A 17-day Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon ended by a ceasefire, killing roughly 154 Lebanese civilians including over 100 at the Qana UNIFIL shelter.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 17 days
- IDF air raids conducted
- 600+ sorties
- IDF artillery shells fired
- ~25,000 shells
- Lebanese civilian deaths
- ~154 people
- Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel
- 639 cross-border attacks
- Qana UNIFIL shelter deaths
- 100+ people
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In the period before the operation, Hezbollah launched 151 rockets from southern Lebanon into northern Israeli civilian centres, killing two Israeli civilians and seriously wounding 24 others. Israel sought to push Hezbollah north of the Litani River to place it out of effective range of Israeli towns.
Between approximately 11 and 27 April 1996, the IDF conducted more than 600 air raids and fired around 25,000 artillery shells against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. During the same period, Hezbollah responded with 639 cross-border rocket attacks on northern Israel. More than 100 Lebanese civilians sheltering at a UNIFIL position in Qana were killed when the IDF shelled that location.
The conflict was ended on 27 April 1996 by a ceasefire agreement that prohibited attacks on civilians. The operation failed to disarm or permanently displace Hezbollah, and the Qana shelling drew widespread international condemnation, intensifying scrutiny of Israeli military conduct in Lebanon.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent