Battle of Ayta ash-Shab

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Part of 2006 Lebanon War

Date	July 31, 2006 - August 11, 2006
Location	Ayta ash-Shab, Southern Lebanon
Result	Merged into the 2006 Litani offensive

Belligerents

Israel

Hezbollah

Casualties and losses

13 KIA [1]

An accumulative of 8 killed amongst partisans and Hezbollah fighters [2]

6 Lebanese civilians killed [3]

v • d • e Military operations of the 2006 Lebanon War

Zar'it-Shtula – Baliste – Maroun al-Ras – Bint Jbeil – Qana – Ayta ash-Shab – Baalbek – al-Qaa – Tyre – Shiyyah – Ghaziyeh – Marjayoun – Litani – Wadi Saluki

The Battle of Ayta ash-Shab started on July 31, 2006, during the 2006 Lebanon War. The Israeli military and Hezbollah forces engaged in the village of Ayta ash-Shab in southern Lebanon.

"There is an operation going on over there -- this is the first time troops have been in this area," an Israeli army spokesman told Reuters. Hezbollah said its guerrillas were engaging the advancing force in fierce fighting, Reuters reported.^[1]

The IDF was hitting the town with heavy shelling and 500-pound bombs. A total of five brigades were operating in the region and heavy gunfights were reported involving light machine guns and rockets.

On August 1 the IDF confirmed that 3 soldiers were killed, 25 injured as Hezbollah fighters fired anti-tank missiles at troops entering village of Ayta ash-Shab.

Israel Defense Forces said its troops had killed or wounded 20 Hezbollah forces in battles Tuesday. Hezbollah said four of its forces died in the fighting.

On August 2, paratroopers continued exchanging fire with Hezbollah guerillas in the village. The IDF reports killing seven Hezbollah men, and wounding 10 others. One IDF soldier was killed and two were seriously wounded in the fighting, which began before dawn Wednesday, and 12 others were lightly hurt.

Four Israeli army soldiers were killed before noon on August 9 after an antitank missile fired by Hezbollah gunmen hit and destroyed an IDF tank in the village. The tank that was struck belonged to the 847 reserve brigade, which has been operating in the sector under the command of the Carmeli reserve brigade. IDF sources reported that immediately after the attack the tank caught fire and soldiers were unable to approach it.

IDF sources assessed that a Kornet-type missile hit the tank, probably from close range. The fire that had erupted in the tank led officials to believe that the tanks' fire extinguisher system had failed to function. [4]

On August 12, the Battle of Ayta ash-Shab became part of the broader Litani offensive. Fighting continued with five soldiers killed in the town and another 25 wounded on August 13.