Hezbollah-Israel: An Endless War in Whose Interests? (8)
A third war, signed Ali Larijani
This series of articles is intended to shed light on the current situation through the lens of the past, far removed from passionate, ideological or romantic narratives that overlook the underlying realities. It is up to the reader to draw the appropriate conclusions.
The previous seven instalments offered a reassessment of the events surrounding the rise of Hezbollah’s power, from the Taif Agreement to the withdrawal of the Israeli army from South Lebanon in May 2000, the establishment of a Hezbollahland in the South and the eruption of the 33-Day War in July 2006, which was initiated by Ali Larijani..
The 2006 War in Gaza
Hezbollah’s cross-border military operation, dubbed “True Promise,” along the Blue Line had a dual objective: to open a second front to relieve pressure on Gaza and, above all, to divert attention from Iran’s nuclear dossier.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza during June and July 2006 was codenamed “Summer Rains.” It was launched on June 28, exactly two weeks before the outbreak of war in Lebanon, following the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas on June 25. The operation marked Israel’s first large-scale ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave since its unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 under a plan known as the “Disengagement.”
The two conflicts – in Gaza and Lebanon – therefore unfolded simultaneously during the summer of 2006. Operation Summer Rains reached its peak on July 12, when Israeli forces advanced into central Gaza – the very day Hezbollah launched its attack on Israel, triggering a devastating war.
In this kind of geopolitical context, coincidences are rarely just that. The simultaneous opening of the two fronts was widely interpreted by observers as a coordinated strategic maneuver involving Iran and Hamas on one side, and Iran, Syria and Hezbollah on the other, aimed at advancing Tehran’s regional interests. General Qassem Soleimani, then commander of the Quds Force (killed on the orders of Donald Trump on January 3, 2020, shortly after leaving Baghdad airport), confirmed years later that he himself had entered Lebanon through Syria at the outset of the conflict to oversee operations alongside Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, who was killed by Israel in September 2024, and Imad Mughniyeh, the group’s military chief and a close personal friend.
Mughniyeh had been trained by Iranian officers from the early 1980s. Over the years, he became Hezbollah’s principal liaison with Iran for “special operations” abroad. Experts have noted that he had “one foot in Hezbollah and the other in Iran.” He often bypassed his own chain of command, reporting directly to and receiving instructions from the Quds Force. Fluent in Persian, he frequently travelled using Iranian diplomatic documents. Many of the major operations attributed to him – including the Buenos Aires bombings of 1992 and 1994 and support for Shiite militias in Iraq during the 2000s – were reportedly carried out at Tehran’s direct request.
“Operation True Promise”
On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah attacked an Israeli patrol consisting of two armored Humvee vehicles travelling along the road that runs parallel to the border fence on the Israeli side of the frontier.
The group used explosive devices and anti-tank missiles to disable the vehicles. At the same time, it unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortar rounds on several communities in northern Israel, as well as Israeli military positions across the border, in an effort to overwhelm communications and divert the attention of the Israeli command.
A Hezbollah commando unit then crossed the border fence, attacked the Humvees, and initially killed three Israeli soldiers, capturing two others, who were later confirmed dead. Three more Israeli soldiers inside the armored vehicles were killed in the ensuing exchange of fire. Immediately after the kidnapping of the two servicemen, a Merkava tank crossed the border in pursuit of the abductors, and drove straight into a powerful mine laid by Hezbollah, which destroyed the vehicle and killed all four crew members instantly. Another Israeli soldier was killed by mortar fire while trying to recover the tank crew’s bodies.
The operation, carried out with professional precision, prompted the Israeli government to declare war without delay. It marked the beginning of what became known as the 33-Day War.
The ambush had been months in the planning, executed by Hezbollah’s elite unit with the assistance of officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC officers advised the leadership of the pro-Iranian militia on infiltration tactics, carefully concealed and covered by diversionary attacks along multiple sectors of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
The commandos involved were members of the unit then known as the “Intervention Forces,” the future Radwan Unit. They had been trained by instructors from the IRGC’s Quds Force in ambush techniques and the use of anti-tank missiles. The operation was directed by Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated by Mossad three years later in Syria.
“Operation Steel Web”
Israel’s response took the form of a military campaign codenamed “Operation Steel Web,” launched in reference, among other things, to a speech delivered by Hassan Nasrallah, six years earlier, at the football stadium in Bint Jbeil, just 24 hours after the Israeli withdrawal on May 26, 2000. On that occasion, he had described Israel as being “weaker than a spider’s web.”
The Israeli army carried out a massive multi-day air campaign targeting the entirety of Lebanese territory before launching a ground offensive in southern Lebanon against several towns and villages. The most significant objective was Bint Jbeil, a town of deep symbolic importance precisely because of Nasrallah’s famous speech. It was there, in particular, that the fiercest fighting took place.
The Battle of Bint Jbeil
The Israeli army encircled the town on July 24, twelve days into the fighting and the taking of Maroun el-Ras, a village located just southeast of Bint Jbeil.
On July 25, an Israeli general declared total control of the town, even as resistance continued at the town center.
On July 26, a unit from the Golani Brigade walked into the deadliest ambush of the conflict on the town’s outskirts. Eight Israeli soldiers were killed and dozens more wounded. Unable to secure the town center, Israel fell back on heavy airstrikes and artillery fire, reducing much of the built-up area to rubble.
Bint Jbeil was defended by 150 fighters, including units of the Radwan Force(1). Entrenched in bunkers and tunnels, they repelled multiple ground incursions attempts with anti-tank missiles and mortar fire.
Hezbollah fighters deployed along the Bint Jbeil-Wadi al-Hujeir axis were, to the surprise of many observers, heavily equipped with precision anti-tank missiles, including Kornet systems in both Russian and Iranian variants, as well as Russian-made Metis missiles supplied by Syria and Iran.
The toll from the Battle of Bint Jbeil was steep on the Israeli side: 17 soldiers killed, including at least two senior officers, and several Merkava tanks damaged by missile strikes. Hezbollah’s losses were even heavier: 60 fighters killed, including the sectors operations commander, along with the wholesale destruction of infrastructure and ammunition depots.
Another battle that would define thiswar was that of Wadi al-Houjeyr (to be continued).
(1) Hezbollah’s elite offensive unit, specialized in commando operations and cross-border incursions into Israeli territory, the Radwan Fore is divided into two groups: one tasked with breaching the Lebanese-Israeli border, and the other with seizing strategic positions in northern Israel. In one of his speeches, Hassan Nasrallah had threatened to capture the Galilee, relying on this Radwan unit.
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Hezbollah-Israel: An Endless War in Whose Interests? (7)
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Hezbollah-Israel: An Endless War in Whose Interests? (4)
Hezbollah-Israel: An Endless War in Whose Interests? (3)