The 2006 Lebanon War

The 2006 Lebanon War, known in Lebanon as the July War[16] and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War[17], was a military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel. The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli military. The conflict started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect on 14 August 2006, though it formally ended on 8 September 2006 when Israel lifted their naval blockade of Lebanon. The conflict began after Hezbollah fired Katyusha rockets and mortars at Israeli civilian border villages[18], diverting attention from another Hezbollah unit that crossed the border, kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others. Israeli troops attempted to rescue the abducted soldiers but were unsuccessful, losing five more in the attempt. Another five soldiers and five civilians were wounded in the attacks. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon,[19] which damaged Lebanese civilian infrastructure, including Rafik Hariri International Airport which Israel said Hezbollah used to import weapons, an air and naval blockade,[20] and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah then launched more rockets into civilian areas in northern Israel and engaged the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions.[21] The conflict killed over a thousand people, most of whom were Lebanese, severely damaged Lebanese infrastructure, displaced 700,000-915,000 Lebanese,[22][23][24] and 300,000-500,000 Israelis,[25][26][27] 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.[11] On 11 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved UN Resolution 1701 in an effort to end the hostilities. The resolution, which was approved by both Lebanese and Israeli governments the following days, called for disarmament of Hezbollah, for withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon, and for the deployment of Lebanese soldiers and an enlarged United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) force in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army began deploying in southern Lebanon on 17 August 2006. The blockade was lifted on 8 September 2006.[28] On 1 October 2006, most Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon, though the last of the troops continued to occupy the border-straddling village of Ghajar[29] until 3 December 2006.[30] In the time since the enactment of UNSCR 1701 both the Lebanese government and UNIFIL have stated that they will not disarm Hezbollah.