Operation Change of Direction 11
| Operation Change of Direction | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of 2006 Lebanon War | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel Defense Forces
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 Hezbollah
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg OC 366th Div |
Hassan Nasrallah Ali Mahmoud Salih † |
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| Units involved | |||||||
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91st Infantry Division (The Fire Formation) 98th Paratrooper Division (The Galilee Formation) 162nd Armored Division (The Steel Formation) 366th Armored Division (Pillar of Fire Formation) |
Nasr Bridgade (Special Forces) Village mobilization units |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 30,000 inside Lebanon | 1,000 in area (south of the Litani river) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 34 killed 447 IDF wounded, 1 helicopter downed, 20+ vehicles damaged and immobilized |
80+ killed(IDF claim) 1 captured 9 killed(Hezbollah claim) |
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1 Israeli civilian killed and 157 Israeli civilians wounded |
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Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz
Chief of staff
Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky
Deputy Chief of Staff
Brig. Gen. Udi Adam
Head of Northern Command
Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg
OC 98th Div.
Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch
OC 91st Div.
Brig. Gen. Guy Tzur
OC 162nd Div.
1 Israeli civilian killed and 157 Israeli civilians wounded
The Operation Change of Direction 11 was the final offensive operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the 2006 Lebanon War that began on August 11, 2006, and ended three days later when the ceasefire came into effect. It involved a tripling of Israeli forces inside Lebanon and aimed at encircling Hizbullah forces in south Lebanon. The plan was to advance westwards along the Litani River from the Galilee Panhandle, combined with helicopter landings behind enemy lines, intended to be the largest in IDF history, and simultaneous advances northwards in the central sector and along the Mediterranean coast. The plan was to follow up the offensive by several weeks of mopping-up operations in the surrounded territories, eliminating Hizbullah infrastructure, especially in the launching areas of Katyusha rockets.
The offensive was called off halfway due to heavy casualties and the implementation of the UN ceasefire. At least 33 Israeli officers and soldiers were killed and over 400 were wounded, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) helicopter was shot down and scores of Israeli tanks were damaged. The IDF never reached the Litani river and failed to surround Hizbullah forces in South Lebanon. Instead the Israeli government on August 13, accepted a ceasefire in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. When the ceasefire commenced the following day IDF found itself in control of 16 different pockets or sectors in South Lebanon, often isolated from each other and from Israeli territory. IDF expressed a desire to withdraw from these positions as quickly as possible, as soon as a ceasefire agreement was in place. Hizbullah remained in control of both Bint Jbeil and Ayta ash-Sha'b, close to the border, while IDF soldiers were operating well to the north of both these towns.
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