Israeli–Lebanese conflict | Private File

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Israel enters Lebanon

Started Operation in the Southern Lebanon

The Israeli–Lebanese conflict, or the South Lebanon conflict,[4] is a series of military clashes involving Israel, Lebanon-based paramilitary groups, and sometimes Syria. The conflict peaked during the Lebanese Civil War. In response to Palestinian attacks from Lebanon, Israel invaded in 1978 and again in 1982. After this it occupied southern Lebanon until 2000, while fighting a guerrilla conflict against Shia paramilitaries. After Israel's withdrawal, Hezbollah attacks sparked the 2006 Lebanon War. A new period of conflict began in 2023 following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) recruited militants in Lebanon from among the Palestinian refugees who had been expelled or fled after the creation of Israel in 1948.[11][12] After the PLO leadership and its Fatah brigade were expelled from Jordan in 1970–71 for fomenting a revolt, they entered southern Lebanon, resulting in an increase of internal and cross-border violence. Meanwhile, demographic tensions over the Lebanese National Pact led to the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).[13] PLO actions were one of the key factors in the eruption of the Lebanese Civil War and its bitter battles with Lebanese factions caused foreign intervention. Israel's 1978 invasion of Lebanon pushed the PLO north of the Litani River, but the PLO continued their campaign against Israel. This invasion led to the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Israel invaded Lebanon again in 1982 and, in alliance with the Christian Lebanese Forces, forcibly expelled the PLO. In 1983, Israel and Lebanon signed the May 17 Agreement providing a framework for the establishment of normal bilateral relations between the two countries, but relations were disrupted with takeover of Shia and Druze militias in early 1984. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1985, but kept control of a 19-kilometre (12-mile)[14] security buffer zone, held with the aid of proxy militants in the South Lebanon Army (SLA).

In 1985, Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist movement sponsored by Iran,[15] called for armed struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory.[16] It fought a guerrilla war against the IDF and SLA in south Lebanon. Israel launched two major operations in southern Lebanon during the 1990s: Operation Accountability in 1993 and Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996. Fighting with Hezbollah weakened Israeli resolve and led to a collapse of the SLA and an Israeli withdrawal in 2000 to their side of the UN designated border.[17]

Citing Israeli control of the Shebaa farms, Hezbollah continued cross-border attacks intermittently over the next six years. Hezbollah now sought the release of Lebanese citizens in Israeli prisons and successfully used the tactic of capturing Israeli soldiers as leverage for a prisoner exchange in 2004.[18][19] The capturing of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah ignited the 2006 Lebanon War.[20] Its ceasefire called for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the respecting of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon by Israel. Hostilities were suspended on 8 September 2006.

After the 2006 war the situation became relatively calm, despite both sides violating the ceasefire agreements; Israel by making near-daily flights over Lebanese territory, and Hezbollah by not disarming. There was an increase in violence during the April 2023 Israel–Lebanon shellings.

The Israel–Hamas war sparked a renewed Israel–Hezbollah conflict, beginning one day after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. The conflict initially consisted of tit-for-tat airstrikes and shelling.[21] However, in 2024, events both inside and outside of Lebanon escalated the conflict. These include the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April, the Majdal Shams attack and assassinations of Fuad Shukr and Ismail Haniyeh in July, and the Nabatieh attack and strikes by both sides in August. Starting with the Israeli explosion of Lebanese pagers and walkie talkies in September, the conflict escalated severely, with the September 2024 Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon killing at least 569 and sparking a mass evacuation of Southern Lebanon. This was the largest conflict-related loss of life in a single day in Lebanon since the Lebanese Civil War.[22]

History

1948 Arab–Israeli War

Main articles: 1948 Arab–Israeli War and 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight

In 1948, the Lebanese army had by far the smallest regional army, consisting of only 3,500 soldiers.[26] At the prompting of Arab leaders in the region, Lebanon agreed to join the other armies that were being assembled around the perimeter of the British Mandate territory of Palestine for the purpose of invading Palestine.[citation needed] Lebanon committed 1,000 of these soldiers to the cause. The Arab armies waited for the end of the Mandate and the withdrawal of British forces, which was set for 15 May 1948.

Israel declared its independence on 14 May 1948. The next day, the British Mandate officially expired and, in an official cablegram, the seven-member Arab League, including Lebanon, publicly proclaimed their aim of creating a democratic "United State of Palestine" in place of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. The League soon entered the conflict on the side of the Palestinian Arabs, thus beginning the international phase of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan, and Iraq declared war on the new state of Israel. They expected an easy and quick victory in what came to be called the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The Lebanese army joined the other Arab armies in the invasion. It crossed into the northern Galilee. By the end of the conflict, however, it had been repulsed by Israeli forces, which occupied South Lebanon. Israel signed armistice agreements with each of its invading neighbors. The armistice with Lebanon was signed on 23 March 1949.[27] As part of the agreement with Lebanon, Israeli forces withdrew to the international border.

The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon[a] lasted for eighteen years, from 1982 until 2000.[1][2] In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks from southern Lebanon by Palestinian militants. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occupied the southern half of Lebanon as far as the capital city Beirut, together with allied Maronite Christian paramilitaries involved in the Lebanese Civil War. The IDF left Beirut on 29 September 1982, but continued to occupy the country's southern half. Amid rising casualties from guerrilla attacks, the IDF withdrew south to the Awali river on 3 September 1983.[3] Then, from February to April 1985, the IDF carried out a phased withdrawal to a "Security Zone"[b] along the border,[4] which it said was to protect northern Israel. From this point onwards, Israel supported the South Lebanon Army (SLA), the Lebanese Christian paramilitary, against Hezbollah and other Muslim militants. They fought a guerrilla war in Southern Lebanon throughout the occupation.

Reactions of EU

Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned “we are almost in a full-fledged war” and called for full efforts at de-escalation during the UN General Assembly in New York.

Pointing to the increasing number of civilian casualties and the intensity of Israel’s strikes, he said, “If this is not a war situation, I don’t know what you would call it.

Source :https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/24/unimaginable-consequences-world-reacts-to-israels-strikes-on-lebanon

References

"Two decades on, Israel confronts legacy of 'forgotten' south Lebanon occupation". The Times of Israel. 18 June 2021.

"IDF to recognize 18-year occupation of south Lebanon as official campaign". The Times of Israel. 4 November 2020.

"Israel units start the withdrawal from Beirut area". The New York Times. 4 September 1983.

"REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON" (PDF). United Nations. 10 October 1985. pp. 3–4.

"Southern Lebanon: A geographical perspective on the Israeli Security Zone" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 31 January 1986.

Hirst, David (2010) Beware of Small States. Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-23741-8 p. 204. Gives the number of small towns and villages as 150

Middle East International No 458, 10 September 1993, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Giles Trendle pp. 18–19

Middle East International No 356, 4 August 1989, Jim Muir pp. 3, 4

Middle East International No 356, 4 August 1989, Peretz Kidron p. 5

Israeli military decorations by campaign

"Israeli Losses in Lebanon". jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 25 January 2014.

Israel's Security Zone in Lebanon – A Tragedy? by Gal Luft, Middle East Quarterly September 2000, pp. 13–20

IDF to recognize 18-year occupation of south Lebanon as official campaign, Times of Israel, Nov 4, 2020. Accessed Nov 5, 2020.