gelatik
08.04.02, 10:48
Seven IDF soldiers - five of them women - were wounded by mortar and missile
fire from Lebanon yesterday evening, in the heaviest and most widespread
bombardments by Hizbullah and Palestinian terrorist groups since the IDF's
withdrawal from south Lebanon nearly two years ago.
The bombardments were covered live on Lebanese television, indicating that
camera crews had been told in advance of the planned action, a Hizbullah
practice.
The bombardments began around 5 p.m. with dozens of mortars and anti-tank
missiles being fired at IDF outposts in the Mount Dov and Mount Hermon
districts.
Two soldiers were wounded, one moderately and the other lightly, at Mount Dov.
They were treated at the scene and later evacuated to Rebecca Sieff Hospital in
Safed.
Shortly afterward, terrorists approached from the Lebanese side close to an IDF
sentry post near Kibbutz Menara and opened fire with light weapons. There were
no casualties among the soldiers, who returned fire. The attackers fled.
Around the same time, several anti-tank missiles were fired at an IDF base
close to Moshav Avivim, west of Menara, wounding five women soldiers - two
moderately and one lightly. Two others were treated for shock. They were also
evacuated to the hospital in Safed.
In response, IAF warplanes struck at Hizbullah targets deeper inside Lebanon
than they have done in response to previous cross-border attacks. According to
reports, some of the strikes were on targets in the Hatzbiyeh region, in the
eastern sector of south Lebanon, and were also aimed at sending a warning
message to the Lebanese and the Syrians.
There were unconfirmed reports of casualties among the terrorists responsible
for the unprovoked cross-border attacks, which were the latest in a recent wave
of similar incidents initiated by Hizbullah and apparently coordinated with
Palestinian groups.
OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Gaby Ashkenazy instructed residents of 10
communities close to the Lebanese border to enter security rooms and bomb
shelters as a precaution. They remained there for nearly two hours until the
all-clear was sounded.
Ashkenazy yesterday visited Ghajar village, which was hit by mortar rounds on
Saturday night that wounded five residents, including three children. He put
the blame for the current escalation in violence along the northern border on
the governments of Syria and Lebanon.
"It doesn't matter if its Hizbullah or Palestinians [who are doing the firing].
Those responsible are the Lebanese government and those who control Lebanon,
the Syrians," he told reporters.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who met with President Moshe Katsav and briefed
him on the situation in the North as well as elsewhere, reiterated Iran's role
in arming and supporting Hizbullah and the presence of Iranian revolutionary
guards in Lebanon.
"Obviously, however, these activities could not be carried out without the
assistance and widespread support of Syria," said Sharon. "We are witnessing a
difficult phenomenon on the northern border," he said, "where Iran has set up a
system of thousands of missiles, operated by Hizbullah and the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards. This could not have taken place without Syria's
assistance."
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said he hopes Syrian President Bashar
Assad will wake up and "realize he is playing with fire." Ben-Eliezer told the
cabinet yesterday that Israeli is showing restraint out of a desire to prevent
an escalation. The cabinet decided to go through diplomatic channels to try and
deal with the situation.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres spoke with US Secretary of State Colin
Powell about the situation in the North last night. Peres, according to his
office, asked Powell again to press Syria and Lebanon to calm down the
situation on the northern border. Powell reportedly said he is "working in that
direction."
Reports from Lebanon said the US ambassador had sought urgent meetings with
senior Lebanese government officials in order to convey America's grave concern
over the bombardments, which risked sparking a confrontation in the region.
There were also reports of similar stern warnings being relayed to the Syrian
leadership and demands that action be taken to immediately restrain Hizbullah
and Palestinian organizations and stop the cross-border attacks.
Some analysts maintain that Hizbullah is trying to provoke the IDF into a
military response that would cause civilian casualties or damage to Lebanese
infrastructure or homes, and give the organization a pretext for launching
Katyusha rocket barrages against Israel.
The extremist Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim organization is reported
to have stockpiled more than 8,000 Katyusha rockets, many of them long-range
versions capable of reaching Haifa and the bayside suburbs.
So far, international diplomatic efforts and pressure on Syria to curb
Hizbullah, including direct talks by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan with Assad
and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, have failed to stop the escalation.
