Battle of Ayta ash-Shab

The Battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b took place during the 2006 Lebanon War, when the Israel Defense Forces and the Islamic Resistance, the armed wing of Hezbollah, fought a 33 days battle for the town of Ayta ash-Sha'b and the neighboring villages of Ramiya, al-Qawzah and Dibil in southern Lebanon. The initial phase of the battle consisted of two and a half weeks of intense bombardment by air and artillery, followed by more than two weeks of intensive fighting in and around the town. The IDF failed to capture the town and suffered heavy casualties in the process. On July 12, 2006, under the cover of mortar and rocket fire directed at Israeli villages, forces belonging to the Islamic Resistance launched a cross border raid into Israeli...