Operation Grapes of Wrath

Operation Grapes of Wrath
Part of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict and the South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)

IDF soldiers firing on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, taken on 15 April 1996
Date11–27 April 1996
Location
Lebanon, northern Israel
Result Ceasefire on civilian targets; much Lebanese infrastructure destroyed.
Belligerents
Israel Israel
SLA		 Hezbollah
 Syria[1]
Commanders and leaders
Israel Shimon Peres
Israel Amnon Lipkin-Shahak		 Hassan Nasrallah
Syria Mustafa Tlass
Casualties and losses
No casualties[2] 13 Hezbollah fighters killed[3][4]
62 Israeli civilians wounded[5]
20,000–30,000 Israeli civilians displaced
149[3] – 250[6] Lebanese civilians killed
354 Lebanese civilians wounded[7]
350,000–500,000[8] Lebanese civilians displaced

Operation Grapes of Wrath (Hebrew: מבצע ענבי זעם Mivtsa Enavi Zaam), known in Lebanon as the April Aggression (Arabic: عدوان نيسان, romanized: ʿUdwān Nīsān), was a seventeen-day campaign of the Israeli Defense Forces against Hezbollah in 1996 which attempted to end the Iran-backed group’s rocket attacks on Northern Israeli civilian centres by forcing the group north of the Litani River, out of easy range of these civilian centres.[9] Prior to the operation, Hezbollah had launched 151 rockets from Lebanon into Israel, killing two Israeli civilians and seriously wounding 24 other Israeli civilians.[10]

In their attempt to degrade and destroy Hezbollah, Israel conducted more than 1,100 air raids and extensive shelling (some 25,000 shells).[citation needed] After the outbreak of Israel’s response, 639 Hezbollah cross-border rocket attacks targeted northern Israel, particularly targeting the Israeli civilian town of Kiryat Shemona, wounding and murdering dozens of Israeli civilians.[7][11] Hezbollah forces also participated in numerous engagements with Israeli and South Lebanon Army forces.

The conflict was de-escalated on 27 April by a ceasefire agreement banning attacks on civilians, though Hezbollah and the Lebanese government did not comply with the ceasefire agreement, precipitating the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War.

  1. ^ "CNN - Israel pledges continued attacks on Lebanon - Apr. 12, 1996". edition.cnn.com.
  2. ^ Netanel Lorch. "The Arab-Israeli Wars". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel). Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Chronology, 16 February-15 May 1996". Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Summer, 1996), p.179. JSTOR 2538022. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  4. ^ Fisk (2001), p.1126
  5. ^ B'tselem (2000) p.75
  6. ^ Bregman (2016), p.272
  7. ^ a b Human Rights Watch (1997)
  8. ^ Hirst (2010) p. 170
  9. ^ Tucker, Spencer C.; Roberts, Priscilla (12 May 2008). The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-842-2.
  10. ^ "Civilians under Assault: Hezbollah's Rocket Attacks on Israel in the 2006 War: Historical Background to the 2006 Conflict". Human Rights Watch. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  11. ^ Daniszewski, John (16 April 1996). "Israel Knocks Out Beirut Electricity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 August 2024.