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|  12/07/2008 “The victory we are talking about is that when the resistance survives. When its will is not broken then this is victory. When Lebanon is not humiliated and its dignity and honour are maintained, and when Lebanon remains steadfast alone in front of the fiercest military power and does not accept any humiliating conditions regarding a settlement of the issue, then this is victory…” Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hasan Nasrallah.
The 2006 Lebanon War, known in Lebanon as the July War and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War, was a 33-day Israeli aggression against Lebanon. The war began on 12 July, when Israel launched waves of air strikes on Lebanon after Hezbollah killed three soldiers and captured two more - later identified as Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - on the northern border naming it "Operation Sincere Promise".
Hezbollah had long been warning that it would seize soldiers if it had the chance, in an effort to push Israel into a prisoner exchange. Israel has been holding a handful of Lebanese detainees since it withdrew from its two-decade occupation of south Lebanon in 2000 after its harsh defeat.
The war then started when Israel made an unprecedented response unveiling the secret scheme it was preparing with the US for Lebanon by October.
The war began when Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport. Later, large parts of the Lebanese civilian infrastructure were destroyed claiming that they wanted to cut off roads on any coming supply for Hezbollah. The civilian infrastructure included roads, bridges, and other targets such as ports, water and sewage treatment plants, electrical facilities, fuel stations, commercial structures, schools and hospitals, and homes.
After the onset of hostilities, then Lebanese unconstitutional government of Fouad Saniora immediately distanced itself from the capturing of soldiers after Israel blamed it for the raid. An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position.
During the war, Israel's Air Force flew more than 12,000 combat missions, its Navy fired 2,500 shells, and its Army fired over 100,000 shells. Israeli shells didn't spare innocent people and children whom their flesh and blood were shed with daily massacres everywhere across Lebanon.
And once again, Qana witnesses another massacre when Israeli airstrikes hit on July 30 an apartment building in Qana, killing at least 65 civilians, of which 28 were children.
At the time the Israelis killed civilians and targeted Lebanon's infrastructure, Hezbollah fighters successfully destroyed Israeli military bases.
During the war, Hezbollah fired rockets on Israeli military bases they also engaged in guerrilla warfare with the Israeli forces, attacking from well-fortified positions. These attacks by small, well-armed units caused serious problems to the Israeli military, especially through the use of hundreds of sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles. Hezbollah destroyed 38 Israeli Merkava and damaged 82, the Merkava which is an object of pride for the Israeli industry. Israeli helicopters were damaged day and night. . The attacks had included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1. Hezbollah also destroyed Israeli warship Sa'er off the Lebanese coast.
On 3 August, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah warned Israel against hitting Beirut and promised retaliation against Tel Aviv in this case. He also stated that Hezbollah would stop its rocket campaign if Israel ceased aerial and artillery strikes against Lebanese towns and villages.
The largest number of tanks was destroyed on the last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; the largest number of the occupation soldiers were killed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; the helicopters crashed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Therefore, the Zionists realized that if they had continued the war, it would have been a disaster. The Americans intervened and even accepted the drafts of resolutions for the war to stop. The resistance dealt a severe blow to the Israelis who started to resort to international efforts for the ending of this war no matter what the result was.
By August 11, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved UN Security Council Resolution 1701, in an effort to end the hostilities. It was accepted by Lebanon and Israel and took effect at 8:00 AM (5:00 AM GMT) on 14 August 2006.
So, Israel failed to fulfill its objectives of disarming Hezbollah and returning the two soldiers back first announced by Israeli PM Ehud Olmert. Nevertheless, Hezbollah continued its rocket attacks, Israeli captured soldiers remained detained.
Although the war was launched on the pretext that the two Israeli soldiers were captured, it had absolutely nothing to do with the capture of the soldiers. However, it was linked to the new Middle East plan, the US plan in the region, and certain settlements and commitments. In all cases, the resistance dealt a severe blow to New Middle East plan which US Secretary of State said after meeting with Saniora during the war that this war formed "the birth pangs of a New Mideast".
When 14 August came, the displaced returned in their cars and trucks, and some on foot. At 0800, the southern suburb of Beirut, the south of Lebanon, and Al-Beqa'a were full of their proud and honorable residents, who returned with raised heads.
On 12 September, former defense minister Moshe Arens spoke of "the defeat of Israel" in calling for a state committee of inquiry. He said that Israel had lost "to a very small group of people, 5000 Hezbollah fighters, which should have been no match at all for the IDF".
After the end of July war, Israel's Winograd Commission issued its final report which investigated the Israeli government's conduct during the war in Lebanon.
According to the Winograd Commission Report, the Second Lebanon War was regarded as a "missed opportunity" and that "Israel initiated a long war, which ended without a defined military victory". The report continued to state that "a semi-military organization of a few thousand men resisted, for a few weeks, the strongest army in the Middle East, which enjoyed full air superiority and size and technology advantages".
And the last words for the master of the Sincere Promise "Sayed Hasan Nasrallah":
‘‘Therefore, as I used to say in the first days of the July war, I used to always promise you victory by relying on God and by Knowing you. You, the most honorable people..’’ |
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