2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict

The 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict was a low-level border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah for control of Shebaa Farms, a disputed territory located on the Golan Heights–Lebanon border. Fighting between the two sides primarily consisted of Hezbollah rocket and mortar attacks on Israel and Israeli artillery barrages and airstrikes on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Clashes began a few months after the 2000 Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, which Hezbollah viewed as incomplete due to the presence of the Israel Defense Forces in Shebaa Farms. The conflict culminated in the 2006 Lebanon War; Israel retains control over the territory.

2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict
Part of the Israeli–Lebanese conflict and the Iran–Israel proxy conflict

Minefields at Tel Faher in the Golan Heights, with Shebaa Farms in the background (2009)
Date7 October 2000 – 12 July 2006
Location
Shebaa Farms, Golan Heights–Lebanon border
Result
Territorial
changes		 Israel retains control over Shebaa Farms
Belligerents
 Israel  Hezbollah
Supported by:
 Iran[1]
 Syria[1]
Commanders and leaders
Moshe Katsav
Ehud Barak
Ariel Sharon
Ehud Olmert		 Hassan Nasrallah
Imad Mughniyah
Casualties and losses
16 killed
37 wounded
2 captured		 13 killed (lowest estimate) and 2 officials assassinated
1 killed and 7 wounded
9 Israeli civilians killed and 8 wounded
Unknown Lebanese civilian casualties
1 French UNIFIL soldier killed
1 Lebanese soldier wounded
Map of the Shebaa Farms
Memorial in Petah Tikva to 3 IDF soldiers, killed and kidnapped by Hezbollah in October 2000.

Timeline of attacks

2000
  • 7 October – Hezbollah launched a cross-border raid. Three IDF soldiers were killed and their bodies were captured. Five people were subsequently injured by Israeli artillery fire.
  • 26 November – An explosive charge was detonated while an IDF force was on a road opening mission. One soldier was killed and two wounded.

2001
  • 31 January – Six mortar bombs were fired at an Israeli outpost near the Lebanese border, causing no casualties.
  • 16 February – Antitank fire hit an IDF convoy. One soldier was killed and three wounded. Israel responded with airstrikes on targets in South Lebanon.
  • 14 April – An antitank missile was fired at an IDF tank, killing a soldier. In response, Israeli aircraft bombed a Syrian radar station in Lebanon, killing a Syrian soldier and injuring four others.[2]
  • 29 June – Hezbollah fighters fired antitank missiles and mortar shells at IDF positions, injuring two soldiers.
  • 1 July – IAF warplanes bombed a Syrian radar station in Lebanon, wounding three Syrian soldiers and a Lebanese soldier. Hezbollah responded by shelling positions in northern Israel. IAF helicopter gunships then attacked Hezbollah positions.[3]

2002
  • 12 March – Hezbollah fire killed six Israeli civilians, including an off-duty IDF officer.[4]
  • 29 August – One IDF soldier was killed and two soldiers were injured in rocket fire.
  • December – Israeli aircraft carried out numerous airstrikes throughout Lebanon. As well as targeting roads, bridges, and ammunition depots, they also bombed several power and electrical transformer stations throughout Lebanon, leaving large parts of Beirut and its suburbs, communities in the Chouf District, Baalbek, and Bint Jbeil without electricity. Meanwhile, Hezbollah rocket fire hit Kiryat Shmona, killing two Israeli civilians.[5]

2003
  • 7 May – Hezbollah attacked IDF positions in Shebaa farms with rockets, mortars, and small arms, killing a soldier and wounding five.
  • 20 July – Hezbollah snipers killed two IDF soldiers at a border post. The IDF retaliated with tank fire at a Hezbollah position, killing a Hezbollah fighter. The IAF launched multiple flights over Lebanon, two of which generated powerful sonic booms over Beirut.
  • 22 July – Two Israeli civilians in Shlomi were wounded by Hezbollah anti-aircraft shells fired at IAF warplanes over South Lebanon.
  • 2 August – Hezbollah member Ali Hussein Saleh was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut, allegedly by Israeli intelligence.[6]
  • 3 August – Hezbollah militants fired rockets and mortars at three Israeli military positions in Shebaa farms. Israel retaliated with airstrikes.
  • 10 August – An Israeli teenager was killed and four civilians wounded by shrapnel from a Hezbollah anti-aircraft shell fired into northern Israel.
  • 6 October – One IDF soldier was killed by Hezbollah gunfire. Hezbollah anti-tank missiles and rockets were also fired at an IDF post in the Reaches Ramim area.

2004
  • 19 January – An Israeli soldier was killed and another severely wounded after a Hezbollah anti-tank missile struck an IDF armored bulldozer that crossed into Lebanon to clear explosives.
  • 20 January – Israel bombed two Hezbollah bases in the Bekaa Valley, causing an unknown number of casualties.[7]
  • 7 May – Hezbollah fire killed one Israeli soldier and severely wounded two others. Afterward, both Israel and Hezbollah shelled each other across the border.[8]
  • 19 July – Hezbollah official Ghaleb Awwali was assassinated by a car bomb, allegedly by Israeli agents.
  • 20 July – Hezbollah sniper fire killed two IDF soldiers at a border post. In retaliation, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at Hezbollah positions, and an Israeli tank fired at a Hezbollah post near Ayta ash Shab, killing a Hezbollah fighter. Hezbollah fighters on the border returned fire, and subsequently came under attack from Israeli helicopters.[9]

2005
  • 9 January – A roadside bomb attack in northern Israel killed one soldier. Israel responded with shelling, during which a French officer serving with UNIFIL was killed and a Swedish officer and Lebanese civilian were wounded.[10][11]
  • 7 April – Two Israeli Arabs from Ghajar were kidnapped by Hezbollah and held for four days, interrogated, and released.
  • June – An Israeli Paratrooper unit discovered three Hezbollah fighters attempting to infiltrate and opened fire, killing one.
  • 29 June – After an Israeli soldier was killed and four wounded by Hezbollah mortar fire, Israeli warplanes and artillery launched attacks against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.[12]
  • 30 June – Hezbollah guerrillas launched an attack on Israeli forces in Shebaa farms, wounding six soldiers. Israel responded with an airstrike that killed a Hezbollah fighter.[13]
  • 21 November – Five Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into the Israel-occupied Golan Heights using motorcycles and ATVs, and attacked an outpost in Ghajar manned by an IDF paratrooper unit. All five attackers were killed by a sniper from the paratrooper unit. In response, Israeli warplanes struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon; Hezbollah responded by firing mortars and rockets at Israeli outposts and villages, wounding nine soldiers and two civilians.[14][15]
  • 28 December – After rocket fire from Lebanon hits Northern Israel, Israeli warplanes bombed a guerrilla base south of Beirut.

2006
  • 27 May – In what was described as the most intense clash since the withdraw of Israeli troops in 2000, Hezbollah fired rockets into Northern Israel, wounding a soldier. Israel responded with airstrikes, killing two Hezbollah fighters. The Hezbollah attack may have been retaliation for the killing of Mahmoud al-Majzoub.[16]

Aftermath

Walid Jumblatt, a Lebanese Druze politician and leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, stated that Lebanon has no claims to the Shebaa Farms.[17] The prime minister and president stated that Lebanon has a claim to the area.[18]

Following the Israeli war against Hezbollah in 2006, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 called for the "Delineation of the international borders of Lebanon, especially in those areas where the border is disputed or uncertain, including in the Shebaa farms area."[19]

On 28 August 2006, Hezbollah fighters withdrew from positions near the Shebaa Farms area.[18]

See also

References
  1. A. Kaufman. The Israel-Hezbollah Conflict and the Shebaa Farms. The Joan B. Croc Institute. 2006.
  2. "Israelis Attack Syrian Radar in Lebanon". The New York Times. 16 April 2001. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  3. "BBC News - MIDDLE EAST - Israel attacks Syrian radar station". July 2001. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  4. "Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs". GxMSDev. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  5. "Human Rights Watch - Defending Human Rights Worldwide". Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  6. "BBC NEWS - Middle East - Beirut blast kills Hezbollah fighter". 2 August 2003. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  7. "BBC NEWS - Middle East - Israeli jets hit Lebanon targets". 20 January 2004. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  8. "CNN.com - Israel, Hezbollah battle across Lebanese border - May 7, 2004". CNN. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  9. "Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  10. S/2005/36 of 20 January 2005
  11. "French officer killed by Israeli shelling - News - JamaicaObserver.com". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  12. "BBC NEWS - Middle East - Israeli killed in Hezbollah clash". 29 June 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  13. "Hezbollah, Israel clash in disputed border area - Boston.com". articles.boston.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  14. "Israel, Hezbollah blame each other for clash". 23 November 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  15. "National & World News on Newsday.com - Newsday". Newsday. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  16. Myre, Greg; Fattah, Hassan M. (29 May 2006). "Israel and Militants Trade Fire Across Lebanese Border". The New York Times.
  17. Waked, All (15 March 2005). "Lebanese leader: Mount Dov not ours". Ynetnews. Retrieved 29 September 2006.
  18. Wright, Jonathan (29 August 2006). "News analysis: Hezbollah seen surviving UN troop expansion". The Gazette (Montreal). Archived from the original on 18 February 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2006.
  19. "Syria and the Shebaa Farms Dispute". 28 February 2009.
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