Battle of Ramyah | ||||||||
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Part of the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon | ||||||||
Israel Hezbollah presence in Lebanon Areas ordered evacuated by Israel See here for a more detailed map. | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
Israel | Hezbollah | UNIFIL [a] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Units involved | ||||||||
Garuda Contingent | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||
50 dead Per Hezbollah: [2] 3 IDF Caterpillar D9 bulldozers destroyed 10 Merkava tanks destroyed | Unknown | 20 peacekeepers wounded |
The battle of Ramyah is an ongoing battle in the village of Ramyah between Israel and Hezbollah, amid the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The battle also affected UNIFIL, who have sustained numerous attacks on their facilities by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
On the night of 11 October 2024, UNIFIL reported receiving "significant damage" to its buildings in Ramyah due to explosions from nearby shelling. [3]
On 13 October, two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a UNIFIL post in Ramyah and forcibly entered the post. Two hours later, Israeli forces fired rounds 100 meters from the base that caused smoke to rise and enter the camp, injuring 15 UNIFIL peacekeepers due to skin irritations and gastrointestinal reactions. [4] The IDF claimed that during the incident, 25 of its soldiers were injured, including two "seriously injured", due to anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah. The IDF said that it fired a smoke screen to aid the evacuation of its wounded troops, and that it had "maintained continuous contact" with UNIFIL. [5]
On 15 October 2024, Hezbollah said that it destroyed three bulldozers and two tanks belonging to the IDF that were attempting to advance into the outskirts of Ramyah by using a guided missile, which resulted in casualties. Hezbollah also reported that its fighters used artillery shells to target Israeli forces near Ramyah. [6]
On 16 October 2024, Hezbollah reported that it hit an Israeli tank with a guided missile near Ramyah. [7]
On 20 October 2024, Israeli forces blew up the entirety of the town of Ramyah. [8] A verified video that circulated on social media showed Israeli soldiers cheering and counting down before blowing up a large part of the town. Satellite imagery showed that at least 40 buildings were destroyed. [9] According to reports, Ramyah has almost been wiped off the map, and barely any structures still stand. [10]
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to confirm Hezbollah demilitarisation, support Lebanese army operations against insurgents and weapon smuggling, and confirming Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, in order to ensure that the government of Lebanon would restore its effective authority in the area. The 1978 South Lebanon conflict came in the context of Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon and the Lebanese Civil War.
The Blue Line is a demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights. It was published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. It has been described as "temporary" and "not a border, but a “line of withdrawal”. It is the subject of an ongoing border dispute between Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah.
As a response to an Israeli attack against a military convoy comprising Hezbollah and Iranian officers on January 18, 2015, at Quneitra in southern Syria, the Lebanese Hezbollah group launched an ambush on January 28 against an Israeli military convoy in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, firing anti-tank missiles against two Israeli Humvees patrolling the border, destroying the two Humvees and killing 2 and wounding 7 Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli military. The number of Israeli casualties was 15 according to a report by Al Mayadeen television station. A Spanish UN peacekeeper was also killed by Israeli fire during consequent fire exchanges in the area, with Israel firing artillery and Hezbollah responding by mortar shells. The conflict ended later the same day after UNIFIL mediation.
Operation Northern Shield was an Israeli military operation that took place from 4 December 2018 until 13 January 2019. The operation's declared goal was to locate and destroy Hezbollah tunnels that cross the Blue Line from Lebanon into northern Israel. According to Israel, this operation is part of the ongoing Iran–Israel proxy conflict. On 17 December 2018, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) acknowledged the existence of four tunnels near the Israel–Lebanon border and confirmed that two of them cross the Blue Line in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which helped end the 2006 Lebanon War.
The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
A 14-month-long conflict between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel began on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets and artillery at Israeli positions following the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel. The conflict escalated into a prolonged exchange of bombardments, leading to extensive displacement in Israel and Lebanon. The conflict, part of the broader Middle Eastern crisis that began with Hamas' attack, marked the largest escalation of the Hezbollah–Israel conflict since the 2006 Lebanon War.
Events of the year 2024 in Israel.
Events in the year 2024 in Lebanon.
This timeline of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict covers the period from 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah launched rocket strikes on Israel in response to the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, until the beginning of the first ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which lasted from 24 November 2023 to 30 November 2023.
This timeline of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict covers the period from 24 November 2023, when the first ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, until 1 January 2024, one day prior to the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri.
This timeline of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict covers the period from 2 January 2024, with the Assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, until 31 March 2024, one day prior to the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
This timeline of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict covers the period from 17 September 2024, when Hezbollah pagers exploded throughout Lebanon and Syria to the present. Beginning 23 September, Israel began its airstrikes in Lebanon, on 27 September, they assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, and on 1 October, they invaded Lebanon.
On 1 October 2024, Israel invaded Southern Lebanon, marking the fifth Israeli invasion of Lebanon since 1978. The invasion took place after nearly 12 months of Israel–Hezbollah conflict, which in turn was sparked by the Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza. On 26 November, Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement, though some attacks continued. Israel has reported 56 soldiers killed in the invasion, while the Lebanese government has reported Israel killing 2,720 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians.
On 13 October 2024, two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Merkava tanks destroyed the main entrance to a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) post in Ramyah and forcibly entered the area. A few hours later, the IDF fired rounds nearby, causing injuries to 15 UNIFIL peacekeepers.
The 2024 Kafr Kila clashes began in the southern Lebanese village on 1 October 2024, amid the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
On 27 November 2024, a ceasefire agreement was signed by Israel, Lebanon, and several mediating countries including the United States. Since 8 October 2023, Israel and Hezbollah had been fighting and on 1 October 2024, Israel began its invasion of Lebanon. The agreement mandates a 60-day halt to hostilities, during which Israel must withdraw its forces from Southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah must withdraw its forces to north of the Litani River. A five-country monitoring panel, led by the United States, will oversee the implementation, with 5,000 Lebanese troops deployed to ensure compliance. The agreement does not preclude either Israel or Lebanon from acting in self-defence, but Israeli and Lebanese officials disagreed with what that entails. Since the ceasefire went into effect, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 3 civilians. Nevertheless, media reported that the ceasefire had largely continued to hold.