Hezbollah’s capture of two soldiers in a raid across the border between Israel and Lebanon were considered by Israel as "unspeakable provocations". The immediate Israeli military "reaction" involved an intense bombing campaign, targeting civilian infrastructure and the innocent population.

The 34 days of war –from 12 July to 14 August 2006- killed over 1,500 people, mostly Lebanese civilians, severely damaged Lebanese infrastructure, and displaced about 900,000 Lebanese and 300,000 Israelis. Even after the ceasefire, 256,000 Lebanese remained internally displaced, and much of South Lebanon remained uninhabitable due to unexploded cluster bombs.

During the campaign, Israel's Air Force flew more than 12,000 combat missions. The Navy fired 2,500 shells, and the Army fired over 100,000 shells, destroying large parts of the Lebanese civilian infrastructure. 400 miles of roads, 73 bridges and 31 targets such as Beirut International Airport, ports, water and sewage treatment plants, electrical facilities, 25 fuel stations, 900 commercial structures, up to 350 schools and two hospitals were destroyed, as well as some 15,000 homes. Some 130,000 more homes were damaged.

During the campaign, Hezbollah fired between 3,970 and 4,228 rockets, which landed in all major cities of northern Israel, including Haifa, Nazareth, and Tiberias.

However, the number of civilian deaths in each side of the conflict are to be considered: 1,187 Lebanese, one third of whom were children under 13 years of age, and 44 Israelis.

On 11 August 2006 the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved UN Resolution 1701 in an effort to end the hostilities. The resolution, which was approved by both Lebanese and Israeli governments the following days, also called for the disarming of Hezbollah, for Israel to withdraw, and for the deployment of Lebanese soldiers and an enlarged United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) force in southern Lebanon.

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