Hezbollah between the IDF’s Withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000 and the Second Lebanon War in July 2006

Abstract

On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah activists attacked an IDF patrol by the northern border of Israel and kidnapped two soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. The kidnapping of the soldiers was the factor that caused the Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel’s objectives in the war, driving Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and removing the threat of missile launches toward Israel, were not fully achieved. Profound public criticism concerning the functioning of the IDF and of the government on the eve of the war and during it, led to the establishment of an investigation committee headed by Judge Winograd, to changes in the military’s high command, and to shocks at the political level. On the other hand, Hezbollah suffered significant damage to its operational infrastructure and manpower and prepared to restore its ranks and position in Lebanon, as well as in the political and operative fields.