In 2006 Lebanon becomes the setting of a new and dramatic episode in the Arab-Israeli conflict. On 12 July, Lebanese militants of Hezbollah, a political party backed by Iran and including an armed faction accused of terrorism, launch Katyusha missiles and mortar shells against a number of Israeli villages and attack two Israeli military vehicles on patrol along the border. Two Israeli soldiers are wounded, three are killed and two are captured. Israel responds with heavy aerial bombardments, artillery shelling, a strategic air and naval blockade, and an invasion on the ground in the southern portion of the country. During 34 days of fighting, thousands of people die, most of them Lebanese, a large number of infrastructures are damaged in Lebanon, and the number of refugees is estimated at between 800 thousand and a million. On 11 August 2006, UN Resolution 1701 proposes a reciprocal ceasefire, with the disarmament of the Hezbollah and the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from Lebanon. The resolution, approved by both governments, also calls for a UN buffer force to be deployed in Lebanon. Named UNIFIL, its task is to monitor the cessation of the hostilities, assist the Lebanese Army in exercising sovereign control over the country and see to it that the armed groups disarm. Humanitarian organisations accuse both governments of having committed war crimes and failed to distinguish between civilians and fighters, in addition to using banned weapons and human shields. It is estimated that 1033 Lebanese lost their lives during the conflict (of whom 55 were militants of Hezbollah or Amal for Lebanon), while there were 160 Israeli dead, 41 of them civilians. By the end of the fighting, the entire southern portion of the country proved to be an extremely dangerous territory, being strewn with anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, unexploded ordinance and cluster bombs that hindered the construction of new infrastructure and the return of the refugees to their homes.
Two Lebanese civilians wait for further treatment upon arrival at the hospital. According to Hospital Officials, a family traveling in a van trying to flee the villages south of Tyre was hit by an Israeli warplane reportedly killing 13 people as well as injuring 13.
Buildings lay destroyed from Israeli air strikes during the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in the southern suburb of Haret Hreik. Many Lebanese are coming to the destroyed neighborhoods in Beirut to access the damage, which is so extreme that residents of the area cannot return home.
Lebanese children pass by the rubble of destroyed buildings, covering their faces to protect themselves from the dust and the smell destruction in the southern suburb of Haret Hreik. Most of the Lebanese traveling around in the Southern suburbs of Beirut are living in other neighborhoods and came to see and photograph the destruction as well as collect Hezbollah posters. Hezbollah place banners on the top of each destroyed building reading: ” Made in USA, Trade Mark, The Divine Victory.”
3-year-old, Nimar Ramait recovers in his hospital bed after he was injured by a bomb dropped by an Israeli war plane on a water canal where he was swimming. For a sixth day, Israel continued it’s extensive bombing of villages and the civilian population in Southern Lebanon.
Civilians and rescue teams try to extinguish a fire and look for survivors injured in a collapsed building after an Israeli war plane dropped a bomb on a Community Center affiliated with Hezbollah. Sixteen people were injured in the incident.
A Lebanese family who returned to find their house destroyed as a result of the Israeli bombing campaign, stand in one of their apartment rooms holding candle lights, as there is no power in their village. As a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah enters its first day, thousands of residents took returned to their villages in Southern Lebanon, many of which have been destroyed by Israeli bombings.
The bodies of the victims of the Qana Israeli air strike wrapped in plastic having been brought from Qana to the morgue. Twenty-two bodies were brought to the morgue wrapped in plastic and loaded into a refrigerator truck. The Israeli air strike killed 56 civilians of which 34 of them were children, in the worst attack since the fighting began 19 days ago.
18 year old Zahra Al-Jamira cries in shock after she realized that her face is burn as a result of a bomb dropped by an Israeli war plane. For a seventh day, Israel continued its extensive bombing of villages and the civilian population in Southern Lebanon.
Doctors treat a wounded Lebanese civilian arriving at the hospital. According to Hospital Officials, a family traveling in a van trying to flee the villages south of Tyre was hit by an Israeli warplane reportedly killing 13 people as well as injuring 13.
Lebanese women cry over a coffin at the hospital morgue as eighty bodies are prepared for a mass funeral. On Friday, eighty civilians, the victims of ten days of Israeli bombing in Southern Lebanon, were buried in a mass grave.
Women cry as Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of Mostafa Rikan during his funeral. According to his family, Mostafa Rikan, a 16-year-old Hezbollah fighter was killed four days prior in the village of El Ghandouriye during heavy fighting with Israeli troops.
A book in the rubble of a destroyed apartment building after Israeli war planes dropped a bomb on a Hezbollah commander’s office. Sixteen people were injured in the incident after a complex of two buildings of seven floors was destroyed. The target of the strike, a Hezbollah commander was not present at the time.
Hezbollah fighters and relatives of Mostafa Rikan carry his coffin outside his house during his funeral. According to his family, Mostafa Rikan, a 16-year-old Hezbollah fighter was killed four days prior in the village of El Ghandouriye during heavy fighting with Israeli troops.
Blood stains the pavement below the window of a burned apartment targeted overnight by Israeli Commandos. According to Lebanese Officials, Israeli Commandos carried out an overnight raid on the second floor of an apartment building where they clashed with Hezbollah fighters killing four people.
A Hezbollah fighter cries at the cemetery during the funeral of Mostafa Rikan. According to his family, Mostafa Rikan, a 16-year-old Hezbollah fighter was killed four days prior in the village of El Ghandouriye during heavy fighting with Israeli troops.
A portrait of the former head of Hezbollah, Abbas Mussawi, who was killed by the Israelis, lies amongst destroyed buildings as a result of an Israeli bombing campaign. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that no cease-fire had been agreed between Israel and Hezbollah. Some residents of Bint Jbail, the Hezbollah stronghold and the scene of the most violent fighting that has destroyed the city try to flee towards a safer shelter.
Two Lebanese teenagers wait for further treatment at the hospital. According to Hospital Officials, a family traveling in a van trying to flee the villages south of Tyre was hit by an Israeli warplane reportedly killing 13 people as well as injuring 13.
A Lebanese man is carried by ambulance to a hospital, as he was injured after an Israeli warplane dropped a bomb on his house. Israeli warplanes continued their extensive bombing of villages and the civilian population in Southern Lebanon.
Hanaifi Naher Hassan, the grandmother of Zainab Jamil accesses the damages of one of the rooms of her apartment upon her return home after a month long Israeli bombing campaign. The Jamil family spent the last 20 days as refugees in the Ramesh village and returned home just days prior to find their house destroyed as a result of an Israeli bombing campaign. As Hezbollah claimed victory over Israel and a ceasefire halted the fighting, thousands of residents returned to their villages in Southern Lebanon of which many had been destroyed.
