Timeline of the 2006 Lebanon War (mid August)

This is a timeline of the 2006 Lebanon War during mid August.

August 10 IDF The IDF reveals that 15 reserve soldiers were killed and 40 were wounded in clashes on August 9, Israel's deadliest day of fighting since the war began."15 IDF soldiers killed Wednesday, IDF reveals", Jerusalem Post, August 10, 2006 In fighting in the villages of Marjayoun, Khiam and Kila, eight Israeli soldiers were wounded in a mortar attack. Another soldier was lightly hurt by anti-tank rocket fire. One soldier was also wounded by anti-tank fire in the security zone near Bint Jbail."IDF suffers casualties in fighting near Marj Ayoun", Haaretz, August 10, 2006 As cease-fire negotiations appeared to stall, Israel lobbed artillery rounds into southern Lebanon at daybreak while troops backed by tanks and armored vehicles moved across the border. Israel ratcheted up its fight against Hezbollah, beginning operations aimed at the heart of Beirut, taking control of a largely Christian southern Lebanese town. The Israeli military also dropped leaflets in Beirut, warning of expanded operations inside the capital and urging people in southern Shiite neighborhoods to evacuate. Those neighborhoods have been bastions of support for Hezbollah. "To the people who live in Hay El Soulom, Borj El Barajneh, Shiyah ... For your safety," one flier warned. "You must evacuate these areas immediately and evacuate any area from where Hezbollah and its members or their assistants are launching their terrorist operations. Be aware!" To date, Hezbollah has fired 3,333 rockets into northern Israel, Israeli authorities report. Another flier from the IDF threatens civilians directly: "each expansion of Hizbollah terrorist operations will lead to a harsh and powerful response and its painful response will not be confined to Hassan's gang of criminals." Israeli troops have seized the southern Lebanese town of Marjeyoun and heavy clashes were reported in the area around the town after armoured columns crossed the Lebanese border overnight. Other Israeli troops also advanced on the town of Khiam. Israeli jets also struck a lighthouse used as a cell phone communications tower in central Beirut. Witnesses said they saw a man being loaded into an ambulance at the scene. There was no immediate information on his condition. The area, located in an upscale neighborhood where slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri lived, is outside the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs that Israeli forces have targeted up to now. Israeli troops had warned residents to remain in their homes as forces moved toward the nearby town of Blatt, Lebanese military intelligence and police said. The secured area overlooks the Litani River, where Hezbollah fighters have reportedly launched rockets into Israel, sources said. An Israeli unmanned drone fired a missile on a minibus driving in the Bekaa Valley, thus killing one person and wounding 12. The attack happened near the town of Rayak. Another air strike targeted a road linking the city of Baalbek with the Syrian city of Homs.Israel An Israeli government spokeswoman said the Marjayoun-offensive was not part of an expanded campaign that Israel's Security Cabinet had approved earlier in the day. A sticking point in the U.S.-France plan to end the conflict remains a Lebanese call for Israel's immediate withdrawal from southern Lebanon. More than 950 people have died in the conflict so far, Israeli authorities said. Most have been Lebanese civilians. On a separate front, the Gaza-Egypt border crossing is closing until further notice, Israel said, citing specific security alerts.Hezbollah Two Israeli civilians, including a child—were killed and two were wounded after Hezbollah launched a Katyusha rocket into the Arab village of Deir al Assad in northern Israel. Another rocket struck the Krayot, the northern suburbs of Haifa. The strike on Haifa came a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah urged Israeli Arabs in the city to leave. Hezbollah announced "violent battles" in Marjeyoun, and Arab news networks Al-Manar and Al Arabiya reported at least two Israeli tanks were destroyed in fighting there. By afternoon, Hezbollah had sent 136 rockets into northern Israel, police said. To date, Hezbollah has fired 3,333 rockets into northern Israel, Israeli authorities report.Lebanon Lebanese security forces said that, to this day 834 people have died, most of them civilians, and nearly 3,211 have been wounded since fighting began on July 12. About 350 Lebanese soldiers and police in Marjayoun have been detained by Israeli forces, after IDF took the village. Receiving warning leaflets from Israel were northern Lebanese towns including El Beddaoui, Lebanese Internal Security Forces said. Those leaflets warned that Israel will target any type of truck moving along the coastal road. "Be aware that anybody using pick-ups or trucks puts his life in danger," one leaflet warned. The leaflets said such vehicles will be targeted under suspicion of "transporting rockets, military ammunitions and terrorists." North of Beirut, three Israeli rockets launched from the sea also hit three state radio towers, Lebanese police said. Those towers already have been targets of attacks during the conflict. Israeli troops had warned residents to remain in their homes as forces moved toward the nearby town of Blatt, Lebanese military intelligence and police said. While Lebanese intelligence said Israeli troops did not experience any resistance during their advance to Marjayoun, Lebanese military sources and U.N. observers described a vicious battle in Khiyam, which Israel said is a Hezbollah stronghold. A Lebanese military source said Israeli troops backed by five tanks moved into a Lebanese army base in Marjeyoun, meeting no resistance from the garrison of about 350 soldiers and police. More than 950 people have died in the conflict so far, Lebanese authorities told. Most have been Lebanese civilians. A sticking point in the U.S.-France plan to end the conflict remains a Lebanese call for Israel's immediate withdrawal from southern Lebanon. A video showing Lebanese soldiers cordially offering Israeli troops glasses of tea during the military offensive has been shot, when Israeli troops "took control" of the southern Lebanese town of Marjeyoun.United Nations The UN's top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, criticised both Israel and Hezbollah for hindering access to southern Lebanon, calling the situation a "disgrace". U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan pushed the Security Council to come up with a plan by week's end, August 12 to 13, for ending the conflict. In a statement issued early afternoon, Annan's office said he is working "very intensely" on reaching a resolution acceptable to both Israel and Lebanon, and he repeated his call to end the fighting and "save civilians on both sides from the nightmare they have endured for the past four weeks." "The secretary-general believes that it ought to be possible for the Security Council to adopt a resolution by the end of the week," his office said. Meanwhile, the United Nations warned of a major food crisis in Lebanon, saying that the displacement of nearly a million people has coincided with the country's main cereal harvest. Of the 915,000 people the U.N. estimates to be internally displaced in Lebanon, 45 percent are children, it said. Fighting has disrupted the delivery of food, fuel and medical supplies and devastated much of the country's infrastructure, and the U.N. said 100,000 people in southern Lebanon won't be receiving vital relief. The emergency coordinator for the U.N. World Food Program, Zlatan Milisic, said no aid has been able to reach areas south of Sidon. A relief convoy planned for Nabatiya was denied IDF approval, said Milisic. The main points of a resolution to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah have been agreed to by the U.S. and France, diplomatic sources said. U.N. observers described a vicious battle in Khiyam, which Israel said is a Hezbollah stronghold, during the Israeli advance to Marjayoun.United States Diplomats meanwhile were trying to reconcile differences over a U.S.-France plan to end the conflict. A sticking point remains a Lebanese call for Israel's immediate withdrawal from southern Lebanon, a move Israel says it won't make without guarantees of its border security. Senior Bush administration officials have said that an August 10 vote at the United Nations is unlikely. John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said council members hope to vote on August 11 on the resolution, but "we're not there yet." In Washington, senior State Department officials said the United States and France have reached a tentative deal on a resolution that would call for an end to the fighting; an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, in parallel with the deployment of Lebanese government and U.N. troops; and language on the status of the disputed territory of Shebaa Farms, now under Israeli control. But an outstanding question is whether Lebanon's government will OK a resolution that gives a U.N. mission the mandate to use force, diplomatic sources said.France Diplomats meanwhile were trying to reconcile differences over a U.S.-France plan to end the conflict. A sticking point remains a Lebanese call for Israel's immediate withdrawal from southern Lebanon, a move Israel says it won't make without guarantees of its border security.

August 11 IDF The Israeli army started to broaden its ground offensive and pushed its troops further into southern Lebanon, heading toward the Litani River. The IDF said this was the farthest troops have advanced since the conflict erupted July 12.

An Israeli soldier was killed in the village of Labuneh overnight, when anti-tank rockets hit a tank and a bulldozer Five Israeli soldiers were injured but not seriously during operations in El-Qantarah, east of the port city of Tyre, the Israel Defense Forces said. IDF allowed 400 Lebanese security forces, trapped in Marjayoun since August 10, as a result of fire exchanges there between Israel and Hizbullah, to leave the village Israeli planes have been reported attacking a convoy fleeing southern Lebanon, causing at least 10 casualties. More than 100 civilian vehicles carrying Lebanese soldiers and police were hit near Chtaura on the west side of the Bekaa Valley The Israeli army confirmed it had attacked the convoy: "The attack was carried out based on a suspicion. It was found to be incorrect," an army spokeswoman said. One of the dead was reported to be a Red Cross worker who went to help people injured in the first attacks The IDF also said an Israeli soldier was killed on the ground in Rshaf in an exchange of fire, it carried out more than 80 airstrikes in southern Lebanon.Hezbollah Hezbollah fired several rockets into Israel, wounding two people in the northern city of Haifa, ambulance staff said. Over 160 rockets were reported fired into Israel. Hezbollah TV reported that Hezbollah forces destroyed an Israeli gunboat off the coast of Tyre, Lebanon, killing or wounding a crew of 12, the AP reported. The Israeli military denied Hezbollah's claim, the AP said. About 150 rockets were launched into northern Israel, Israeli authorities told.Israel Thirty-one days of fighting have killed 123 Israelis, including 40 civilians, and 861 Lebanese, mostly civilians, according to authorities in those countries.