This was both bold and courageous:
Israeli troops raided an apartment block in Tyre, from where, officials said, long-range missiles had been launched at Israel hours earlier.
One missile hit the town of Hadera, 75km (50 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border – the deepest strike into Israel so far.
Lebanese officials said a unit of commandos landed by helicopter near an orange grove in the north of the city before storming the building, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed Israeli naval officer as saying the guerrilla cell was on the second floor of a five-storey block in a densely populated neighbourhood.
“As we burst inside, we hit a number of terrorists inside the apartment with close-quarter shots and grenades,” the officer was quoted as saying.
Hezbollah al-Manar television said Hezbollah fighters repelled the attack, showing pictures of spent bullets and a blood-stained concrete floor.
Israel said eight soldiers were wounded in the operation, two seriously. It said a number of Hezbollah militants were killed and several rocket-launchers destroyed.
If they knew what building to target, then they could much more safely have executed this operation from the air. That they did not do so is a reflection both of their humanity – no one wants a reprise of the Qana appartment building strike – and their courage.
First Baalbek, and now Tyre. I wonder what the rate of renewal is these days on expiring Hezbollah militia membership cards?
Skipper,
It’s also possible that they were making a statement to the Lebanese and Hezb’allah that no place in Lebanon is safe…… A hospitol room here, an apartment there, wherever you go, we will find you….
Respects,
AW1 Tim
Knowing what I know of the door-kicking business, which admittedly isn’t much, we make a point of not just speed and suprise, but overwhelming force as well. Think Blackhawk Down, where the Rangers cordoned off a four-block area for they-who-shall-not-be-named to do their business. We have a maxim–if you want it dead, send in the Rangers. If you want it alive, send in the specialists. But from what you post, it seems the Israelis wanted it dead, and were still willing to go into close quarter combat to do it. Very, very ballsy, very risky, too. Which would hurt the Israeli war effort most, another two dozen dead Lebanese civilians, or a dozen dead Israeli commandos?
But since it was successful, I think it will have the Info Ops effect that AW1 Tim sees–nowhere is safe, even if we can’t use 500 or 1,000 lb bombs. A tip of the hat to those brave SOBs who carried it off.
As Patton said, “L’Audace, toujour L’Audace.”
Israel understands Arab culture: Arabs will not respect an enemy that does not have the courage to put itself in harms way. Simply plinking the enemy will not accomplish this. So, Israel plays smash-mouth and sticks one right in the face, knowing the odds and the risks, and sending the message as well.
Respect, as mentioned earlier was what was needed and what must be won by Israel.
But now, as you see, the Hez had deemed it a failure and that they fought off the attack.
What is needed now is a video of the fight, showing the blood and guts of the Hez, with their bodies on the floors and all over the walls and the IDF destroying the launchers.
Will we get this video? If not, the good guys are going to lose the war even if they win the battles.
Pride, is what destroys Muslims, as well as what drives them.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
French news reported from the briefing and said the Israelis disclosed that this raid was accompanied by at least 15 other raids in areas the IDF did not mention. The video had night vision shots of soldiers rummaging through filing cabinets and seizing weapons in the hospital.
The video was of that hospital in the north also raided the previous day (or two, I forget). The hospital, of course, is paid for by the Iranians.