Marking the 20th anniversary of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the IDF on Sunday released for the first time operational documents from the conflict's opening hours, after a Hezbollah cross-border attack killed Israeli soldiers and abducted two others.
The documents, released from the IDF Operations Directorate archives, include the military's first operational order issued after the attack and a spokesman's statement announcing the expansion of Israel's ground offensive deeper into southern Lebanon.
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An IDF tank operates in Maroun al-Ras, southern Lebanon, during the 2006 Lebanon War
(Photo: Reuters)
The war began on July 12, 2006, when Hezbollah terrorists crossed the Lebanese border near the community of Zar'it, abducted reserve soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev and killed several other soldiers. The war lasted 34 days, ending with a UN-brokered ceasefire on Aug. 14, 2006.
One of the newly released documents is the IDF's first operational order, designated "General Staff Order No. 1," issued under the operation's original codename, "Just Reward." The operation was initially conceived as a limited military response before developing into what became known as the Second Lebanon War.
The order illustrates the military's assessment that Israel faced simultaneous fighting in both Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
"The IDF is preparing to operate simultaneously in the Gaza and Lebanon theaters," the opening section of the order states.
The IDF's first operational order, issued on July 13, 2006, under the codename 'Just Reward,' outlines Israel's initial response after Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers and launched a cross-border attack that triggered the Second Lebanon War
(Photo: IDF)
Describing the northern front, the document says: "Two IDF soldiers were abducted in the Zar'it sector along the Lebanon border during a large-scale Hezbollah attack, in which Israeli civilians were also harmed. Our forces have eight soldiers killed and several wounded in the western sector. The Air Force has struck targets in southern Lebanon. The IDF is preparing for massive Katyusha rocket fire on the home front beginning this morning."
The order also outlines the situation in Gaza, where Israel was conducting Operation Feedback following the June 2006 abduction of soldier Gilad Shalit.
"Operation Feedback is underway to divide the Gaza Strip. Numerous terrorists have been killed so far. During the night, the Air Force struck the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. No change in Judea and Samaria," the document says.
The documents show that military planners expected a conflict on two active fronts from the outset, while preparing the civilian population for large-scale rocket attacks from Lebanon.
An Aug. 12, 2006, IDF Spokesperson's Unit statement announces the expansion of Israel's ground offensive toward the Litani River during the final days of the Second Lebanon War
(Photo: IDF)
Also released was an IDF spokesman's statement announcing a major expansion of the ground campaign following approval by the Security Cabinet.
"In accordance with the Cabinet's decision, the IDF began overnight to expand its ground activity in Lebanon toward the Litani River," the statement says.
It added that Israeli ground forces, supported by the air force and navy, would operate in areas from which rockets were being launched at Israel "to reduce rocket fire on residents of northern Israel and deepen the blow against the Hezbollah organization."