop completely.

Attacks From The North: Lebanon

About a month later, in July 2006, two IDF reservists, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, were kidnapped on the Lebanese border by Hezbollah. The Hezbollah organization's pride and bragging about the kidnapping and their refusal to release them through diplomatic means led the government to bring about their release. As a result, the Second Lebanon War broke out. For more than a month, over 2.5 million Jewish and Arab Israelis from the north of the country became refugees after suffering daily rocket barrages. As a result, about a third of Israel's residents were evacuated from their homes to the central and southern regions of the country or lived in tent cities that were set up for them.?

A ceasefire was signed over a month after the war broke out. The ceasefire included the entry of reinforced UN forces into southern Lebanon and the creation of a buffer between the Hezbollah organization and the border with Israel. The two kidnapped soldiers were not released, but the Israeli government saw an achievement in removing Hezbollah from the border. As part of the results of the war, the United Nations Security Council accepted Resolution 1701, which prohibits the introduction of any weapons into southern Lebanon. However, Hezbollah has strengthened its long-range rockets, with significantly improved qualities and quantities than it had before the war, but relative quiet has been maintained in the border area.

The Israeli Home Front

From the beginning of the war, Hezbollah began shelling the Israeli rear with mortar bombs and dozens of Grad rockets, also known as Katyushas, to cover up the kidnapping. The missiles hit the settlements on the northern border, including the Arab and Druze settlements. The day after the outbreak of war, Hezbollah attacked Haifa with long-range rockets to deter an attack on its installations in Beirut. In response to this attack, the IDF increased its bombardment of the Dahieh district in Beirut. The shelling intensified as the conflict progressed.

Hezbollah continuously fired long-range rockets that hit towns, villages, and settlements throughout the entire northern region. The missiles reached Karmiel and Haifa in the west, the Tiberias region in the east, and Beit She’an and Afula in the south. The missiles directly killed 44 civilians, including Jews, Arabs, and Druze, and 12 soldiers. The rockets caused severe damage to residents' property and fires. Also, the explosives caused the evacuation of a third of the residents of the north, who became refugees, from their homes and, therefore, were displaced to the center and south of Israel.

Missiles can't tell the difference between Jews and Arabs, so both are at the same risk, and some die

Hezbollah's rockets also hit Arab and Druze settlements in Galilee and Haifa and caused many deaths and injuries among Israeli Arabs. Nineteen of the forty-four civilians killed by the missiles (43%) were Arabs, including Muslims, Druze, and Christians.

The Israeli public perceived the war as a failure, and severe criticism was leveled at the political echelon and the senior military command for the way the war was conducted. The establishment of the Winograd Commission and public protest caused, among other things, the resignation of Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Northern Command General Udi Adam. Some argue that despite the hard feelings in the public following the war, the Second Lebanon War succeeded in restoring deterrence and peace to the northern border. In the years after the war, Hezbollah has put tens of thousands of rockets and missiles into areas where it is supposedly not allowed to be.

How Much Did It Cost??

On the Israeli side, about 121 IDF soldiers were killed in the war, and 628 soldiers were wounded. During the war, 44 civilians were killed, and about 2,000 were injured.

On the Lebanese side, about 500 Hezbollah terrorists were killed, and about 1,000 terrorists were wounded. 43 Lebanese army soldiers were killed in the fighting, and around 100 were wounded. Also, 81 terrorists of the Revolutionary Guards and other terrorist organizations were killed. Between 350 and 940 Lebanese civilians were killed in the fighting. In addition, 5 UNIFIL observers were killed.

That's all for today, class. We'll continue next week.

Take care.

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