Antoine Lahad Nabih Berri

Aql Hashem † George Hawi

Elias Atallah
Ahmed Jibril

South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) Strength

1,000–1,500 Unknown
troops[3]
2,500 troops[3]
Casualties and losses
South Lebanon conflict
Israel: Hezbollah:
Part of the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, the
559 killed[4] (256 in 1,276 killed (1982–
Iran–Israel proxy conflict, and the Israeli–
combat)[3] 2000)[7]
Palestinian conflict
840 wounded[3] ~1,000 wounded
SLA: (1982–1999)[6]
621 killed per SLA
[5]
(1978–2000)
1,050 killed and 639
wounded per
Hezbollah (1982–
[6]
1999)

270 Lebanese civilians killed[8][9][10]

Israeli APCs approaching an SLA outpost in 500 Lebanese civilians wounded[8]
southern Lebanon, 1987 7 Israeli civilians killed by rockets[11]
1 US Navy diver killed
Date 16 February 1985 – 25 May
2000
Location Republic of Lebanon The South Lebanon conflict, designated by Israel as
Result Hezbollah victory[1] the Security Zone in Lebanon Campaign,[12] was a
protracted armed conflict that took place in southern
Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon from 1985 to 2000. It saw fighting between
Lebanon[2] Israel and the Catholic Christian-dominated South
Collapse and surrender of Lebanon Army (SLA) against Hezbollah-led Shia Muslim
the SLA and its provisional and left-wing guerillas within the Israeli-occupied
government "Security Zone";[13][14] the SLA had military and logistical
support from the Israel Defense Forces over the course of The Blue Line covers the Lebanese-Israeli
Beginning of Shebaa Farms
the conflict and operated under the jurisdiction of the border; an extension covers the Lebanese-
conflict between Israel and Israeli-backed South Lebanon provisional Golan Heights border
Hezbollah administration, which succeeded the earlier Israeli-
Belligerents
backed State of Free Lebanon. It can also refer to the
continuation of the earlier conflict in this region involving the growing Palestinian insurgency in
Israel Hezbollah South Lebanon against Israel following the expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization
South Lebanon Amal Movement (PLO) from Jordan after Black September. Historical tensions between Palestinian refugees and
Army Jammoul Lebanese factions contributed another layer to the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), which saw the
PFLP–GC Maronite-led Lebanese Front and the Shia Amal Movement at war with the PLO. Hence, the South
Commanders and leaders
Lebanon conflict can partly be seen as an extension of the civil war that ended in 1990.

Shimon Peres Abbas al- In earlier conflicts prior to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, including the 1978 South Lebanon
Ariel Sharon Musawi † conflict, Israel attempted to eradicate PLO bases from Lebanon and provided support to Maronite
Ehud Barak Hassan Christian militias in the country amidst the Lebanese Civil War; the 1982 invasion resulted in the
Erez Gerstein † Nasrallah PLO's departure from Lebanon. Israel's subsequent establishment of the Security Zone in southern

Lebanon successfully shielded Israeli civilians from cross-border attacks by Palestinian militants
but came at a great cost to Lebanese civilians and Palestinians. Despite Israel's success in
eradicating PLO bases in Lebanon and its partial withdrawal in 1985, the invasion increased the
severity of conflict with local Lebanese militias and resulted in the consolidation of several rival
Shia Islamic movements such as upstart Hezbollah and the much-larger Amal Movement into an
organized guerrilla movement in the Shia-majority south. Over the years, combined casualties
grew higher as both sides used more modern weaponry and as Hezbollah progressed in its tactics.
By the early 1990s, Hezbollah, with support from Iran and now Syria, emerged as the leading
group and military power, monopolizing guerrilla activity in southern Lebanon.
With no clear end-game in Lebanon, the Israeli military was unfamiliar with the type of warfare
that Hezbollah waged, and while it could inflict losses on Hezbollah, there was no long-term
strategy. With Hezbollah increasingly targeting the Galilee with rockets, the official purpose of the
Security Zone—to protect Israel's northern communities—seemed contradictory. Hezbollah also
excelled at psychological warfare, often recording their attacks on Israeli troops.[15] Following the
1997 Israeli helicopter disaster, the Israeli public began to seriously question whether the military
occupation of southern Lebanon was worth maintaining. The Four Mothers movement rose to the
forefront of the public discourse, and played a leading role in swaying the public in favour of a
complete withdrawal.[16]
It was common knowledge in Israel that the Security Zone was not permanent, but the Israeli
government hoped that a withdrawal could be carried out in the context of a wider agreement with
Syria and, by extension, Lebanon. However, talks with Syria failed. By 2000, following up on his
promise during the 1999 Israeli general election, the newly elected Israeli prime minister Ehud
Barak unilaterally withdrew Israeli forces from southern Lebanon within the year,[13] in
accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 of 1978; Israel's withdrawal
consequently resulted in the immediate and total collapse of the SLA, with many of its members
escaping to Israel.[17] The Lebanese government and Hezbollah still consider the withdrawal
incomplete until Israel withdraws from Shebaa Farms. In 2020, Israel retrospectively recognized
the conflict as a full-scale war.[12]
Background
Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed with United
Nations mediation. The Lebanese–Israeli agreement created the armistice line, which coincided
exactly with the existing international boundary between Lebanon and Palestine from the
Mediterranean to the Syrian tri-point on the Hasbani River. From this tri-point on the Hasbani the
boundary follows the river northward to the village of Ghajar, then northeast, forming the
Lebanese–Syrian border. (The southern line from the tri-point represents the Palestine–Syria
border of 1923.) Israeli forces captured and occupied 13 villages in Lebanese territory during the
conflict, including parts of Marjayun, Bint Jubayl, and areas near the Litani River,[18] but withdrew
following international pressure and the armistice agreement.
defense, later Israeli expansion into Lebanon under very similar terms followed the 1977 elections,
which for the first time, brought the Revisionist Likud to power.[18]
Emerging conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants
Beginning with the late 1960s and especially in the 1970s, following the defeat of PLO in Black
September in Jordan, displaced Palestinians, including militants affiliated with the Palestinian
Liberation Organization, began to settle in South Lebanon. The unrestrained buildup of
Palestinian militia, and the large autonomy they exercised, led to the popular term "Fatahland"[21]
for South Lebanon. Since the mid-1970s the tensions between the various Lebanese factions and
Palestinians had exploded, resulting in Lebanese Civil War.
Following multiple attacks launched by Palestinian organizations in the 1970, which increased with
the Lebanese Civil War, the Israeli government decided to take action. Desiring to break up and
destroy this PLO stronghold, Israel briefly invaded Lebanon in 1978, but the results of this invasion
were mixed. The PLO was pushed north of the Litani River and a buffer zone was created to keep
them from returning, with the placement of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL). In addition and despite earlier covert support, Israel established a second buffer with
renegade Saad Haddad's Christian Free Lebanon Army enclave (initially based only in the towns of
Marjayoun and Qlayaa); the now-public Israeli military commitment to the Christian forces was
strengthened. For the first time however, Israel received substantive adverse publicity in the world
press due to damage in South Lebanon, in which some 200,000 Lebanese (mostly Shia Muslims)
fled the area and ended up in the southern suburbs of Beirut; this indirectly resulted in the Syrian
forces in Lebanon turning against the Christians in late June and complicated the dynamics of the
ongoing Lebanese Civil War.[22]
1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
In 1982, the Israeli military began "Operation Peace for Galilee",[23] a full-scale invasion of
Lebanese territory. The invasion followed the 1978 Litani Operation, which gave Israel possession
of the territory near the Israeli–Lebanese border. This follow-up invasion attempted to weaken the
PLO as a unified political and military force[24] and eventually led to the withdrawal of PLO and
Syrian forces from Lebanon. By the end of this operation, Israel got control over Lebanon from
Beirut southward, and attempted to install a pro-Israeli government in Beirut to sign a peace
accord with it. This goal had never realized, partly because of the assassination of President Bashir
Gemayel in September 1982, and the refusal of the Lebanese Parliament to endorse the accord. The
withdrawal of the PLO forces in 1982 forced some Lebanese nationalists to start a resistance
against the Israeli army led by the Lebanese Communist Party and Amal movement. During this
time, some Amal members started the formation of an Islamic group supported by Iran that was
the nucleus of the future "Islamic Resistance" that resulted in the creation of Hezbollah.

Although the Israel–Lebanon border remained relatively quiet, entries in the diary of Moshe
Sharett point to a continued territorial interest in the area.[19] On 16 May 1954, during a joint
meeting of senior officials of the defense and foreign affairs ministries, Ben Gurion raised the issue
of Lebanon due to renewed tensions between Syria and Iraq, and internal trouble in Syria. Dayan
expressed his enthusiastic support for entering Lebanon, occupying the necessary territory and
creating a Christian regime that would ally itself with Israel. The issue was raised again in
discussions at the Protocol of Sèvres.[20]
The Israeli victory in the 1967 Six-Day War vastly expanded their area occupied in all neighboring
countries, with the exception of Lebanon, but this extended the length of the effective Lebanon–
Israel border, with the occupation of the Golan Heights. Although with a stated requirement for
Chronology
1982–1985 occupation and emergence of Hezbollah
Increased hostilities against the US resulted in the April 1983 United States Embassy bombing. In
response, the US brokered the May 17 Agreement, in an attempt to stall hostilities between Israel
and Lebanon. However, this agreement eventually failed to take shape, and hostilities continued.
In October, the United States Marines barracks in Beirut was bombed (usually attributed to the
Islamic Resistance groups). Following this incident, the United States withdrew its military forces
from Lebanon.
Suicide bombings became increasingly popular at this time,
and were a major concern of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
both near Beirut and in the South. Among the most serious
were the two suicide bombings against the Israeli headquarters
in Tyre, which killed 103 soldiers, border policemen, and Shin
Bet agents, and also killed 49–56 Lebanese. Israel believes
those acts were among the first organized actions made by
Shi'ite militants, later forming into Hizbullah. Subsequently,
Israel withdrew from the Shouf Mountains, but continued to
occupy Lebanon south of the Awali River.
An increased number of Islamic militias began operating in
South Lebanon, launching guerrilla attacks on Israeli and pro-
Israel militia positions. Israeli forces often responded with Map showing power balance in
increased security measures and airstrikes on militant Lebanon, 1983: Green – controlled
positions, and casualties on all sides steadily climbed. In a by Syria, purple – controlled by
vacuum left with eradication of PLO, the disorganized Islamic Christian groups, yellow – controlled
militants in South Lebanon began to consolidate. The emerging by Israel, blue – controlled by the
Hezbollah, soon to become the preeminent Islamic militia, United Nations
evolved during this period. However, scholars disagree as to
when Hezbollah came to be regarded as a distinct entity. Over
time, a number of Shi’a group members were slowly assimilated into the organization, such as
Islamic Jihad members, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, and the Revolutionary Justice
Organization.
Israeli withdrawal to southern Lebanon
On 16 February 1985, Israel withdrew from Sidon[25] and
turned it over to the Lebanese Army, but faced attacks: 15
Israelis were killed and 105 wounded during the withdrawal.
Dozens of SLA members were also assassinated. Under the
Iron Fist policy, Israel retaliated in a series of raids. On March
11, Israeli forces raided the town of Zrariyah, killing 40
men.[26] On March 10, a suicide bomber killed twelve Israeli
soldiers from a convoy near Metula, inside Israel. From mid-
February to mid-March, the Israelis lost 18 dead and 35 IDF military patrol near Ras Biada
wounded. On 9 April, a Shiite girl drove a car bomb into an IDF (1986)
convoy, and the following day, a soldier was killed by a land
mine. During that same period, Israeli forces killed 80
Lebanese guerrillas in five weeks. Another 1,800 Shi'as were taken as prisoners. Israel withdrew
from the Bekaa valley on 24 April, and from Tyre on the 29th, but continued to occupy a security
zone in Southern Lebanon.
Beginning of the Security Zone conflict
In 1985 Hezbollah released an open letter to "The Downtrodden in Lebanon and in the World",
which stated that the world was divided between the oppressed and the oppressors. The oppressors
were named to be mainly the United States and Israel. This letter legitimized and praised the use of
violence against the enemies of Islam, mainly the West.
Israeli and SLA forces in the security zone began to come under attack. The first major incident
occurred in August 1985, when Lebanese guerrillas believed to have been from Amal ambushed an
Israeli convoy: two Israeli soldiers and three of the attackers were killed in the ensuing firefight.[27]
execution of Colonel Higgins, a senior American officer
working with UNIFIL, who had been kidnapped in February
1988.[35] The Obeid kidnapping led to the adoption of United
Nations Security Council Resolution 638, which condemned all
hostage takings by all sides.[36][37]
1989 Taif Agreement
SLA outpost (1987)
The Lebanese Civil War officially came to an end with the 1989
Ta'if Accord, but the armed combat continued at least until
October 1990,[24] and in South Lebanon until at least 1991.[38]
In fact, the continued Israeli presence in South Lebanon resulted in continued low-intensity
warfare and sporadic major combat until the Israeli withdrawal in 2000.
On 29 March 1991 a car bomb in Antelias district of East Beirut killed 3 people.[39]
On 30 December 1991 a car bomb killed 15 bystanders and injured over 100 in West Beirut. The
attack took place in the mainly Shia Basta quarter.[40]
Outbreak of hostilities after the Lebanese Civil War
Though the majority of the Lebanese civil war conflicts ended
in the months following the Ta'if Accord, Israel kept
maintaining a military presence in South Lebanon.
Consequently, the Islamic Resistance, by now dominated by
Hezbollah, continued operations in the South.
Several days of Israeli air raids ended on 4 June 1991. Targets,
in the biggest attack since 1982, included buildings belonging
IDF military patrol crossing the
to Fateh, PFLP, DFLP and Fateh-Revolutionary Command.
Khardala Bridge in south Lebanon
Twenty-two people were killed and 82 wounded.[41] (1988)
A month later, 4 July 1991, following the failure of
disarmament negotiations, as required by the Taif agreement,
the Lebanese Army attacked Palestinian positions in Southern
Lebanon. The offensive, involving 10,000 troops against an
estimated 5,000 militia, lasted 3 days and ended with the Army
taking all the Palestinian positions around Sidon. In the
agreement that followed all heavy weapons were surrendered
and infantry weapons only allowed in the two refugee camps,
Ain al-Hilweh and Mieh Mieh. 73 people were killed in the
fighting, and 200 wounded, mostly Palestinian.[42][43]
Hezbollah's leader Abbas al-Musawi had announced that they IDF military patrol between Aaichiye
would not give up their weapons. “Our guns are a red line that to Rayhan (1995)
cannot be crossed”. On 16 July 1991 they ambushed an Israeli
patrol north of the security zone in Kufr Huna.[44] Three Israeli
soldiers, including 2 officers, were killed and four wounded. One Hizbollah fighter was killed. The
following day the South Lebanon Army destroyed 14 houses and burnt crops in neighbouring Majd
al-Zun.[45]
Lebanese guerrilla attacks, mainly the work of Hezbollah,
increased. Fighting the Israeli occupation included hit-and-run
guerrilla attacks, suicide bombings, and the Katyusha rocket
attacks on civilian targets in Northern Israel, including Kiryat
Shmona. The Katyusha proved to be an effective weapon and
became a mainstay of Hezbollah military capabilities in South
Lebanon. The attacks resulted in both military and civilian
casualties. However, a considerable number of Lebanese
guerillas were killed fighting Israeli and SLA troops, and many
were captured. Prisoners were often detained in Israeli military
prisons, or by the SLA in the Khiam detention center, where
detainees were often tortured. Lebanese prisoners in Israel
were arrested and detained for participating in guerrilla
movements, and many were held for long periods of time.
In 1987 Hezbollah fighters from the Islamic Resistance
stormed and conquered an outpost in Bra’shit belonging to the
South Lebanon Army in the security zone. A number of its
IDF military patrol near Ayshiyeh
defenders were killed or taken prisoner and the Hezbollah flag
Lebanon (1993)
was raised on top of it. A Sherman tank was blown up and a
M113 Armored personnel carrier was captured and driven
triumphantly all the way to Beirut.[28] In September of that
year, Israeli aircraft bombed three PLO bases on the outskirts
of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, killing up to 41 people. An
Israeli spokesman said the targets were being used by terrorist
cells that were planning raids against Israel.[29]
On 2 January 1988, Israeli airstrikes on Ain al-Hilweh and
along the coast North of Sidon left some 19 dead and 14 Israeli tank position in Shamis al
wounded.[30] Three members of PFLP-GC and three from PSP urqub near Aaichiye, South Lebanon
were amongst those killed. Seven children and one woman (1997)
were also killed. It was reported that the raids were retaliation
for the 25 November 1987 PFLP-GC hang-glider attack in
which six IDF soldiers were killed. In the previous two years
there had been about forty Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.[31] In
May, Israel launched an offensive codenamed Operation Law
and Order in which 1,500–2,000 Israeli soldiers raided the
area around the Lebanese village of Meidoun. In two days of
fighting, the IDF killed 50 Hizbullah fighters while losing 3
dead and 17 wounded.[32] On 18 October 1988 eight Israeli
soldiers were killed by a Hizbullah suicide car bomb. The
Israelis responded with extensive air and land attacks.[33] IDF military post Shakuf El-Hardun
(1986)
After Israel destroyed Hezbollah's headquarters in the town of
Marrakeh, a Hezbollah suicide bomber destroyed an Israeli
transport truck carrying soldiers on the Israel-Lebanon border. In response, Israeli forces
ambushed two Hezbollah vehicles, killing eight Hezbollah fighters.[34]
On 27 July 1989 the Hizbullah leader in South Lebanon, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and two of his
aides, were abducted from his home in Jibchit, by IDF commandos. The night-time raid was
planned by then Minister of Defence Yitzhak Rabin. Hizbullah responded by announcing the
Prior to their disbandment militiamen from Amal were also
active in South Lebanon. On 29 July 1991 they killed three
members of the South Lebanon Army (SLA). Israel responded
with shelling that killed two villagers.[46] On 23 August 1991
two members of the SLA were killed by members of Amal. The
Israeli Army responded the following day with shelling which
killed one civilian. Two Irish soldiers serving with UNIFIL were
amongst the wounded.[47]
Beaufort IDF northern military post
There was further violence at the end of 1991 with an Irish (1995)
soldier serving with UNIFIL killed by the SLA on the 15th
November and three Lebanese Army soldiers killed by an
Israeli rocket on 25 November.[48]
On 16 February 1992, al-Musawi was assassinated, along with
his wife, son and four others when an Israeli AH-64 Apache
helicopter gunships fired three missiles at his motorcade. The
Israeli attack came in retaliation for the killings of three Israeli
soldiers two days earlier when their camp was infiltrated.
Hezbollah responded with rocket fire onto the Israeli security
zone, and Israel then fired back and sent two armored columns
past the security zone to hit Hezbollah strongholds in Kafra
and Yater.[49] Musawi was succeeded by Hassan Nasrallah.
One of Nasrallah's first public declarations was the
"retribution" policy: If Israel hit Lebanese civilian targets, then
Hezbollah would retaliate with attacks on Israeli territory.[24]
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued attacks against IDF targets
within occupied Lebanese territory. In response to the attack,
Ehud Sadan, the chief of security at the Israeli Embassy in
Turkey was assassinated by a car bomb.[50] Islamic Jihad Beaufort IDF northern military post
(Lebanon) is reported to have claimed that the 1992 attack on (1993)
Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, in which 29 people were
killed, was their response.[51]
Three months after the assassination the Israeli Air Force
launched five air raids on Lebanon in six days. Some of the
targets struck were as far north as Baalbek. On the final day, 26
May 1992, there were more than 40 missile strikes. Over 20
civilians were killed during the offensive.[52]
In 1993, hostilities flared again. After a month of Hezbollah
shelling on Israeli towns and attacks on its soldiers, Israel Carcom IDF military post in
conducted a seven-day operation in July 1993 called Operation Lebanon (1998)
Accountability in order to hit Hezbollah. One Israeli soldier
and 8–50 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the operation, along
with 2 Israeli and 118 Lebanese civilians. After one week of fighting in South Lebanon, a mutual
agreement mediated by the United States prohibited attacks on civilian targets by both parts.[53]
The end of Operation Accountability saw a few days of calm
before light shelling resumed. On 17 August, a major artillery
exchange took place, and two days later, nine Israeli soldiers
were killed in two Hezbollah attacks. Israel responded with
airstrikes against Hezbollah positions, killing at least two
Hezbollah fighters.[54]
Continued fighting in the late 1990s IDF tank near Shreife IDF military
post in Lebanon (1998)
In May 1994, Israeli commandos kidnapped an Amal leader,
Mustafa Dirani, and in June, an Israeli airstrike against a
training camp killed 30–45 Hezbollah cadets. Hezbollah
retaliated by firing four barrages of Katyusha rockets into
northern Israel.[55][56]
On 31 March 1995, Rida Yasin, also known as Abu Ali, was
killed by a single rocket fired from an Israeli helicopter while in
a car near Derdghaya in the Israeli security zone 10 km east of
Tyre. Yasin was a senior military commander in southern Galagalit IDF military patrol south
Lebanon. His companion in the car was also killed. An Israeli Lebanon (1999)
civilian was killed and fifteen wounded in the retaliatory rocket
fire. [57][58] In May 1995, four Hezbollah fighters were killed in
a firefight with Israeli troops while trying to infiltrate an Israeli position.[59]
Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996 resulted in the deaths of more than 150 Lebanese civilians,
most of them in the shelling of a United Nations base at Qana. After seventeen days of bombing a
ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah, committing to avoid civilian casualties;
however, combat continued for at least two months. A total of 14 Hezbollah fighters, about a dozen
Syrian soldiers, and 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting.
Brig. Gen. Eli Amitai, the IDF commander of the security zone, was lightly injured 14 December
1996 when an IDF convoy he was travelling in was ambushed in the eastern sector of the security
zone.[60] Less than a week later Amitai was again lightly injured when Hezbollah unleashed a
mortar barrage on an SLA position near Bra'shit he was visiting together with Maj. Gen. Amiram
Levine, head of the IDF's Northern Command.[61]
In December 1996, two SLA soldiers were killed in three days of fighting, and a Hezbollah fighter
was also killed by Israeli soldiers.[62]
On 4 February 1997, two Israeli transport helicopters collided over She'ar Yashuv in Northern
Israel while waiting for clearance to fly into Lebanon. A total of 73 IDF soldiers were killed in the
disaster. On 28 February one Israeli soldier and four Hezbollah guerrillas were killed in a clash.[63]
Throughout 1997, Israeli special forces, particularly the Egoz Reconnaissance Unit, hampered
Hezbollah's ability to infiltrate the security zone and plant roadside bombs by staking out
Hezbollah infiltration trails. Encouraged by these successes, Israeli commandos began conducting
raids north of the security zone to kill Hezbollah commanders. In one particular raid, carried out
on the night of 3–4 August 1997, Golani Brigade soldiers raided the village of Kfeir and left behind
three roadside bombs packed with ball bearings that were detonated from an Israeli Air Force UAV
hours later, killing five Hezbollah members including two commanders. However, on 28 August, a
major friendly fire incident occurred in Wadi Saluki during a clash between IDF troops from the
Golani Brigade, together with air and artillery support, and Amal militants. Although four Amal
militants were killed, Israeli shelling started a fire that engulfed the area, killing four soldiers.[64]
(APC). The area was bombed by the Israeli Air Force.[75] The captured APC was paraded through
the southern suburbs of Beirut.[76]
In June 1999, following five days of Lebanese villages in the South coming under artillery fire,
Hezbollah fired a salvo of Katusha rockets into northern Israel, injuring four people. The Israeli
response was immediate. On 24–25 June the IAF launched two waves of airstrikes lasting several
hours. Following the first air raids Hezbollah fired a second salvo of rockets into the centre of
Kiryat Shimona killing two people. The Israeli bombing caused an estimated $52 million worth of
damage. A total of five bridges on the road south from Beirut were destroyed. Beirut itself was left
in darkness when the power plant at Jamhour was hit. Here three firemen where killed by the
bombs. The plant had been repaired after it had been hit in Grapes of Wrath. A telephone
company's HQ in Jieh and the Hezbollah al Manar radio station in Baalbek were also demolished.
A total of eight Lebanese were killed and seventy seriously injured, two of whom were in a
coma.[77]
In August 1999, Hezbollah commander Ali Hassan Deeb, better known as Abu Hassan, a leader in
Hezbollah's special force, was assassinated in an Israeli military operation. Deeb was driving in
Sidon when two roadside bombs were detonated by a remote signal from a UAV overhead.[78][79]
Overall, in the course of 1999, several dozen Hezbollah and Amal fighters were killed. Twelve
Israeli soldiers and one civilian were also killed, one of them in accident.
2000 Israeli withdrawal and collapse of South Lebanon Army
In July 1999, Ehud Barak became Israel's Prime Minister,
promising Israel would unilaterally withdraw to the
international border by July 2000. Prior to his actions, many
believed that Israel would only withdraw from South Lebanon
upon reaching an agreement with Syria.
In January 2000, Hezbollah assassinated the commander of
the South Lebanon Army's Western Brigade, Colonel Aql
A captured SLA Army tank, featuring
Hashem, at his home in the security zone. Hashem had been
responsible for day-to-day operations of the SLA and was a a wooden portrait of the late
Ayatollah Khomeini in the village of
leading candidate to succeed General Antoine Lahad.[80][81][82]
Hula
After this assassination there were doubts about the leadership
of the South Lebanon Army (SLA). The pursuit and
assassination of Hashim was documented step by step and the
footage was broadcast on Hezbollah TV channel al-Manar. The operation and the way it was
presented in media dealt a devastating blow to the morale in the SLA.[83]
During the spring of 2000, Hezbollah operations stepped up considerably, with persistent
harassment of Israeli military outposts in occupied Lebanese territory. As preparation for the
major withdrawal plan, Israeli forces began abandoning several forward positions within the
security zone of South Lebanon. On 24 May, Israel announced that it would withdraw all troops
from South Lebanon. All Israeli forces had withdrawn from Lebanon by the end of the next day,
more than six weeks before its stated deadline of 7 July.[84]
The Israeli pullout resulted in the collapse of the SLA and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces
into the area. As the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew, thousands of Shi'a Lebanese rushed
back to the South to reclaim their properties. This withdrawal was widely considered a victory for
Hezbollah and boosted its popularity in Lebanon. The completeness of the withdrawal is still
disputed as Lebanese Government and Hezbollah claim Israel still holds Shebaa farms, a small
piece of territory on the Lebanon-Israel-Syria border, with disputed sovereignty.
On 5 September 1997, a seaborne raid by 16 Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos failed after the
troops stumbled into a Hezbollah and Amal ambush. As the force headed towards the coastal town
of Ansariye, it was ambushed with IEDs and subjected to withering fire that killed the commander,
Lt. Col. Yossi Korakin, and caused bombs being carried by another soldier to explode, killing more
of the force. The survivors radioed for help, and Israel immediately dispatched a rescue team from
Unit 669 and Sayeret Matkal in two CH-53 helicopters. A rescue force of helicopters and missile
boats arrived to provide support as the rescuers evacuated the dead and survivors, conducting
airstrikes. Lebanese Army anti-aircraft units put up anti aircraft fire and fired illumination rounds
at the helicopters, and an Israeli F-16 subsequently attacked an anti-aircraft position. Hezbollah
put up mortar fire, killing a Druze army doctor with the rescue force and damaging a helicopter
and Israeli missile boats fired at the source of the mortar fire. The battle ended when Israel, by
means of contacting the US government and delivering a message to be passed on to Syria and
from there to Hezbollah, threatened to respond with massive force if Hezbollah tried to stop the
rescue mission, causing Hezbollah and Amal to cease fire while the Lebanese Army moved in.
Twelve Israelis were killed, along with six Hezbollah and Amal fighters and two Lebanese soldiers.
A woman in a passing car was also killed.[65] In 2010 Hassan Nasrallah claimed that Hezbollah had
managed to hack into Israeli UAV:s flying over Lebanon and thus learn which route the
commandos were planning to take and thus prepared the ambush accordingly.[66][67] On
September 13–14, IDF raids in Lebanon killed a further four Hezbollah fighters and six Lebanese
soldiers.[68]
On 12 September 1997, three Hezbollah fighters were killed in an ambush by Egoz commandos on
the edge of the security zone. One of them was Hadi Nasrallah, the son of Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah. On 25 May 1998 the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the failed commando raid were
exchanged for 65 Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of 40 Hezbollah fighters and Lebanese
soldiers captured by Israel.[69] Among the bodies returned to Lebanon were the remains of Hadi
Nasrallah.
In the autumn of 1997 Hizbollah began using Sager missiles. On 8 October two IDF soldiers were
killed when their tank was hit. There were six other casualties, two of them serious. The attack took
place 300 metres from the border with Israel. Ten days later another soldier was killed when his
tank was hit. This brought the number of Israeli soldiers killed in 1997 up to thirty nine, twelve
more than in 1996. The new tactics resulted in Centurion tanks being withdrawn and the armour of
the Merkava being upgraded. At the time it was reported that Hizbollah had five hundred fighters
in the field at one time, whilst the IDF had 1,000 troops in the security zone alongside the SLA's
2,000.[70]
During 1998, 21 Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon. Israel undertook a concerted
campaign to hamper Hezbollah's capabilities, and in December 1998, the Israeli military
assassinated Zahi Naim Hadr Ahmed Mahabi, a Hezbollah explosives expert, north of Baalbek.[71]
23 February 1999 an IDF paratrooper unit on a night time patrol was ambushed in south Lebanon.
Major Eitan Balahsan and two lieutenants were killed and another five soldiers were
wounded.[72][73]
Less than a week later (28 February) a roadside bomb exploded on the road between Kaukaba and
Arnoun in the Israeli-occupied security zone. Brigadier General Erez Gerstein, commander of the
Golani Brigade and head of the IDF Liaison Unit in Lebanon, thus the highest ranking Israeli
officer serving in Lebanon at the time, as well as two Druze Israeli soldiers and one Israeli
journalist were killed in the blast.[74]
In May 1999 Hezbollah forces simultaneously attacked 14 Israeli and SLA outposts in south
Lebanon. The outpost in Beit Yahoun compound belonging to the SLA was overrun and one SLA
soldier was taken prisoner. The Hizbullah fighters made off with an Armoured Personnel Carrier
As a Syrian-backed Lebanese government refused to demarcate its border with Israel, Israel
worked with UN cartographers led by regional coordinator Terje Rød-Larsen to certify Israel had
withdrawn from all occupied Lebanese territory. On 16 June 2000, UN Security Council concluded
that Israel had indeed withdrawn its forces from all of Lebanon, in accordance with United Nations
Security Council Resolution 425 (1978).
Israel considered this move as tactical withdrawal since it always regarded the Security Zone as a
buffer zone to defend Israel's citizens. By ending the occupation, Barak's cabinet assumed it would
improve its worldwide image. Ehud Barak has argued that "Hezbollah would have enjoyed
international legitimacy in their struggle against a foreign occupier", if the Israelis had not
unilaterally withdrawn without a peace agreement.[85]
Aftermath
Upon Israel's withdrawal, an increasing fear that Hezbollah
would seek vengeance against those thought to have supported
Israel became widespread among the Christian Lebanese of the
Southern Lebanon. During and after the withdrawal around
10,000 Lebanese, mostly Maronites, fled into Galilee.
Hezbollah later met with Lebanese Christian clerics to reassure
them that the Israeli withdrawal was a victory for Lebanon as a
nation, not just one sect or militia.[24]
An Israeli Army outpost, in 2007, as
The tentative peace, resulting from the withdrawal, did not last. seen from the Lebanese side of the
On 7 October 2000 Hezbollah attacked Israel. In a cross- border
border raid, three Israeli soldiers, who were patrolling the
Lebanese border were attacked and abducted. The event
escalated into a 2-month fire exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, primarily at the Hermon
ridge. The bodies of the abducted soldiers were returned to Israel in a January 2004 prisoner
exchange involving 450 Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails. The long-time Lebanese prisoner
Samir al-Quntar was excluded from the deal. The government of Israel, however, had agreed to a
"further arrangement", whereby Israel would release Samir al-Quntar if it was supplied with
"tangible information on the fate of captive navigator Ron Arad".[86]
According to Harel and Issacharoff the second phase of the prisoner exchange deal was only a
"legal gimmick". Israel was not satisfied with the information supplied by Hezbollah and refused to
release al-Quntar. "Cynics may well ask whether it was worth getting entangled in the Second
Lebanon War just to keep Kuntar […] in prison for an extra few years."[87]
In July 2006, Hezbollah performed a cross-border raid while
shelling Israeli towns and villages. During the raid Hezbollah
succeeded in kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing eight
others. In retaliation Israel began the 2006 Lebanon War to
rescue the abducted soldiers and to create a bufferzone in
Southern Lebanon.[88][89][90][91]
See also
IDF Bedouin memorial wall.
Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon
Syrian occupation of Lebanon
2008 conflict in Lebanon