Baalbek operation

This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Baalbek operation is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:

Related Sponsors

BM Pharmacy Generic pharmaceuticals at unbeatable prices. Insomnia, men's health, hair health, pain control. bmpharmacy.com
Online Pharmacy Carisoprodol, tadalafil, sildenafil, vardenafil and more... xlpharmacy.com
MedBasket.com Discreet. Inexpensive. Fast shipping. Great selection. What more can we say? medbasket.com
Frugalmed 2000 reasons to shop with us first. frugalmed.com
Ads by Tiva

Operation Sharp and Smooth
Part of 2006 Lebanon War
Date August 1, 2006 – August 2, 2006
Location Baalbek, Lebanon
Result Israeli success.
Belligerents
Israel Hezbollah
Strength
200 Unknown
Casualties and losses
None 19 killed (IDF claim)1
v • d • e

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

During the 2006 Lebanon War, Operation Sharp and Smooth (Hebrew: מבצע חד וחלק‎), also known as the Baalbek operation, was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raid on a Hezbollah-run hospital in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Conducted by Israeli special operations forces on the night of August 1, the raid resulted in retrieved intelligence information and five locals captured, several of whom were believed by the IDF to be Hezbollah militants2, while Hezbollah insisted that the prisoners are civilians3 4. The five were released on August 21, 20065.

The operation

The operation began with at least five rapid air strikes. Approximately 200 elite commandos fast-roped from helicopters which previously refuelled over the Mediterranean Sea. The operation involved two commando units: Shaldag of the Israeli Air Force, and Sayeret Matkal of the IDF Branch of Intelligence (Aman). 2 Upon landing, the units split.
Sayeret Matkal was assigned to take Dar al-Hikma hospital, believed by Military Intelligence to be a base for Iranian Revolutionary Guards. There, the five men targeted were captured. During the raid, a Hezbollah source claimed that several Israeli soldiers were trapped in the hospital, engaged in fierce clashes with the group of fighters who surrounded the facility.

A group of Israeli commandos was brought to the hospital by a helicopter. Hezbollah fighters inside the hospital opened fire, but the commandos managed to get inside the hospital. They captured many Hezbollah weapons. Hussein Rahal, a hezbollah spokesman said that the commandos were trapped in the hospital and engaged in fierce clashes with hezbollah fighters. He also added that Israeli jets outside were attacking the surrounding hezbollah forces with rockets. "They entered the hospital and they are trapped inside."6

As all troops later returned unharmed and with captured prisoners, this report appears to be one of various other fabricated public relations claims made by Hezbollah during the war.78

The Shaldag troops swept through the Sheikh Havit neighborhood, some three kilometers from the hospital, and engaged in gunbattles with Hezbollah militants.

The troops were on the ground in Baalbek from 10:32 p.m. Tuesday until 3 a.m. Wednesday. They seized arms and various military equipment and information.9 The IDF later released a video that it said proved the target raided was a Hezbollah headquarters.

While the IDF believed that the captured individuals were Hezbollah militants, Hezbollah insisted that they were not members of the militia.3 4 It was subsequently confirmed that the captives were civilians and were all later released.10 Additionally, Israel claimed that approximately 19 Hezbollah fighters were killed, while Hezbollah denied this.11

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hezbollah Claim
  2. ^ a b "Raid 'sends message' to Hizbullah", Jerusalem Post (2006-08-02). 
  3. ^ a b "The Baalbek operation is a fiasco", Al Manar (2006-08-02). 
  4. ^ a b "Libano, incursioni e raid (in Italian)", La Repubblica (2006-08-02). 
  5. ^ "Forza Onu in Libano subito (in Italian)", La Repubblica (2006-08-21). 
  6. ^ "Fierce battles reported in Baalbek'", Aljazeera (2006-08-02). 
  7. ^ http://www.hyscience.com/archives/2006/08/flash_baghdad_b_1.php
  8. ^ http://jihadwatch.org/archives/012378.php
  9. ^ http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20003119-5006506,00.html
  10. ^ KIFNER, John (August 23, 2006). "What’s in a Name? Not, It Seems, a Leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  11. ^ Hezbollah Claim

Sources

Sister project Wikinews has related news: Israeli soldiers landing in Baalbek

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 4 December 2008, at 00:27.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Baalbek operation".

The URL for this specific entry is:

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.