2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
Cause
The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict was the result of the actions of the terrorist group Hezbollah who were staked out in southern Lebanon. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began on July 12, 2006 when Hezbollah terrorists crossed the border into Israel and attacked an Israeli army convoy, killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two others. Hezbollah had been looking to capture Israeli troops so they could trade them for hundreds of prisoners in Israel that had been rounded up in their occupation of Lebanon and Palestine. [1]. Hezbollah embedded itself within a civilian population, housing its office buildings, military positions, and weapons caches among civilians. Hezbollah also fired its rockets from within civilian villages and cities making it extremely difficult if not impossible to distinguish between civilian and Hezbollah areas. Israel dropped leaflets and broadcast radio messages warning civilians to leave certain areas, often giving up the element of surprise. A blockade was put into affect and the Lebanese airport bombed and shut down as well as the main bridges and roads into and out of Lebanon. A few weeks after the start of hostilities a cease fire was put into place. Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon over the next few months as the Lebanese army took up positions on the southern border. Hezbollah was not allowed to re-establish its former positions.
Bad Media Coverage
The press coverage of the event in the West came under heavy criticism, as the liberal anti-Israel media intentionally gave favorable coverage to Hezbollah[2]. Many instantly claimed Israel was responsible for casualties before investigations revealed that they were not. The most famous incident of bad press coverage was the now fired Reuters journalist Adnan Hajj, who intentionally doctored his pictures of the events[3].
Impact on civilians
Israeli retaliation at the death of eight soldiers ultimately caused the deaths of up to 2,000 Lebanese citizens (this number is highly contested: many deaths appear to have been accidental recounts of the bodies, or the casualties of misfired Hezbollah rockets; Thomas Friedman estimates the number at about 1200), the wounding of over 4,000, and the displacement of 200,000. Israeli civilian losses were at 43 and military casualties at 120 dead. Hezbollah dead are estimated at several hundred.
External Links
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mftoc.html