Defensive war
So far what is the toll of the war situations resulting from the naked acts of aggression by Hamas in the south and Hizbollah in the north against Israel? Note that Israel had withdrawn totally from Lebanon 6 years ago and from Gaza 1 year ago, indicating that what Israel does makes no difference at all, their hostility is based on hatred and ideology. In the first attack on June 25 at Kerem Shalom 2 IDF soldiers were killed and one, Cpl. Shalit, was captured. At the present time Israel has withdrawn the IDF from northern and central Gaza, only a small detachment is still in the south in relation to the captured soldier.
At the first attack on July 12 near the Lebanese border 4 IDF soldiers were killed and two, Stf. Sgts. Ohad Goldwasser and Elad Regev, were captured. Also, 3 soldiers were killed in a tank by a roadside explosive and one more was shot in an ambush as he went to their aid. That made a total of 8 IDF soldiers killed. Last night it was announced that an Israeli gunboat off the coast of Lebanon was hit by an Iranian missile and 4 sailors are missing and severe damage was caused, so that the boat was towed back to Haifa. (In a good example of "collateral damage" another missile hit a civilian Egyptian boat and caused death and destruction). Thus, so far Israel has lost a total of 14 men and 3 captured. Usually the enemies lose most of their men after the initial attacks, so it seems that Israeli soldiers must first shed blood in unpredictable yet anticipated attacks, before Israel is able to defend itself.
In the barrage of rockets on the north of Israel so far 7 people have been killed and ca. 50 wounded. American and Argentinean women immigrants were killed in Nahariya, a man was killed in Zefat and yesterday a grandmother and 5 year old child were killed in Central Galilee. About 100 rockets fell on northern Israel in one day, and it is expected to get worse. Life there has come to a complete standstill, with people living in shelters or safe rooms (built for the Gulf War) or escaping to the south.
In Lebanon it is reported that 82 civilians have been killed, but I challenge any of those journalists who report this to prove their information. Since the Hizbollah fighters don't wear any specific recognizable uniform, they are usually classified as civilians rather than combatants, and in fact no combatant deaths have been reported. According to IDF claims the majority of those killed are combatants.
Note the pattern of IDF attacks against Lebanon, mainly against transportation (airport, bridges, roads), to prevent the kidnapped soldiers being removed (to Syria or Iran) and reinforcements and weapons for Hizbollah coming in. Also, the southern suburbs of Beirut are being hit, where Hizbollah has its center in the Shi'ite area. Even there the IAF dropped notes warning civilians to stay away from Hizbollah facilities. One disturbing development is that Hizbollah to gain length in the trajectory is firing its rockets from apartment buildings, either with or without the agreement of the tentants. Of course, when these are detected before being fired they are hit by IAF missiles.
The IDF has specifically avoided hitting Christian, Sunni Muslim and Druse areas, and also Lebanese Government buildings, even though Hizbollah is part of the Government. This is opposite to the case of Gaza, where last night the IAF hit the Ministry of Economics because there Hamas is the Government. The IDF have also avoided Lebanese Army installations. As the Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman said in his speech to the Security Council last night, Israeli counter-attacks are focussed on Hizbollah targets - there is no such thing as "indisciminate bombing" and "disproportionate force" as claimed by several European leaders, including Pres. Chirac of France.
The HQ of Hizbollah in south Beirut was hit and destroyed, but unfortunately Sheikh Nasrallah was not killed. He issued a blood-curdling speech on al Manar TV threatening Israel with "open war." Things are likely to get worse before they get better. Hizbollah has prepared for 4 years for this attack, so what else do they have up their sleeve? Whatever happens we must remember that for Israel this is a defensive war against an Iranian-controlled fanatical Shi'ite terrorist militia.
At the first attack on July 12 near the Lebanese border 4 IDF soldiers were killed and two, Stf. Sgts. Ohad Goldwasser and Elad Regev, were captured. Also, 3 soldiers were killed in a tank by a roadside explosive and one more was shot in an ambush as he went to their aid. That made a total of 8 IDF soldiers killed. Last night it was announced that an Israeli gunboat off the coast of Lebanon was hit by an Iranian missile and 4 sailors are missing and severe damage was caused, so that the boat was towed back to Haifa. (In a good example of "collateral damage" another missile hit a civilian Egyptian boat and caused death and destruction). Thus, so far Israel has lost a total of 14 men and 3 captured. Usually the enemies lose most of their men after the initial attacks, so it seems that Israeli soldiers must first shed blood in unpredictable yet anticipated attacks, before Israel is able to defend itself.
In the barrage of rockets on the north of Israel so far 7 people have been killed and ca. 50 wounded. American and Argentinean women immigrants were killed in Nahariya, a man was killed in Zefat and yesterday a grandmother and 5 year old child were killed in Central Galilee. About 100 rockets fell on northern Israel in one day, and it is expected to get worse. Life there has come to a complete standstill, with people living in shelters or safe rooms (built for the Gulf War) or escaping to the south.
In Lebanon it is reported that 82 civilians have been killed, but I challenge any of those journalists who report this to prove their information. Since the Hizbollah fighters don't wear any specific recognizable uniform, they are usually classified as civilians rather than combatants, and in fact no combatant deaths have been reported. According to IDF claims the majority of those killed are combatants.
Note the pattern of IDF attacks against Lebanon, mainly against transportation (airport, bridges, roads), to prevent the kidnapped soldiers being removed (to Syria or Iran) and reinforcements and weapons for Hizbollah coming in. Also, the southern suburbs of Beirut are being hit, where Hizbollah has its center in the Shi'ite area. Even there the IAF dropped notes warning civilians to stay away from Hizbollah facilities. One disturbing development is that Hizbollah to gain length in the trajectory is firing its rockets from apartment buildings, either with or without the agreement of the tentants. Of course, when these are detected before being fired they are hit by IAF missiles.
The IDF has specifically avoided hitting Christian, Sunni Muslim and Druse areas, and also Lebanese Government buildings, even though Hizbollah is part of the Government. This is opposite to the case of Gaza, where last night the IAF hit the Ministry of Economics because there Hamas is the Government. The IDF have also avoided Lebanese Army installations. As the Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman said in his speech to the Security Council last night, Israeli counter-attacks are focussed on Hizbollah targets - there is no such thing as "indisciminate bombing" and "disproportionate force" as claimed by several European leaders, including Pres. Chirac of France.
The HQ of Hizbollah in south Beirut was hit and destroyed, but unfortunately Sheikh Nasrallah was not killed. He issued a blood-curdling speech on al Manar TV threatening Israel with "open war." Things are likely to get worse before they get better. Hizbollah has prepared for 4 years for this attack, so what else do they have up their sleeve? Whatever happens we must remember that for Israel this is a defensive war against an Iranian-controlled fanatical Shi'ite terrorist militia.
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:58 AM
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