Air raid sirens sounded in the Western Galilee region as more rockets were fired at Israel in the past hour. There are currently no reports of casualties.
Senior IDF officers now believe that the result of yesterday’s fierce battle at Bint Jbeil, in which eight infantrymen from the Golani division were killed, will prevent the army from carrying out further ground operations in Lebanon.
Golani troops ran into a well-planned ambush set by Hizbullah on the outskirts of the town. A fierce battle ensued as Israel Air Force helicopters rescued the injured under enemy fire. The IDF northern command is conducting an investigation this morning to determine how the terrorists managed to deploy on the ground without being detected by IDF intelligence.
IDF OC northern command Major General Udi Adam praised the fighting spirit of the Golani troops and the rescue by helicopter pilots. “This evacuation was carried out under extremely difficult conditions, as the pilots were at risk of their lives from fire, including mortars. The fighters demonstrated composure, courage, and professionalism, and managed to kill a substantial number of terrorists,” he said.
24 wounded are being been treated at hospitals in Israel, of which 22 were injured in the Bint Jbeil incident. Four of the wounded are in critical condition, two are suffering from moderate injuries while the rest have slight injuries. The wounded are suffering from gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
The names of the fallen soldiers are: Lieutenant Roy Klein, aged 31 of the settlement Eli; Captain Amihai Merhavia, aged 24, also of Eli; Lieutenant Yiftah Schreier, aged 21 of Haifa; Sergeant Asaf Namer, aged 27 of Kiryat Yam; Lieutenant Alexander Schwartzman, aged 24 of Acre; Staff Sergeant Shimon Adega, aged 21 of Kiryat Gat; Staff Sergeant Shimon Dahan, aged 20 of Ashdod; Staff Sergeant Idan Cohen, aged 21 of Jaffa, and Staff Sergeant Ohad Klausner, aged 20 of the settlement Beit Horon.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 27, 2006
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