What Happened During Israel’s Last Ground Invasion into Lebanon in the 2006 War?

The Israeli occupation army is preparing for a ground invasion into Lebanese territory, days after the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and several of the party’s senior leaders.

The United States announced that it had been officially notified by the Israeli government of its intention to enter Lebanon in a “limited maneuver” aimed at targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure.

On Monday morning, Sheikh Naim Qassem, Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, confirmed the party’s readiness to continue the battle with the occupying forces despite the martyrdom of its leaders.

This talk of a ground invasion brings back memories of the last Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon, which took place on August 11, 2006, three days before the end of the “July War.”

At that time, the Israeli army launched an operation named “Changing Direction 11,” intending to achieve territorial gains before the UN Security Council’s ceasefire resolution came into effect.

The invasion began with an airborne operation in the town of Al-Ghandourieh, located in the Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon. However, Hezbollah was already prepared. The entire area had been rigged with landmines and explosives, and its fighters were entrenched among the olive trees of the town.

The incursion involved elite Israeli commando units from the 162nd Division and the Armored 401st Brigade, which advanced through the Al-Hujeir Valley towards Al-Ghandourieh, and then towards the Jouaya area (east of Tyre).

According to Al-Akhbar newspaper, quoting Hezbollah fighters who participated in repelling the occupation forces, after additional reinforcements were brought in, the division advanced along concealed paths, creating dirt roads to avoid any pre-placed explosives by the resistance. They passed through the main road between Adaisseh and Rab Thalathin, reaching Taybeh, then Khirbet Kasef, Mhaisibeh, Qantara, and Adchit Al-Qasir, before reaching Khallet Barak (northwest of Adchit Al-Qasir). There, they forged a path toward “Bustan Jamil,” which they reached at 10:45 on the morning of Saturday, August 12.

As the Israeli army advanced along this axis, it was far from a simple mission. Hezbollah’s “fire ambush” in the Al-Hujeir Valley was fully prepared. When the elite 401st Brigade made its way toward the valley, Israeli tanks, including the highly-touted Merkava 4—”the pride of Israeli industry”—began to fall, according to Al-Akhbar.

The newspaper added that anti-tank fire from fortified positions in villages north of the Litani River, which the enemy had entirely overlooked in their planning, proved devastating. Israeli intelligence had failed to detect the presence of advanced Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles, which have a range of up to 5.5 kilometers.

Al-Akhbar also highlighted that one of the most prominent anti-tank gunners, Ali Saleh (known as “Bilal Adchit”), was positioned in the town of Yuhmur Al-Shaqif. Before being targeted by a guided missile that led to his martyrdom, he destroyed and disabled over 15 Israeli armored vehicles, earning the well-deserved title of the “Merkava Slayer.” In Al-Akhbar’s words, it was a scene reminiscent of “ducks in a hunter’s sights,” as described by the Israeli newspaper Maariv in August 2006.

Despite the severe losses sustained by the 162nd Division, and the time pressure resulting from disorganization, the occupation insisted on continuing in a desperate attempt to achieve something before the “final whistle.”

As Israeli tanks and exhausted soldiers advanced into Bustan Jamil, they were fired upon from a position on a hill between the towns of Frun and Al-Ghandourieh, disabling two tanks.

In response, the Israeli Air Force carried out intense bombing to silence the resistance’s fire and secure further advances, allowing the 9th Battalion to move to Ain Eidib. From there, they moved westward along a dirt road, heading north toward Al-Ghandourieh. This road was a few hundred meters west of the first route planned by the Nahal Brigade, which lay between Frun and Al-Ghandourieh. The error was attributed to the fact that the final meeting regarding the movement route between the division commander and the brigade commanders took place late Wednesday night inside a trench near Qantara, with helmets on their heads.

At that moment, Hezbollah fighters managed to kill the 9th Battalion’s commander, Lt. Col. Avi Divrin, along with two of his aides, after striking them with guided missiles.

In the midst of this battle, the occupation forces launched a large airborne operation involving about 50 helicopters that transported over 2,000 soldiers to the combat zone.

Hezbollah fighters inflicted significant casualties on the elite Israeli forces and the rest of the Israeli troops in and around Al-Ghandourieh.

A Hezbollah member told Al-Akhbar that the occupation forces had turned one of the town’s houses into a field hospital due to the large number of wounded soldiers.

After 60 hours of fierce fighting, the Israeli army was forced to withdraw, suffering a devastating defeat without making any progress beyond Al-Ghandourieh. They admitted to the loss of 34 soldiers and the destruction of dozens of armored vehicles and tanks.