| Operation Sharp and Smooth | | Part of 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict |
An IDF commando filmed during the operation in Baalbek. | | | | Combatants | |
Israel |
Hezbollah | | Strength | | 200 | Unknown | | Casualties | | 10 dead, 5 captured | During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Operation Sharp and Smooth, also known as the Baalbek operation, was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raid on a Hezbollah-run hospital in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Late on the night of August 1, Israeli special operations forces entered the valley, retrieved “loads of intelligence information,” and captured five people, several of whom the IDF claimed were Hezbollah gunmen[1], on the other hand, Hezbollah insists that the prisoners are civilians, neither combatants nor members of Hezbollah party[2] [3]. On 21 August 2006, the Israeli forces acknowledged that the Lebanese prisoners are civilians and released them.[4] Combatants Hezbollah Amal LCP Israel Commanders Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General of Hezbollah) Imad Mughniyeh (Commander of Hezbollahs armed wing)[5] Dan Halutz (CoS) Moshe Kaplinsky[12] Udi Adam (Regional) Strength 600-1,000 active fighters 3,000-10,000 reservists[6] 30,000 ground troops (plus IAF & ISC)[13...
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August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ...
August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ...
For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...
August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Temple of Jupiter Temple of Bacchus Details inside Temple of Bacchus Baalbek (Arabic: ) is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 3,850 ft (1,170 m), situated east of the Litani River. ...
Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel. ...
Image File history File links Flag_of_Hezbollah. ...
For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...
// Lebanons population is 3,874,050. ...
Combatants Hezbollah Amal[1] LCP[2] PFLP-GC[3] Israel Commanders Hassan Nasrallah Imad Mughniyeh[4] Dan Halutz Moshe Kaplinsky[11] Udi Adam Strength 600-1,000 active fighters 3,000-10,000 reservists[5] 30,000 ground troops (plus IAF & ISC)[12] Casualties Hezbollah militia: Dead: ~250 (Hezbollah claim...
Combatants Israel Hezbollah Casualties 8 killed 2 captured None reported The Zarit-Shtula incident (called Operation Truthful Promise by Hezbollah) was a cross-border attack committed by irregular Hezbollah forces on an Israeli military patrol on 12 July 2006 on Israeli territory. ...
Opération Baliste is the codename for the French aeronaval operation off Lebanon aiming at securing citizens of the European Union, since July 2006, in the context of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. ...
Combatants Israel Hezbollah Strength Inconstant 200 Casualties Israel claims to have suffered 15 dead[1] about 60 wounded Hezbollah claims to have suffered 12 dead,[2] as of July 28. ...
The 2006 Qana airstrike was an attack by the Israel Air Force (IAF) on a building in the small community of al-Khuraybah near the South Lebanese village of Qana on July 30, 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. ...
Combatants Israel Hezbollah Casualties 13 Killed [1] Unknown The Battle of Ayta ash-Shab started on July 31, 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. ...
The 2006 Qaa airstrike was an attack by the Israel Air Force (IAF) on a building in the area of al-Qaa around 10 kilometers (six miles) from Hermel in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon on 4 August 2006. ...
Combatants Israel Hezbollah Casualties 8 wounded (according to IDF) 7 dead (+1 Lebanese soldier) A nighttime Israeli Defense Forces frogmen, Shayetet 13 raid on Tyre, South Lebanon, on August 5, 2006 targeted the Hezbollah cell responsible for the rocket attack on Hadera the day before. ...
The Shiyyah Airstrike was an attack by the Israel Air Force (IAF) on the Shiyyah suburb in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on August 7, 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. ...
The 2006 Ghaziyeh airstrikes were two sequential attacks by the Israel Air Force (IAF) on the city of Ghaziyeh in Lebanon on August 7, and August 8, 2006. ...
The 2006 Marjayoun convoy was a convoy of approximately 759 vehicles containing Lebanese police, army, civilians, and one Associated Press journalist, which was attacked by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) as it travelled away from the area of Marjayoun on August 11, 2006. ...
Combatants Israel Hezbollah Strength 30,000 [1] 5,000 - 20,000 [2] Casualties 35 killed 150 wounded [3] [4] 50+ killed ,1 fighter captured [5] The Litani offensive was a final push by the Israeli Defense Forces during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict that began on August 11, 2006, and...
Combatants Hezbollah Amal LCP Israel Commanders Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General of Hezbollah) Imad Mughniyeh (Commander of Hezbollahs armed wing)[5] Dan Halutz (CoS) Moshe Kaplinsky[12] Udi Adam (Regional) Strength 600-1,000 active fighters 3,000-10,000 reservists[6] 30,000 ground troops (plus IAF & ISC)[13...
Temple of Jupiter Temple of Bacchus Details inside Temple of Bacchus Baalbek (Arabic: ) is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 3,850 ft (1,170 m), situated east of the Litani River. ...
The Israel Defense Forces are part of the Israeli Security Forces. ...
For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...
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August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ...
Special forces or special operations forces is a term used to describe relatively small military units raised and trained for reconnaissance, unconventional warfare and special operations. ...
For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...
The operation
The operation began with at least five rapid air strikes. Approximately 200 elite commandos fast-roped from helicopters which refuelled over the Mediterranean Sea. The operation involved 2 units, one affiliated with the Israeli Air Force and the other with the IDF branch of Intelligence (Aman). [1] Upon landing the units split, Sayeret Matkal assigned to take Dar al-Hikma hospital - believed by Military Intelligence to be a base for Iranian Revolutionary Guards. A Hezbollah source said several Israeli soldiers were trapped in the hospital, engaged in fierce clashes with the group of fighters who surrounded the facility. Boom and receptacle: USAF KC-135R Stratotanker, two F-15s (twin fins) and two F-16s, on an aerial refueling training mission Probe and drogue: USAF HC-130P refuels a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter Aerial refueling, also called Air refueling or in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air...
Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ...
Official shield of the IAF The Israeli Air Force (IAF; Hebrew: זרוע ×”×ויר והחלל, Zroa HaAvir VeHaḤalal, Air and Space Division, commonly known as חיל ×”×וויר Hel HaAvir) is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces. ...
Aman badge Aman (×מן) is the Hebrew abbreviation for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Directorate of Military Intelligence (××’×£ המודיעין), Israels central, overarching military intelligence. ...
Sayeret Matkal - logo Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכל - General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). ...
Aman badge Aman (×מן) is the Hebrew abbreviation for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Directorate of Military Intelligence (××’×£ המודיעין), Israels central, overarching military intelligence. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
"A group of Israeli commandos was brought to the hospital by a helicopter. They entered the hospital and they are trapped inside,"[5] Hussein Rahal, a Hezbollah spokesman, said. He added that Israeli jets were attacking the surrounding Hezbollah forces with rockets. The Israeli military refused to comment.
The unit from the air force, Shaldag, swept through the Sheikh Havit neighborhood, some three kilometers from the hospital. There, Shaldag found five people it suspected to be Hezbollah members, and took them captive.
The troops traveled the 200 km. to Baalbek by helicopters, which were refueled over the Mediterranean, and had air cover from attack helicopters and jet fighters. The troops were on the ground in Baalbek from 10:32 p.m. Tuesday until 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Israel's military released video that it said proved a hospital it raided over night deep inside Lebanon was actually a Hezbollah headquarters.
Despite IDF claims that the captured individuals are Hezbollah fighters, Hezbollah insists that they are civilians[2] [3], with one of them having the same name of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, which raised the suspicions (according to Al-Jazeera Correspondent) on the scene that the operation was meant to kidnap or kill Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah[6] . Sayyid (Arabic: سيد also rendered as syed, seyyed, sayyed, saiyed, or sayed) is an honorific title often given to claimed descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Husayn and Hasan, the sons of his daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib (who was Muhammads...
Hassan Nasrallah (Arabic: ) (b. ...
It subsequently was confirmed that the captives were civilians and were all later released, including Hassan Nasrallah the plasterer.[7] // Gypsum plaster Plaster of Paris, or simply plaster, is a type of building material based on calcium sulfate hemihydrate, nominally (CaSO₄)₂*H₂O. It is created by heating gypsum to about 150 ℃, 2(CaSO₄ · 2H₂O) → (CaSO₄)₂ · H₂O + 3 H₂O (released as steam). ...
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a speech televised August 3, 2006, claimed the operation was a grave intelligence fiasco for the IDF.
Flare- up August 9 In the eastern Bekaa Valley five people were reported killed and two feared dead after an Israeli air raid. [8] The Beqaa Beqaa is a governorate in Lebanon with a population of 750,000 inhabitants. ...
On August 10 an Israeli unmanned drone fired a missile on a minibus driving in the Bekaa Valley, thus killing one person and wounding 12. The attack happened near the town of Rayak.[9].
- Israeli forces tried to penetrate the Hezbollah town Boudai about 3 a.m., swooping in on helicopters deep into the Bekaa Valley 60 miles from the Israeli border. The Israeli military later said the commandos were trying to interdict Iranian weapons being smuggled to guerrillas from Syria. [10]
- The raid by Israeli commandos was carried out by officers from Israel's General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal), also known as "The Unit". It is considered as the IDFs most elite special forces unit. Its primary function is to penetrate deep into enemy territory to gather field intelligence[11].
- Residents who would speak to a reporter speculated that the Israelis were really trying to capture Sheik Mohammed Yazbeck, a member of Hezbollah's highest decision-making body, the Shura Council, who hails from Boudai. "They came here for Yazbeck," said 41-year-old Mustafa Ayoub who lives in Saaydeh, the next town south. "He's from here, but he's not here now. It's possible Yazbeck was here. But I don't know. It's very difficult to know these things."[10]
- The Israelis lost one soldier and one later died of his wounds. Three Hezbollah fighters were wounded.[[1]]The Israelis landed their commandos, a jeep and a Humvee on a hill outside town, then drove toward the village center, witnesses said. "I think that when Hezbollah confronted them, they changed their route. They were trying to go to a school -- a government school -- but they couldn't make it, so they drove through here," said Arabic teacher Fawzi Chamas, 50, pointing to wheat and tobacco fields. The apparent target was a school rumored to be owned by Yazbeck. But the newly built facility -- with a locked gate and dirt still piled around it from construction -- bore a yellow sign outside and no Hezbollah flags: "Boudai School. Owner: The Republic of Lebanon."[10]
- About 10 Hezbollah fighters initially confronted the Israelis, but some 300 townspeople heard the roar of helicopters, grabbed their guns and joined the fight. "All the sky seemed like a cloud of planes, and all -- not only Hezbollah -- fought. All the people in the village brought their guns to fight. Fifteen year-old boys brought guns," said Suzanne Mazloun, 22, wife of Boudai's mayor, Suleiman Chamas. Realizing they were outgunned, the Israelis swerved into tobacco and wheat fields nearby and were picked up by helicopters. Israel said one special forces officer was killed and two soldiers were injured, one seriously. "They left lots of blood, bandages and syringes," said Mohammed Kanan, 36, pointing to a wheat field, where wads of tissues and white bandages were stained with what appeared to be blood.[10]
August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Sayeret Matkal - logo Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכל - General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). ...
The Shura Council (Arabic: Majilis Al-Shura مجلس الشورى) is the upper house of Egyptian bicameral parliament. ...
See also Emanuel Moreno (Hebrew: ×¢×ž× ×•×ל ×ž×•×¨× ×•, Immanuel Moreno) (June 17 1971-August 18 2006) born in France and grew up in Jerusalem, Israel was a Lieutenant Colonel in the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force Sayeret Matkal. ...
Footnotes - ^ a b "Raid 'sends message' to Hizbullah", Jerusalem Post, 2006-08-02.
- ^ a b "The Baalbek operation is a fiasco", Al Manar, 2006-08-02.
- ^ a b "Libano, incursioni e raid (in Italian)", La Repubblica, 2006-08-02.
- ^ "Forza Onu in Libano subito (in Italian)", La Repubblica, 2006-08-21.
- ^ "Fierce battles reported in Baalbek'", Aljazeera, 2006-08-02.
- ^ "Israel 'captures Hezbollah fighters in Baalbek operation' (article in Arabic)", Aljazeera, 2006-08-02.
- ^ KIFNER, John (August 23, 2006). What’s in a Name? Not, It Seems, a Leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
- ^ "Israeli raids kill several in Lebanon", BreakingNews, 2006-08-09.
- ^ "Israeli jets strike Beirut and Bekaa", Al Jazeera, 2006-08-10.
- ^ a b c d "U.N.: Israeli raid violates cease-fire", CNN, 2006-08-20.
- ^ "Israel's raid in the Bekaa Valley", BBC, 2006-08-21.
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Al-Manar (المنــــار; Arabic for The Beacon) is a satellite and terrestrial television station based in Beirut, Lebanon [1]. Al-Manar was launched by Hezbollah in 1991 [2] with funding from Iran [3]. Al-Manar calls itself the station of resistance (qanat al-muqawama), and is instrumental in what Hezbollah calls...
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