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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Up to 10,000 Israeli Troops Push Into Lebanon |
| 2006-08-01 |
| Good news from the NYT and your downbeat pessimist Up to 10,000 Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon on a wider front today after the Israeli cabinet decided to widen its offensive, aiming to push Hezbollah back from the border before a cease-fire is declared and a multinational force is deployed there. Israeli troops backed by air support, tanks and armored bulldozers entered Lebanon at four different places along the border, moving up to four and a half miles inside Lebanon to engage Hezbollah fighters and destroy their outposts and infrastructure. Red-and-white tourist buses full of soldiers who had waited for more than two weeks for orders moved into Lebanon today through corridors cleared by bulldozers, tanks and engineering units. Now it is clear why the tourism minister was giving the body count. There were house-to-house battles with hundreds of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanese towns and villages close to the border, but the fighting has been intermittent and closely contained, partly to keep down Israeli casualties. At least three Israeli soldiers and more than 20 Hezbollah fighters died in periods of heavy fighting today, according to Arabic television and the Israeli Army, which censored its own casualty figures. News agencies reported that Israeli officials said 300 of an estimated 2,000 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since the offensive began. Israeli troops may push northward to the Litani River, some 15 miles from the Israeli border, cabinet ministers said following the meeting, which ended long after midnight. But the Israeli intention now seems to be to clear out a wide strip of land along the border into which an international force can deploy without itself having to fight Hezbollah, a cabinet minister said. They should still try to kill as many as possible. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said this evening that “we are at the beginning of a political process that in the end will bring a cease-fire under entirely different conditions than before.” Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the National Security College, Mr. Olmert spoke of the achievements Israel has already made in its war against Hezbollah. “If the military campaign would have ended today, today we could already say with certainty the face of the Middle East has changed following the great achievement of the Israeli army and Israeli people,” he said. Mr. Olmert, whose government has been criticized by some Israelis for being too slow or timid to use large numbers of ground forces in Lebanon, seemed eager to defend his record as he looked ahead to an end to the fighting. “This threat will not be what it was,” he said of Hezbollah. “Never will they be able to threaten this people they fired missiles at. This people will defeat them. Every additional day is one that erodes the power of this cruel enemy,” Mr. Olmert said. “Every additional day, the Israeli Army reduces their ability to fire and also their ability to strike in the future.” Brig. Gen. Shuki Shakar of the Northern Command, briefing reporters in Misgav Am, said that Israeli troops were now on both sides of the “red line,” which roughly marks the Litani River and the old security zone. He said that there are “six brigade-size or larger efforts” engaged today, which would mean around 10,000 troops. The average Israeli brigade contains 1,200 to 1,600 soldiers. Israeli forces were engaged in heavy fighting northeast of Shtula near the Lebanese village of Aita e-Shaab, and in E-Taibe, Adessa and Rab e-Talatin, villages near Metula and Misgav Am, the Israeli Army said. There was also fighting southeast of Bint Jbail. General Shakar said Israel controlled movement along the Litani River and was currently leaving open two corridors for villages to travel north and for aid agencies to deliver needed supplies. Any Israeli forces north of the Litani are commandos, not infantry units fighting in mass. Israel continued its “partial suspension of aerial activity,” as the army called it, but it seemed more partial than suspended. The air force flew missions in support of ground troops and to hit Hezbollah targets that included, the army said, two groups of fighters who were launching rockets, missile launchers, missile launch sites, “access routes” in the Bekaa Valley used to bring weapons from Syria to Lebanon and “Hezbollah structures and headquarters.” At least one truck suspected of carrying weapons was bombed near the Syrian border, the army said. Last week, the cabinet called up some 30,000 reserve soldiers, many of whom reported to their bases earlier this week to begin training. The reserves will be used partly for Lebanon and partly to be ready just in case Syria, whose military is on high alert, chooses to broaden the war, Israeli officials say. “We have reached the stage where we have to expand the operation,” said Defense Minister Amir Peretz, without giving the dimensions of the next phase. “The goal is to hit at Hezbollah fighters and their weapons arsenals,” Justice Minister Haim Ramon said in a televised interview. “And today, we are not doing a bad job.” |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #5 About. Fucking. Time. Hit 'em harder, hit 'em longer and keep hitting them until there is nothing left to hit. Then hit 'em again. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-08-01 20:27 |
| #4 by the way, NS, fair and balanced, thank you |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-01 19:32 |
| #3 they control who/what leaves and enters South Leb. Pincer time? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-01 19:27 |
| #2 I don't know, coupled with an air assault in the becca valley, sumpin might be up |
| Posted by: Legolas 2006-08-01 18:24 |
| #1 A Light Divison. Too late might just be to save face. Unless Hizb is stupid enough to fight. |
| Posted by: Clerert Uneamp2772 2006-08-01 18:21 |