Lebanese army sappers together with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon on Thursday defused eight Katyusha rockets set to be launched at Israel.
A Lebanese army communiqué said army troops found the Katyushas of various calibers in an area north of Naqoura. The missiles were positioned and set to be fired at Israel, it added. It said Lebanese troops launched a wide-scale search in and around Naqoura to make sure the area was free from further rockets.
The communiqué said the army together with UNIFIL planned to launch a similar military operation in search for the perpetrators.
UNIFIL spokesperson Yasmina Bouziane said late Thursday that the peacekeeping force worked together with the Lebanese army to defuse the Katyushas. She said UNIFIL commander Gen. Claudio Graziano was also in contact with both the Lebanese army and Israel regarding this issue.
A reliable source earlier told Naharnet that the 107-mm projectiles were fitted with timing devices and defused "a short while before the time set for their launching."
The Voice of Lebanon radio station said the rockets were set to be fired between 10:00 and 10:30 pm on Thursday.
The reliable source said the Katyushas were "discovered" in the area between the border towns of Naqoura and Teir Harfa. The region, which is within the area of operations of UNIFIL, abuts Israel and overlooks most of the Central and Western Galilee.
It could not be immediately determined whether the projectiles were traditional World War II Katyushas that have a range of 10-12 kilometers or a double-load Iranian-modified version better known by the code of RAAD that has a double range. Hizbullah used Iranian-modified RAAD Katyushas, each with a pay load of 100 kilograms of explosives, in its 2006 war with Israel, hitting as deep as the coastal town of Haifa. I look forward to the day, Iran is outed as THE only problem in the ME. And the world recognizes this fact. Yeah, call me crazy.
GAZA (Reuters) -- A rocket apparently fired by Palestinians on Friday struck a house in the Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinian sisters aged five and 13, Palestinian medics said. Hamas police said they were investigating the cause of the blast in Beit Lahiya village in northern Gaza, which medics said seemed to be due to a rocket aimed at Israel that had misfired.
Gaza militants frequently fire rockets at Israel from the same area.
The incident came amid rising tensions with Israel, with officials threatening stepped-up military action against Gaza militants to stop rocket shootings from the coastal territory.
#2
Saw a clip of some recent Ham firing this morning on Fox. Kicking the base of the tube to adjust fire is a bit primitive. (Achmed, was add 300m one boot stomp or two?) This might well have been operator error. In any event, Play it again Sam.
#6
FREE Streaming TV Shows, Movies, Music (over 6 million digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, and College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ http://www.InternetSurfShack.com
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/26/2008 16:01 Comments ||
Top||
#8
AlanC, there's always the possibility that the busload of Lutherans in town for a Bethlehem sightseeing tour were responsible.....somehow.....(don't ask me for specifics, ok? I'm still working on it...)
#10
ION ISRAEL > WAFF - WILL ISRAEL SURVIVE BY 2050 [long]? Israel's greatest single problem, moreso than any Arab Terror or Nuclear Threat, is ala POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS [e.g. RUSSIA BY 2050] which in turn will likely have ripple effect = consequences for ISRAEL's ECONOMY + SOCIO-CULTURAL DYNAMIC, ETC.
* High Muslim Birth rate versus Israelis
* IMMIGRATION - Over 600,000 Israelis living abroad.
* JEWS comprise 60% of Israel's current popul, but by 2050 Muslims-Arabs 40% from 23 - 24% current.
* "ALIYAH" is about done in Israel.
Population demographics: I believe the non-European Jews have birthrates similar to the Arabs in the surrounding countries. The European Jews, on the other hand, tend to have only one or two children, like the European culture they came from.
Emigration: has been a concern since the founding of the country.
Aliyah, ie mass emigration to Israel: is indeed over. As far as I'm aware there aren't any large populations of beleaguered Jews left. There has been a steady trickle of individual aliyot from Western countries resulting from Zionist idealism; no doubt in future the Zionist trickle will come from the rest of the world as well.
Muslim population numbers in the US vs. Jewish numbers: The point is silly and, in my opinion, meaningless. Not to mention that, like Palestinian population numbers, the number of Muslims in the US as reported by organizations such as CAIR tend to be exaggerated by an order of magnitude, eg 6 million vs 600,000, making projections a bit non-reality based. However, so long as the Muslims were as well-integrated, conscientious citizens as the Jews, it would not be a problem. We shall wait and see -- 2020 isn't that far in the future. As a point of information, most of the Muslims in this country are Asians and African-American "Black Muslims", not Arabs... and many Arab-Americans are Christian, not Muslim.
#13
Pali rocket men need to be taught the Islamic way of launching. Allan looks on the Jihadi's rocket offering as sincere only when it is launched straight-up.
The Hamas parliament in the Gaza Strip voted in favor of a law allowing courts to mete out sentences in the spirit of Islam, the London-based Arab daily Al Hayat reported Wednesday.
According to the bill, approved in its second reading and awaiting a third reading before the approval of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as the Palestinian constitution demands, courts will be able to condemn offenders to a plethora of violent punitive measures in line with Sharia Law.
Because that's what has held Gaza back, a lack of Sharia, by gum!
Such punishments include whipping, severing hands, crucifixion and hanging. The bill reserves death sentences to people who negotiate with a foreign government "against Palestinian interests" and engage in any activity that can "hurt Palestinian morale."
According to the report, any Palestinian caught drinking or selling wine would suffer 40 lashes at the whipping post if the bill passes. Thieves caught red-handed would lose their right hand.
The military wing affiliated to Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades released a statement on Thursday morning briefing the group's military activities over the first twenty four hours of an operation they called "Oil Stain" which started Wednesday morning.
According to the statement, a total of 87 shells have been fired at Israeli targets bordering the Gaza Strip including 54 mortar shells, 31 homemade projectiles which Hamas calls "Qassam", and two Soviet-made Grad missiles.
Al-Qassa Brigades threatened to enlarge the "Oil Stain" to get more thousands of Israelis "under fire". The group asserted that its fighters are "far greater than surrendering to Israeli threats and that they became much more prepared to counter Israeli aggression and to defend themselves than in the past."
In a different regard, Hamas announced death of six of its activists on Tuesday and Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#2
Has anyone found out why there is no anti-mortar or missile systems in place there? Do we have a bad case of "Not Invented Here" syndrome in Israel?
#3
tip, I'm sure they have the stuff, but I suspect they don't return fire because the missiles are launched from places like school playgrounds and they are unwilling to generate that kind of collateral damage and the bad world publicity it would generate (for Israel, not for the paleos launching rockets at school recess.)
#4
Yes, the IDF attempts to avoid hitting School playgrounds and nesting sites residential areas but that does not stop the endless photography of "dead non-combatants" from hitting the news in the wake of each IDF attack.
#5
And they restrain themselves why? So as not to waste the great love and respect from the rest of the world? Please. Just announce that ALL attacks will be responded to. Collateral damage from (war crime) attacks from civilian areas are the responsibility of the attacker.
Our new president zero is gonna hang Israel out to dry anyway.
#6
Hell, Fish I think Zero is gonna hang everybody out to dry after taking them to the cleaners that is. Unless you can do Him some short term good, this its 'under da bus wit'cha.'
#9
First I read about a Hamas rocket killing two little Palestinian girls then I read Hamas has fired 87 mortar shells and/or rockets with no mention of any Israeli casualties whatsoever. Boy, that's some kinda shootin', huh?
So why does IDF need to return fire? Paleos are not only impotent, they are their own worst enemy.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/26/2008 16:07 Comments ||
Top||
(Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is prepared to take actions to restore security to the southern land bordering the Gaza Strip, said IDF Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi on Thursday. "The current situation cannot continue and we will need to use all our might to hit the terror infrastructure and to create a new secure situation around the Gaza Strip," local daily The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying at a graduation ceremony for military pilots, in reference to the continuing rocket attacks from the Hamas-ruled enclave.
The IDF is "ready and prepared" to carry out any operation that will be required to defend Israel against terror, said the lieutenant-general, while stressing that "we will act with wisdom, the correct considerations and responsibility... until calm and quiet are restored."
The remarks came as Gazan militants fired at least four rockets and several mortar shells at Israel on Thursday, a day after the Jewish state was pummeled by more than 60 rockets and mortar shells.
Israeli officials have been ratcheting up their rhetoric against the Islamic movement since clashes resumed in early November after the two sides had generally honored an Egypt-brokered truce deal for five months.
Following an emergency meeting of the security cabinet, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that he had instructed the army to prepare itself to deliver a harsh response to the cross-border attacks, and warned that Gazan militants would pay a "heavy price" if they continue to barrage Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
"troops ready to strike Gaza"
So quit jawing and start striking already.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/26/2008 0:17 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"When it's time to shoot, shoot! Don't talk!
--Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez
#6
JPOST > ANALYSTS: CAIRO FEARS LOCAL ISLAMIST FALLOUT [Muslim Brotherhood, Other Radicals] IFF ISRAEL HITS GAZA HARD; + ASSAD: HIZBOLLAH IS NOT MY PROBLEM!?
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents
Approximately 15,000 armed Palestinians. That's the size of the military force the Israel Defense Forces will face if a major operation in the Gaza Strip goes forward. These militants, from various Hamas factions, will presumably be aided by a few thousand militants from other Palestinian groups.
For two years Hamas, with Iranian assistance, has been working hard on developing its military power, using Hezbollah as a model. Gaza Palestinians are preparing to step up their offensive, with rockets and mortar shells directed at Israel's civilian population in the south, as well as their defense, digging in to retard the IDF's progress and cause heavy Israeli casualties.
Nevertheless, military experts in Israel and the West believe the IDF is capable of retaking Gaza. Israeli reservations about a broad military operation, therefore, are mainly linked to the question of what happens afterward, when the IDF controls a large area that it doesn't want and is in constant friction with terrorists and the civilian population.
The main components of the "Hamas Army":
Order of battle: Hamas is transitioning from a terror group to a paramilitary guerrilla organization. The transition includes improvements to the command and control structure, the acquisition of better weapons and the creation of a training program.
The core of Hamas' "army" is its military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, which the organization sees as its best trained and most disciplined force. It was deployed against Fatah in June 2007 and it will bear the brunt of any engagement with the IDF. Iz al-Din does not generally perform unpopular policing operations (such as the daily suppression of Fatah), instead focusing on preparing for battle with Israel.
The estimated size of the force is about 1,000, divided into sectors and from brigades down to companies.
Training: Palestinian sources say Iz al-Din troops undergo rigorous military training as well as participating in ideological classes held in mosques. Hamas forces do six months of basic training that includes live-fire exercises in which they learn to fire rockets, antitank missiles and mortar shells. They undergo urban warfare training, including exercises simulating an assault on a settlement complete with covering machine-gun fire and antitank fire prior to the assault. Some of the instructors were trained in Iran and Lebanon. In recent years dozens of Gazans have traveled to training camps run by terror organizations and Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
IDF soldiers who have fought Hamas cells in the Gaza Strip in the past two years report an impressive improvement in their discipline and in their equipment.
Other factions: Hamas and smaller organizations, starting with Islamic Jihad, can be expected to cooperate in the event of an engagement with the IDF. Two Popular Resistance Committee factions maintain close contact with Hamas and are likely to subordinate themselves to the organization in a war with Israel.
Three military groupings identified with global jihad (that is, Al-Qaida and its offshoots), on the other hand, will not accept Hamas authority and will continue to operate independently.
Rocket attacks: The rockets and mortar shells were initially developed as a way of bypassing the border fence, which prevented militants from entering Israel to carry out attacks. Shin Bet security service head, Yuval Diskin, told the cabinet this week that Hamas already has rockets with a range of 40 kilometers, that are capable of reaching Ashdod and the outskirts of Be'er Sheva. These are advanced Katyusha that were smuggled into Gaza in pieces through the tunnels and assembled in Gaza. These rockets have not yet been fired at Israel but Hamas and Islamic Jihad already have dozens of 122 mm. Grad rockets with a range of about 20 km. Gaza militants recently began using another Iranian-supplied weapon, 120 mm. mortar shells with an 8-kilometer range.
Hamas has also made significant gains in manufacturing its own rockets. It has learned to create Ammonium Perchlorate Compound, an advanced rocket propellant that in addition to extending the Qassam's range beyond 20 kilometers also - and more importantly - increases the rocket's shelf life.
That means the organization can, for the first time, maintain a supply of rockets for months at a time. Analysts believe Hamas currently has over 1,000 rockets. Islamic Jihad maintains its own production and storage facilities, but both rely on Iranian experts for training. Sources in Gaza say that Hamas' "military industry" is working overtime to manufacture rockets, and that the organization can easily fire 80 rockets a day, as it did on Wednesday.
Defense: Hamas' defensive strategy includes an extensive underground network of bunkers, tunnels and booby-trapped structures. The Palestinians have proved their explosives capabilities, having destroyed three Israeli tanks and two armored personnel carriers using high-grade explosives.
Antitank missiles are an important component of Hamas' defensive strategy, which takes on board the lessons learned by Hezbollah in the Second Lebanon War. Hamas has acquired antitank missiles from the Eastern bloc, although the exact models and capabilities are not known.
Militants can be expected to employ antitank missiles against Israel Air Force helicopters in the event of a confrontation, in the effort to delay and obstruct the entry of the IDF.
Offensive plans: Hamas' main weapon is its ability to launch dozens of rockets a day at Israel. In the event of an escalation the organization can be expected to try to prove that it can hit more distant targets, such as Be'er Sheva. Ashkelon is liable to suffer massive rockets attacks. In addition, Hamas is likely to target one kibbutz or moshav near the border in an attempt to cause large numbers of residents to leave and weaken Israeli morale. Israel must also be prepared for a surprise from Hamas, a la Hezbollah, ranging from additional tunnels to facilitate abductions to attacks on boats or aircraft and up to attacks on strategic targets in the south.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Approximately 15,000 armed Palestinians. That's the size of the military force the Israel Defense Forces will face if a major operation in the Gaza Strip goes forward. "
There are 1.4 million people in Gaza and they can only muster 15K with 1K of that specially trained?
#4
FREE Streaming TV Shows, Movies, Music (over 6 million digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, and FREE College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ InternetSurfShack.com
#5
mhw is exactly right. The Israelis cannot succeed unless they have a plan to deal with the press. Ideally, they should ban every traitorous news organization from Israel and Gaza and shoot a couple Reuters stringers to underline the point. No visuals = no news. The left can bitch but without the Gazan equivalent of Green Helmet Guy there is no story and nobody will care.
Unfortunately, I see no evidence Israel has figured this out.
#6
Just a question...who is the fool/troll/idiot who keeps posting that tiresome picture of the highway cop?(see #4) If it is a rregular Rantburger, could someone explain to the significance. I think I'm missing something.
#12
FREE Streaming TV Shows, Movies, Music (over 6 million digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, and College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ http://www.InternetSurfShack.com
CAIRO - The Egyptian president urged on Thursday visiting Israeli foreign minister for Israel's restraint in responding to renewed rocket and mortar barrages from the Gaza Strip and said he also wanted the militant Palestinian Hamas to halt its fire immediately. Hosni Mubarak said he expects Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers to immediately halt their fire on Israel, the Israeli official said.
Hosni called on Hamas for 'restraint'? Careful with that feather, you almost knocked me over!
Mubarak made the plea during talks in Cairo with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, according to an Israeli official and Livni's Egyptian counterpart. Livni's visit came after a six-month truce between Israel and Hamas expired last Friday. Egypt had brokered that truce, and Mubarak expressed hope that the agreement could be renewed, if only informally.
Livni's meeting in Cairo originally was designed to renew the Egyptian-mediated truce. But after militants pummeled Israel with more than 80 rockets and mortars on Monday, Livni dismissed that option.
In her meeting with Mubarak, she said Israel must and would respond to protects its citizens, the Israeli official said. Israel would not be deterred from acting because its Feb. 10 elections are approaching, she said. 'If Hamas thinks that because Israel is in election season, that it won't do what any democratic country would do to protect its citizens, then it's wrong,' she said later at a news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit. 'We want to negotiate with whoever we can, but we will fight whoever doesn't believe in it.'
Talk is cheap, Tzipi ...
Israel is running out of patience with Hamas, she added, calling the militant group an obstacle on the road to a Palestinian state.
Gheit expressed Egyptian concerns that without restraint, Egypt would no longer be able to mediate between Israel and the Palestinian militants. "We can't imagine that we will be able to convince the two parties to return to a truce, as long as the heightening confrontation continues," Aboul-Gheit said. "We hope for self-restraint and that the two parties apply what they have been implementing in the past six months."
"The Egyptian goal is to keep the truce and securing it. The real goal is to give a chance for a Palestinian-Palestinian reconciliation and for Palestinian-Israeli negotiations," he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Have some fun with it Livni.
Start by bombing that sewage lagoon that is overflowing...
#2
FREE Streaming TV Shows, Movies, Music (over 6 million digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, and FREE College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ InternetSurfShack.com
#4
FREE Streaming TV Shows, Movies, Music (over 6 million digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, and FREE College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ InternetSurfShack.com
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The military wing affiliated to Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades released a statement on Thursday morning briefing the group's military activities over the first twenty four hours of an operation they called "Oil Stain" which started Wednesday morning.
