Operation Sharp and Smooth

During the 2006 Lebanon War, Operation Sharp and Smooth (Hebrew: מבצע חד וחלק‎), also known as the Baalbek operation, was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raid on a Hezbollah-run hospital in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Conducted by Israeli special operations forces on the night of August 1, the raid resulted in retrieved intelligence information and five locals captured, several of whom were believed by the IDF to be Hezbollah militants, while Hezbolla... more

During the 2006 Lebanon War, Operation Sharp and Smooth (Hebrew: מבצע חד וחלק‎), also known as the Baalbek operation, was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raid on a Hezbollah-run hospital in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Conducted by Israeli special operations forces on the night of August 1, the raid resulted in retrieved intelligence information and five locals captured, several of whom were believed by the IDF to be Hezbollah militants, while Hezbollah insisted that the prisoners are civilians . The five were released on August 21, 2006. The operation began with at least five rapid air strikes. Approximately 200 elite commandos fast-roped from helicopters which previously refuelled over the Mediterranean Sea. The operation involved two commando units: Shaldag of the Israeli Air Force, and Sayeret Matkal of the IDF Branch of Intelligence (Aman). Upon landing, the units split. Sayeret Matkal was assigned to take Dar al-Hikma hospital, believed by Military Intelligence to be a base for... less