1982–1985 occupation and emergence of Hezbollah Increased hostilities against the US resulted in the
April 1983 US embassy bombing in Beirut. In response, the US brokered the
May 17 Agreement, in an attempt to stall hostilities between Israel and Lebanon. This agreement eventually failed to take shape, and hostilities continued. In October, the United States Marines barracks
in Beirut was bombed, usually attributed to the Islamic Resistance groups. Following this incident, the United States withdrew its military forces from Lebanon. Suicide bombings became increasingly popular at this time, and were a major concern of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) both near Beirut and in the South. Among the most serious were the two
suicide bombings against the Israeli headquarters in Tyre, which killed 103 soldiers, border policemen, and
Shin Bet agents, and killed 49–56 Lebanese. Israel believes those acts were among the first organized actions made by Shi'ite militants, later forming into Hezbollah. Subsequently, Israel withdrew from the
Shouf Mountains, but continued to occupy Lebanon south of the
Awali River. An increased number of Islamic militias began operating in South Lebanon, launching guerrilla attacks on Israeli and pro-Israel militia positions. Israeli forces often responded with increased security measures and airstrikes on militant positions. Casualties on all sides steadily climbed. In a vacuum left with the eradication of PLO, the disorganized Islamic militants in South Lebanon began to consolidate. The emerging
Hezbollah, soon to become the preeminent Islamic militia, evolved during this period. Scholars disagree as to when Hezbollah came to be regarded as a distinct entity. Over time, a number of Shi’a group members were slowly assimilated into the organization, such as Islamic Jihad members, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, and the Revolutionary Justice Organization.
Israeli withdrawal to southern Lebanon (1985) Lebanon, 1993 , South Lebanon, 1997 On 16 February 1985, Israel withdrew from
Sidon and turned it over to the Lebanese Army. 15 Israelis were killed and 105 wounded during the withdrawal. Dozens of SLA members were also assassinated. Under the
Iron Fist policy, Israel retaliated in a series of raids. On March 11, Israeli forces raided the town of
Zrariyah,
killing 40 men. On March 10, a suicide bomber killed twelve Israeli soldiers from a convoy near
Metula, inside Israel. From mid-February to mid-March, the Israelis lost 18 dead and 35 wounded. On 9 April, a Shiite girl drove a car bomb into an IDF convoy. The next day, a soldier was killed by a land mine. During the same period, Israeli forces killed 80 Lebanese guerrillas in five weeks. Another 1,800 Shi'as were taken as prisoners. Israel withdrew from the Bekaa valley on 24 April, and from
Tyre on the 29th, but continued to occupy a
security zone in Southern Lebanon. On April 9, a female suicide bomber named
Sana'a Mehaidli from the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party blew herself up in
Jezzine, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring ten others.
Beginning of the Security Zone conflict (1985–1989) In 1985, Hezbollah released an open letter to "The Downtrodden in Lebanon and in the World", which stated that the world was divided between the oppressed and the oppressors. The oppressors were named to be mainly the United States and Israel. This letter legitimized and praised the use of violence against the enemies of Islam, mainly the West. Israeli and SLA forces in the security zone began to come under attack. The first major incident occurred in August 1985, when Lebanese guerrillas believed to have been from
Amal ambushed an Israeli convoy: two Israeli soldiers and three of the attackers were killed in the ensuing firefight. Lebanese guerrilla attacks increased, mainly the work of Hezbollah. Fighting the Israeli occupation included hit-and-run guerrilla attacks, suicide bombings, and the
Katyusha rocket attacks on civilian targets in Northern Israel, including
Kiryat Shmona. The Katyusha proved to be an effective weapon and became
a mainstay of Hezbollah military capabilities in South Lebanon. The attacks resulted in both military and civilian casualties. A considerable number of Lebanese guerrillas were killed fighting Israeli and SLA troops, and many were captured. Prisoners were often detained in Israeli military prisons, or by the SLA in the
Khiam detention center, where detainees were often tortured.
Lebanese prisoners in Israel were arrested and detained for participating in guerrilla movements, and many were held for long periods of time. In 1987, Hezbollah fighters from the Islamic Resistance stormed and conquered an outpost in
Bra'shit belonging to the
South Lebanon Army in the security zone. A number of its defenders were killed or taken prisoner, and the Hezbollah flag was raised on top of it. A
Sherman tank was blown up and a
M113 armored personnel carrier was captured and driven triumphantly all the way to Beirut. In September 1987, Israeli aircraft bombed three PLO bases on the outskirts of the
Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, killing up to 41 people. An Israeli spokesman said the targets were being used by terrorist cells that were planning raids against Israel. On 2 January 1988, Israeli airstrikes on
Ain al-Hilweh and along the coast North of Sidon left 19 dead and 14 wounded. Three members of the
PFLP-GC and three from the
PSP were amongst those killed. Seven children and one woman were also killed. It was reported that the raids were retaliation for the 25 November 1987 PFLP-GC
hang-glider attack in which six IDF soldiers were killed. In the previous two years there had been about forty Israeli air strikes on Lebanon. In May 1988, Israel launched an offensive codenamed
Operation Law and Order in which 1,500–2,000 Israeli soldiers raided the area around the Lebanese village of
Meidoun. In two days of fighting, the IDF killed 50 Hizbullah fighters while losing 3 dead and 17 wounded. On 18 October 1988, eight Israeli soldiers were killed by a Hezbollah suicide car bomb. The Israelis responded with extensive air and land attacks. After Israel destroyed Hezbollah's headquarters in the town of
Marrakeh, a Hezbollah suicide bomber destroyed an Israeli transport truck carrying soldiers on the Israel-Lebanon border. In response, Israeli forces ambushed two Hezbollah vehicles, killing eight Hezbollah fighters. On 27 July 1989, the
Hezbollah leader in South Lebanon, Sheikh
Abdel Karim Obeid and two of his aides, were abducted from his home in
Jibchit, by
IDF commandos. The night-time raid was planned by then Minister of Defence
Yitzhak Rabin. Hizbullah responded by announcing the execution of
Colonel Higgins, a senior American officer working with
UNIFIL, who had been kidnapped in February 1988. The Obeid kidnapping led to the adoption of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 638, which condemned all hostage takings by all sides.
Taif Agreement (1989–1991) In 1989, the Lebanese Civil War officially came to an end with the
Ta'if Accord. Armed combat continued at least until October 1990, The continued Israeli
presence in South Lebanon resulted in continued low-intensity warfare and sporadic major combat until the Israeli withdrawal in 2000. In 1990,
Hussein Musawi militant founder and leader of
Islamic Amal, a pro-
Iran Shia Islamist militia, and also seen as notable founding member of
Hezbollah, was killed by an Israeli rocket in an ambush in southern Lebanon. On 29 March 1991, a car bomb in
Antelias district of East Beirut killed 3 people. On 30 December 1991, a car bomb killed 15 bystanders and injured over 100 in West Beirut. The attack took place in the mainly
Shia Basta quarter.
Outbreak of hostilities after the Lebanese Civil War (1991–1993) to
ar-Rihan, 1995 Though the majority of the Lebanese civil war conflicts ended in the months following the
Ta'if Accord, Israel kept maintaining a military presence in South Lebanon. Consequently, the Islamic Resistance, by now dominated by
Hezbollah, continued operations in the South. Several days of Israeli air raids ended on 4 June 1991. Targets, in the biggest attack since 1982, included buildings belonging to
Fateh,
PFLP,
DFLP and
Fateh-Revolutionary Command. Twenty-two people were killed and 82 wounded. On 4 July 1991, following the failure of disarmament negotiations, as required by the Taif agreement, the
Lebanese Army attacked Palestinian positions in Southern Lebanon. The offensive, involving 10,000 troops against an estimated 5,000 militia, lasted 3 days and ended with the Army taking all the Palestinian positions around
Sidon. In the agreement that followed, all heavy weapons were surrendered and infantry weapons only allowed in the two refugee camps,
Ain al-Hilweh and
Mieh Mieh. 73 people were killed in the fighting, and 200 wounded, mostly Palestinian. Hezbollah's leader
Abbas al-Musawi had announced that they would not give up their weapons. "Our guns are a red line that cannot be crossed". On 16 July 1991 they ambushed an Israeli patrol north of the security zone in Kufr Huna. Three Israeli soldiers, including 2 officers, were killed and four wounded. One Hizbollah fighter was killed. The following day the
South Lebanon Army destroyed 14 houses, and burnt crops in neighbouring Majd al-Zun. Prior to their disbandment, militiamen from
Amal were active in South Lebanon. On 29 July 1991 they killed three members of the
South Lebanon Army (SLA). Israel responded with shelling that killed two villagers. On 23 August 1991, two members of the SLA were killed by members of Amal. The
Israeli Army responded the following day with shelling which killed one civilian. Two Irish soldiers serving with
UNIFIL were amongst the wounded. On 15 November 1991, an Irish soldier serving with UNIFIL was killed by the SLA. On 25 November, three Lebanese Army soldiers were killed by an Israeli rocket. On 16 February 1992, al-Musawi was assassinated, along with his wife, son and four others when an Israeli
AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships fired three missiles at his motorcade. The Israeli attack came in retaliation for the killings of three Israeli soldiers two days earlier when their camp was infiltrated. Hezbollah responded with rocket fire onto the Israeli security zone. Israel fired back and sent two armored columns past the security zone to hit Hezbollah strongholds in
Kafra and
Yater. Musawi was succeeded by
Hassan Nasrallah. One of Nasrallah's first public declarations was the "retribution" policy: If Israel hit Lebanese civilian targets, then Hezbollah would retaliate with attacks on Israeli territory.
Islamic Jihad (Lebanon) is reported to have claimed that the
1992 Buenos Aires Israeli embassy bombing, in which 29 people were killed, was their response. Three months after the assassination, the Israeli Air Force launched five air raids on Lebanon in six days. Some of the targets struck were as far north as
Baalbek. On the final day, 26 May 1992, there were more than 40 missile strikes. Over 20 civilians were killed during the offensive. In 1993, hostilities flared again. After a month of Hezbollah shelling on Israeli towns and attacks on military positions, Israel conducted a seven-day operation in July 1993 called
Operation Accountability in order to hit
Hezbollah. One Israeli soldier and 8–50 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the operation, along with 2 Israeli and 118 Lebanese civilians. After one week of fighting in South Lebanon, a mutual agreement mediated by the United States prohibited attacks on civilian targets by both parts.
Continued fighting in the late 1990s (1994–1999) On 7 February 1994 four Israeli soldiers were killed and three wounded in an ambush in southern Lebanon, which Hezbollah announced was to mark the anniversary of Abbas al-Musawi's death. There were no Hezbollah casualties in the attack. In May 1994, Israeli commandos kidnapped an Amal leader,
Mustafa Dirani. In June, an Israeli airstrike against a training camp killed 30–45 Hezbollah cadets. Hezbollah retaliated by firing four barrages of
Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. On 31 March 1995, Rida Yasin, also known as Abu Ali, a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon, was killed by a single rocket fired from an Israeli helicopter while in a car near Derdghaya in the Israeli
security zone, 10 km east of
Tyre. An aide who had been riding with him was also killed. An Israeli civilian was killed and fifteen wounded in the retaliatory rocket fire. In May 1995, four Hezbollah fighters were killed in a firefight with Israeli troops while trying to infiltrate an Israeli position.
Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996 resulted in the deaths of more than 150 Lebanese civilians, most of them in the
shelling of a United Nations base at
Qana. After seventeen days of bombing a
ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah, committing to avoid civilian casualties. Combat continued for at least two months. 14 Hezbollah fighters, about a dozen Syrian soldiers, and 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting. In 1995, the IDF
Egoz Reconnaissance Unit was created as a special forces counter-guerrilla unit in order to counter Hezbollah operations in Southern Lebanon. The unit's first commander was Erez Zuckerman. Zuckerman led the unit in a series of counter-guerrilla operations in South Lebanon that resulted in a high number of
Hezbollah operatives killed. In September 1996, Zuckerman commanded a force from the unit in an operation at
Sujud ridge. The force encountered and killed three Hezbollah operatives, while its own losses were two dead and several injured. The unit is credited with killing sixteen guerrillas in 1996. On 14 December 1996, Brig. Gen. Eli Amitai, the IDF commander of the security zone, was lightly injured when an IDF convoy he was travelling in was ambushed in the eastern sector of the security zone. Less than a week later Amitai was again lightly injured when Hezbollah unleashed a mortar barrage on an SLA position near Bra'shit he was visiting, together with Maj. Gen. Amiram Levine, head of the IDF's Northern Command. In December 1996, two SLA soldiers were killed in three days of fighting, and a Hezbollah fighter was killed by Israeli soldiers. On 4 February 1997,
two Israeli transport helicopters collided over
She'ar Yashuv in Northern Israel while waiting for clearance to fly into Lebanon. A total of 73 IDF troops were killed in the disaster. On 28 February, one Israeli personnel and four Hezbollah guerrillas were killed in a clash. The increased activity of Israeli special forces, particularly the Egoz Reconnaissance Unit, who staked out infiltration trails along the edge of the security zone, hampered Hezbollah's ability to infiltrate the security zone and plant roadside bombs. In the first half of 1997, Hezbollah gradually reduced its infiltration attempts and increasingly resorted to long-range shelling of IDF and SLA outposts. Encouraged by these successes, Israeli commandos began conducting raids north of the security zone to kill Hezbollah members in their home villages. In one particular raid, carried out on the night of 3–4 August 1997,
Golani Brigade soldiers raided the village of
al_Kfour and left behind three roadside bombs packed with ball bearings that were detonated from an Israeli Air Force UAV hours later, killing five Hezbollah members, including two commanders. Faced with roadside bomb attacks and deep-penetration raids by Israeli special forces, Hezbollah was increasingly kept on the defensive and forced to reexamine its tactics. Following the Kfour commando raid, Hezbollah tightened security in villages north of the security zone to counter Israeli commando raids. Hezbollah units responsible for nighttime observation increased their patrols, staking out potential helicopter landing spots, infiltration passages from the security zone, and landing spots on the shore. Roadside bombs were planted across potential routes for infiltration. Key areas in villages, on hilltops, and in valleys were monitored every night. On 28 August, a major
friendly fire incident occurred in Wadi Saluki during a clash between IDF troops from the
Golani Brigade, together with air and artillery support, and
Amal militants. Although, four Amal militants were killed, Israeli shelling started a fire that engulfed the area, killing four IDF soldiers. On 5 September 1997, a seaborne raid by 16 Israeli
Shayetet 13 naval commandos failed after the troops
stumbled into a Hezbollah and Amal ambush. As the force headed towards the coastal town of
Ansariye, it was ambushed with
IEDs and subjected to withering fire that killed the commander, Lt. Col. Yossi Korakin, and caused bombs being carried by another soldier to explode, killing more of the force. The survivors radioed for help, and Israel immediately dispatched a rescue team from
Unit 669 and
Sayeret Matkal in two
CH-53 helicopters. A rescue force of helicopters and missile boats arrived to provide support, conducting airstrikes as the rescuers evacuated the dead and survivors. Lebanese Army anti-aircraft units put up anti aircraft fire and fired illumination rounds at the helicopters, and an Israeli
F-16 subsequently attacked an anti-aircraft position. Hezbollah put up mortar fire, killing a
Druze army doctor with the rescue force and damaging a helicopter. Israeli missile boats fired at the source of the mortar fire. The battle ended when Israel, by means of contacting the US government and delivering a message to be passed on to Syria and from there to Hezbollah, threatened to respond with massive force if Hezbollah tried to stop the rescue mission, causing Hezbollah and Amal to cease fire while the Lebanese Army moved in. Twelve Israelis were killed, while two Hezbollah fighters were wounded. A woman in a passing car was also killed. In 2010, Hassan Nasrallah claimed that in 1997, Hezbollah had managed to hack into Israeli UAVs flying over Lebanon and thus learn which route the commandos were planning to take and prepared ambushes accordingly. On September 13–14, 1997, IDF raids in Lebanon killed a further four Hezbollah fighters and six Lebanese soldiers. On 12 September 1997, three Hezbollah fighters were killed in an ambush by Egoz commandos on the edge of the security zone. One of them was Hadi Nasrallah, the son of Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah. On 25 May 1998, the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the failed commando raid were exchanged for 65 Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of 40 Hezbollah fighters and Lebanese soldiers captured by Israel. Among the bodies returned to Lebanon were the remains of Hadi Nasrallah. In the autumn of 1997 Hizbollah began using
Sager missiles. On 8 October, two IDF soldiers were killed when their tank was hit. There were six other casualties, two of them serious. The attack took place 300 metres from the border with Israel. Ten days later another soldier was killed when his tank was hit. This brought the number of Israeli soldiers killed in 1997 up to thirty nine, twelve more than in 1996. The new tactics resulted in
Centurion tanks being withdrawn and the armour of the
Merkava being upgraded. At the time it was reported that Hezbollah had five hundred fighters in the field at one time, while the IDF had 1,000 troops in the security zone alongside the SLA's 2,000. During 1998, 21 Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon. Israel undertook a concerted campaign to hamper Hezbollah's capabilities, and in December 1998, the Israeli military assassinated Zahi Naim Hadr Ahmed Mahabi, a Hezbollah explosives expert, north of Baalbek. On 9 February 1999, the first fatal attack on Israeli troops since October 1998 took place when Hezbollah fighters ambushed an IDF unit of the
Givati Brigade. One Israeli soldier and at least three Hezbollah fighters were killed and seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in the fighting. On 23 February 1999, an IDF paratrooper unit on a night time patrol was ambushed in south Lebanon. Major Eitan Balahsan and two lieutenants were killed and another five soldiers were wounded. On 28 February, a roadside bomb exploded on the road between
Kaukaba and
Arnoun, in the Israeli-occupied security zone. Brigadier General
Erez Gerstein, commander of the
Golani Brigade and head of the IDF Liaison Unit in Lebanon, thus the highest ranking Israeli officer serving in Lebanon at the time, as well as two
Druze Israeli soldiers and one Israeli journalist were killed in the blast. In May 1999, Hezbollah forces simultaneously attacked 14 Israeli and
SLA outposts in south Lebanon. The outpost in
Beit Yahoun compound belonging to the SLA was overrun and one SLA soldier was taken prisoner. The Hizbullah fighters made off with an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). The area was bombed by the Israeli Air Force. The captured APC was paraded through the southern suburbs of Beirut. In June 1999, following five days of Lebanese villages in the South coming under artillery fire, Hezbollah fired a salvo of
Katusha rockets into northern Israel, injuring four people. The Israeli response was immediate. On 24–25 June the Israeli Air Force launched two waves of airstrikes lasting several hours. Following the first air raids, Hezbollah fired a second salvo of rockets into the centre of
Kiryat Shmona, killing two people. The Israeli bombing caused an estimated $52 million worth of damage. Five bridges on the road south from Beirut were destroyed. Beirut itself was left in darkness when the power plant at Jamhour was hit. Here three firemen were killed by the bombs. The plant had been repaired after it had been hit in Grapes of Wrath. A telephone company's HQ in
Jieh and the Hezbollah
al Manar radio station in
Baalbek were also demolished. Eight Lebanese were killed and seventy seriously injured, two of whom were in a
coma. Shortly afterwards, a clash broke out between IDF troops and Hezbollah fighters in
Wadi Saluki, after Hezbollah fighters on their way to plant bombs were intercepted by a squad from the IDF's
Golani Brigade. Two IDF soldiers and three Hezbollah fighters were killed in the fighting. Hezbollah announced that the incident was revenge for the assassination of Deeb. Overall, in the course of 1999, several dozen Hezbollah and Amal fighters were killed. Twelve Israeli soldiers and one civilian were also killed, one of them in accident. ==2000 Israeli withdrawal and collapse of South Lebanon Army==