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| − | [[Image:Locsdgf.jpg|right|Areas in Lebanon targeted by Israeli bombing, 12 July to 13 August 2006.|thumb|300px]]
| + | Allah Akbar |
| − | ==Cause==
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| − | The '''2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict''' was the result of the actions of the terrorist group [[Hezbollah]] who were staked out in southern Lebanon. A surprise cross border raid killed 3 Israeli soldiers and killed 2 others. Hezbollah had been looking to capture Israeli troops so they could trade them for hundreds of prisoners in Israel that had been rounded up in their occupation of Lebanon and Palestine. <ref>http://domino.un.org/unispal.NSF/fd807e46661e3689852570d00069e918/87e2508779d8ec83852571b6004c761f</ref>. A failed rescue attempt after the initial capture resulted in the deaths of five more Israeli troops. Shortly thereafter, Israel began an ultimately unsuccessful aerial bombing campaign against not only Hezbollah, but against Lebanon on a whole who it directly blamed for the raid. A blockade was put into affect and the Lebanese airport bombed and shut down as well as the main bridges and roads into and out of Lebanon. This decision went against world opinion, especially when reports of Lebanese civilian dead started to pour in. Israel eventually launched a land assault which proceeded to advance much slower than expected against surprisingly staunch opposition. A few weeks after the start of hostilities a cease fire was put into place. Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon over the next few months as the Lebanese army took up positions on the southern border. Hezbollah was not allowed to re-establish its former positions. Nevertheless, the tenacious fighting and defense of Hezbollah against Israel, especially while the regular Lebanese army did nothing, bolstered the support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Arab world.
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| − | ==Bad Media Coverage==
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| − | The press coverage of the event in the West came under heavy criticism, as the [[liberal]] anti-Israel media intentionally gave favorable coverage to Hezbollah<ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjVlMmRjNDllNzhkZmE1OWM3NmE1OGQ4OGQxMDA1YjQ=</ref>. Many instantly claimed Israel was responsible for casualties before investigations revealed that they were not. The most famous incident of bad press coverage was the now fired [[Reuters]] journalist Adnan Hajj, who intentionally doctored his pictures of the events<ref>http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/reuters-image-problem/14170/</ref>.
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| − | ==Impact on civilians==
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| − | Israeli retaliation at the death of eight soldiers ultimately caused the deaths of up to 2,000 Lebanese citizens (this number is highly contested: many deaths appear to have been accidental recounts of the bodies, or the casualties of misfired Hezbollah rockets; Thomas Friedman estimates the number at about 1200), the wounding of over 4,000, and the displacement of 200,000. Israeli civilian losses were at 43 and military casualties at 120 dead. Hezbollah dead are estimated at several hundred.
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| − | [[Image:Economist Cover 20060819.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Economist]]'' magazine cover declaring [[Hezbollah]] the winner of the war, 19 August 2006.]]
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mftoc.html
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| − | [[Category:Wars]]
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| − | [[Category:Israel]]
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