The Israeli military operation in Lebanon, known as Operation Grapes of Wrath, concluded after 16 days of intense military engagement, marking a significant moment in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanese forces.
Operation Grapes of Wrath known in Lebanon as the April Aggression was a seventeen-day campaign of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) against Hezbollah in 1996 which attempted to end the Iran-backed group's rocket attacks on northern Israeli civilian centres by forcing the group north of the Litani River, out of easy range of these civilian centres.
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Prior to the operation, Hezbollah had launched 151 rockets from Lebanon into Israel, killing two Israeli civilians and seriously wounding 24 other Israeli civilians.
In their attempt to degrade and destroy Hezbollah, the IDF conducted more than 600 air raids and fired approximately 25,000 shells, killing approximately 154 Lebanese civilians and wounding 351.
Over 100 Lebanese civilians died after the IDF shelled the UNIFIL position in Qana where they had taken shelter.
After the outbreak of Israel’s response, 639 Hezbollah cross-border rocket attacks targeted northern Israel, wounding 62 civilians.
Hezbollah forces also participated in numerous engagements with Israeli and South Lebanon Army forces.
The conflict was de-escalated on this day, 27 April, by a ceasefire agreement banning attacks on civilians.