Casus Belli
While armed conflict between the IDF and South Lebanon Army (SLA) on one hand and Hezbollah and other Lebanese militias (such as Amal) on the other was often intense prior to late March 1996, it was largely restricted to the Israeli controlled area of South Lebanon and military targets.
On 30 March, two men were killed by an IDF missile while working on a water tower in Yater, Lebanon. Hezbollah responded by launching 20 missiles into northern Israel and the IDF acknowledged the attack as a mistake. A roadside bomb explosion that caused the death of a 14-year old Lebanese boy and injury of three others in the village of Barashit was cited by Hezbollah as the reason for firing 30 missiles into northern Israel on 9 April. (UNIFIL 1996; Amnesty 1996) Israeli officials announced Operation Grapes of Wrath on 11 April as a retaliatory and preventative action for Hezbollah shelling, which had injured six Israeli civilians. (Amnesty 1996)
Read more about this topic: Operation Grapes Of Wrath