Battle of Bint Jbeil

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Battle of Bint Jbeil
Part of 2006 Lebanon War
Map of South Lebanon showing location of Bint Jbeil
Date July 24 - August 11, 2006 Location Bint Jbeil, Southern Lebanon Result Merged into the 2006 Litani offensive (UN troops deployed to Bint Jbeil per ceasefire.)[1]
Belligerents
Israel	Hezbollah
Strength
Varying	Unknown
Casualties and losses
16 KIA[1] about 60 wounded	Dozens

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 Bint Jbeil was one of the main battles of the Litani offensive in the 2006 Lebanon War. It consisted of a series of military actions and clashes in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, regarded as the "Hezbollah stronghold" in the south. The town is three kilometers from the Israeli border. The battle started on July 24, 2006, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) approached the town. Heavy gun battles between IDF soldiers and Hezbollah guerrillas took place. Some of the shooting was taking place at point-blank range in homes and in courtyards.

Contents 1 July 25 - July 29 2 Respite 3 August 6 - August 14 4 See also 5 References

[edit] July 25 - July 29

Late in the night of July 24th, one IDF soldier was killed when his Merkava tank flipped over after driving over a powerful landmine. Another IDF soldier was killed when an anti-tank missile hit his Merkava.^[1][2]

On July 25, the battle began at approximately 5 A.M. when two Israeli companies from Golani Brigade's 51st Battalion, "A" and "C", began advancing down one of Bint Jbeil's streets on parallel routes. Contrary to previous reports, the Hezbollah fighters were not lying in ambush. "Both sides were unaware of each other and it was actually one of our (IDF) soldiers who saw them first and opened fire."^[3] However, the Hezbollah fighters were in upper stories of buildings, and had a commanding view of the IDF. In the initial firefight, 30 members of "C" company, comprising one third of its total strength, were hit, as was the battalion's deputy commander, Major Roi Klein.

"A" company began supportive fire to enable the remaining soldiers of "C" Company to evacuate their wounded while continuing to shoot at the enemy. Two additional Golani companies were rushed in to help with the evacuation. Hours later, Israeli Air Force Blackhawk helicopters managed to land under heavy fire and fly the wounded to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The commanders decided not to risk pilots to evacuate the dead; they were carried out under cover of darkness by a company from the Golani Brigade's 12th Battalion.

"The battle began to their advantage. They were in a much better position, but we won and killed at least 20 Hezbollah fighters. None of the soldiers panicked, they were professional throughout, and that's our advantage over Hezbollah," commander of "A" Company said.^[3] Most of the fighting took place at extremely short-range, sometimes only a few meters, also using hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades. The IDF said its military operations have hit dozens of militants during ongoing fighting in Bint Jbeil, a town it dubbed Hezbollah's "terror capital."^[4]

On July 28, troops from the Paratroopers Brigade's 101st and 890th Battalion exchanged fire with Hezbollah and killed at least 20 fighters, according to Israeli sources. The fighters were of Hezbollah's elite forces, which were involved in the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers.^[5] On July 29, the battle ended as IDF troops pulled out of Bint Jbeil, after clashes with Hezbollah left 6 soldiers wounded and some 26 guerillas dead, according to the IDF. Armored forces continued to operate in the area, however.^[6]Since Israel left Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah has built up the area around Bint Jbeil, according to Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin. "Not only [do they have] a terrorist army, but they are sort of waiting for us to come in," she said. "They have booby-trapped the entire area. They want us to walk into those booby traps."^[7]

[edit] Respite

As of July 30, Israel confirmed 10 of its soldiers died in the battle,^[8][9] although several international media organizations had initially reported 18 Israeli casualties. Dozens of Golani Brigade soldiers were evacuated into Israel. Israel claims to have killed over 70 Hezbollah millitants, although Hezbollah claims to have lost 32 in the entire conflict as of July 28^[10] and only 12 in Bint Jbeil.^[11] Hezbollah secretary Hassan Nasrallah said that Israel suffered a "serious defeat" in ground fighting around Bint Jbeil.^[12] And on July 30, it was reported that the IDF forces withdrew from Bint Jbeil ^[9] and that Hezbollah still held the area.^[13] Teams from the Red Cross and United Nations arrived in the southern Lebanese town to survey the damage and evacuate residents, a day after heavy fighting reduced much of the area to rubble.^[14]

[edit] August 6 - August 14

On the evening of August 6th, the battle began again. As of August 7th, Hezbollah claimed to have killed three Israeli soldiers in the town. ^[15] At first, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed only one death, a soldier from the Paratroopers Brigade. However, the Israeli Defense Forces later confirmed that two other soldiers had indeed been killed when their tank was hit by anti-tank rockets and missiles.^[16] The Israeli Defense forces claimed that they killed five Hezbollah fighters in the same round of fighting.^[17] The fighting continued as the Israeli Defense forces claimed to have killed three more Hezbollah fighters in Bint Jbeil and the nearby village of Ramiya. In addition, the Israeli military claimed to have captured five Hezbollah guerrillas in Bint Jbeil and a nearby village, Shihin. ^[18] However, two Israeli soldiers, also from the Paratroopers Brigade, were killed in combat that day. ^[1] Fighting continued on August 9th, as two more Israeli soldiers were killed during a night offensive. ^[19] As of August 9th, the Israeli Defense Forces report that dozens of Israeli soldiers have been injured in fighting in around Bint Jbeil and the surrounding panhandle of Galilee. ^[20] By August 12th, Bint Jbeil had become part of the greater Litani offensive. As a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon began, Journalists who visited the town reported that while "Hizbullah's fighters were as elusive last week as they were deadly", on the 14th "There was no sign of Hizbullah fighters". [2]As of September 3rd, the town was reported to be in the control of United Nations peacekeeping forces, and Israeli forces had withdrawn from the area. [3]

Some have commented that this battle had a psychological component outweighing its military significance. Uri Bar-Joseph wrote about Dan Halutz in Haaretz "He pushed for ineffectual military initiatives with a high casualty toll, like the conquest of Bint Jbail, which was meant to create a spectacle of victory in the place where Nasrallah delivered his "spider web" speech following the IDF pullout in May 2000."^[21][22]

[edit] See also

• Roi Klein

[edit] References