The 2006 Ghaziyeh airstrikes also referred to as the 2006 Ghaziyeh massacre were two sequential attacks by the

Israel Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

(IAF) on the city of

Ghaziyeh Ghazieh ( ar, الغازية) is a town in South Lebanon, 4 kilometres south of Saida, (Sidon). It has an area of about 15sq km. Ghazieh is one of the largest businesses hubs in South Lebanon and it houses a large fuel refinery (TapLine). Ghazie ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

on August 7, and August 8, 2006. The attacks took place during the 2006 Lebanon War. In the first attack on August 7, the IAF bombed a building killing 16 people. In the second attack on August 8, the IAF fired five missiles into three buildings killing a total of 8 to 14 civilians and wounding 33. A total of 26 to 30 civilians died in the attacks.

Timeline of events

First IAF Attack

On 7 August the IAF targeted a building in Ghaziyeh, killing 16 and collapsing the building.

Second IAF Attacks

On 8 August the IAF targeted a building and launched three missiles at it. An IDF spokesman claimed the building housed a Hezbollah member and that was why it was targeted. One person was killed and five were wounded in this attack. Witnesses told an AP reporter that one of the destroyed houses belonged to Sheik Mustafa Khalifeh, a cleric linked to Hezbollah, but it was unclear if he was among the casualties. The first bombing run happened as the funerals for the fifteen victims of the attack on the previous day were taking place. The mourners were reportedly 500 metres away from the blast,Israel in new deadly strike on grieving Lebanon village
, August 9, 2006" which then sent around 1,500 mourners running through the streets in panic.
, August 9, 2006" Eight civilians were been killed and 33 wounded in the second IAF Attack, Lebanon's security forces said. Thirty minutes after this airstrike, the IAF, according to the mayor,

Mohammed Ghaddar Mohamad Mahmoud Ghaddar ( ar, محمد محمود غدار; born 1 January 1984) is a Lebanese former professional footballer who played as a forward. Coming through the youth system, Ghaddar began his senior career at Nejmeh in 2000. He staye ...

, staged four more bombing runs, destroying two buildings. Twelve people were killed in these bombings, with eighteen wounded according to a total from the three area hospitals.

Area

Ghaziyeh is just south of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

, around 40 km from

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. The city had been housing many refugees who had moved north to avoid fighting near the Israeli border and its population is reported to have swollen to 23,000. The IDF has said that leaflets warning residents to move out of the city were dropped prior to the second attack.Israeli strike kills 14 in Lebanon village
August 8, 2006" Israeli bombers hit targets in Beirut, Tyre, Qassmieh, Ghaziyeh, Ghassaniyeh, Nabatiyeh,

Naqoura Naqoura (, ''Enn Nâqoura, Naqoura, An Nāqūrah'') is a small city in southern Lebanon. Since March 23, 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been headquartered in Naqoura. Name According to E. H. Palmer (1881), the nam ...

and Ras al-Biyada on August 7.

Medical and humanitarian response

In the first attack, Lebanese rescue workers dug with their hands and used a bulldozer to look for survivors of the attack with initial reports putting the death toll at eighteen.Arab nations demand UN shift to end Lebanon war
, August 7, 2006"

Reactions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghaziyeh 2006 Lebanon War Airstrikes conducted by Israel August 2006 events in Asia Massacres in Lebanon Massacres committed by Israel Sidon District Massacres in 2006