2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid

2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid
Part of the 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict and the 2006 Lebanon War
Date 12 July 2006 Around 9:00 am (GMT+2) Location Lebanon–Israel border 33°06′01″N 35°19′12″E / 33.10028°N 35.32000°E / 33.10028; 35.32000 Result Hezbollah military victory End of the 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict Outbreak of the 2006 Lebanon War
Belligerents
Israel	Hezbollah
Casualties and losses
8 killed 2 wounded[1] 2 captured	None
2 Israeli civilians wounded[2]

The 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid was a cross-border attack carried out by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants on an Israeli military patrol on 12 July 2006 on Israeli territory.

Using rockets fired on several Israeli towns as a diversion, Hezbollah militants crossed from Lebanon into Israel^[3] and ambushed two Israeli Army vehicles, killing three soldiers and capturing two other soldiers. Another five soldiers were killed inside Lebanese territory in a failed rescue attempt. Hezbollah demanded the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the release of the captured soldiers. Israel refused and launched a large-scale ground and air campaign across Lebanon in response to the Hezbollah raid. This marked the start of the 2006 Lebanon War and the end of the 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict. Two years later, on 16 July 2008, the bodies of the two captured soldiers were returned to Israel by Hezbollah in exchange for Samir Kuntar and four Hezbollah prisoners.

Hezbollah originally named the cross-border operation "Freedom for Samir Al-Quntar and his brothers", but eventually shortened it to "Operation Truthful Promise" (Arabic: عملية الوعد الصادق).^[4]