NationStates Jolt Archive

Kidnapped in Israel or Captured in Lebanon?
Official justification for Israel's invasion on thin ice
http://www.antiwar.com/frank/?articleid=9401
(July 25, 2006)... numerous reports from international and independent media, as well as the Associated Press, raise questions about Israel's official version of the events that sparked the conflict two weeks ago.
...
These sources contend that Israel sent a commando force into southern Lebanon and was subsequently attacked by Hezbollah near the village of Aitaa al-Chaab, well inside Lebanon's southern territory. It was at this point that an Israel tank was struck by Hezbollah fighters, which resulted in the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the death of six.

As the AFP reported, "According to the Lebanese police force, the two Israeli soldiers were captured in Lebanese territory, in the area of Aitaa al-Chaab,
MSNBC online first reported that Hezbollah had captured Israeli soldiers "inside" Lebanon, only to change their story hours later after the Israeli government gave an official statement to the contrary.
...
A report from The National Council of Arab Americans, based in Lebanon, also raised suspicion that Israel's official story did not hold water and noted that Israel had yet to recover the tank that was demolished during the initial attack in question.

"The Israelis so far have not been able to enter Aitaa al-Chaab to recover the tank that was exploded by Hezbollah and the bodies of the soldiers that were killed in the original operation (this is a main indication that the operation did take place on Lebanese soil, not that in my opinion it would ever be an illegitimate operation, but still the media has been saying that it was inside 'Israel' thus an aggression first started by Hezbollah)."

Before independent observers could organize an investigation of the incident, Israel had already mounted a grisly offensive against Lebanese infrastructure and civilians, bombing Beirut's international airport, along with numerous highways and communication portals. Israel didn't need the truth of the matter to play out before it invaded Lebanon. As with the United States' illegitimate invasion of Iraq, Israel just needed the proper media cover to wage a war with no genuine moral impetus.
_______________________
my2cents: ...the truth is the first casualty of war.
and the media has become a weapon.. a very important weapon.

So they send troops into another country and are surprised when that country protects itself and detains the survivors?

I wonder what the US would do in such a situation :rolleyes:

If true, perhaps they sent the soldiers to do something about the rocket attacks?

It seems to me no coincidence that Hezbollah shot rockets at Israel, and captured IDF soldiers. Clearly, Hezbollah is the aggressor.

Everyone is going to think they were captured in Israel regardless of whether or not it's true. If you repeat something enough it becomes true these days.

Much like when Saddam kicked out weapons inspectors in 1998. Except at the time people were reporting that they left on their own. Examples. (http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1123)

If true, perhaps they sent the soldiers to do something about the rocket attacks? .the hezbollah rockets started only after Israel bombed/killed lebanese civileans.

If true, perhaps they sent the soldiers to do something about the rocket attacks?

It seems to me no coincidence that Hezbollah shot rockets at Israel, and captured IDF soldiers. Clearly, Hezbollah is the aggressor.
Um I think the rocket attacks happened AFTER the retaliation for the captured solders

Um I think the rocket attacks happened AFTER the retaliation for the captured solders

Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel for YEARS. Regardless of what side of the border they were on, IDF was responding to attacks by Hezbollah first.

Hezbollah instigated it, Israel responded, Hezbollah took them prisoner, Israel attacked to get the prisoners back, and to dismantle their aggressors.

Regardless of where they were, they were taken hostage, Israel is trying to get them back.

Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel for YEARS. Regardless of what side of the border they were on, IDF was responding to attacks by Hezbollah first.

Hezbollah instigated it, Israel responded, Hezbollah took them prisoner, Israel attacked to get the prisoners back, and to dismantle their aggressors.

Regardless of where they were, they were taken hostage, Israel is trying to get them back.
Ok thanks for the info!

Regardless of what side of the border they were on..
Regardless of where they were, they were taken hostage, Israel is trying to get them back.#1 If the tank was destroyed on Lebanon.. Israell was the agressor.

#2 It raises questions about our "fair and balanced" media.

#1 If the tank was destroyed on Lebanon.. Israell was the agressor.

If you punch me in the face, and in response I punch you back, I'm the aggressor?

If the IDF was responding to rockets fired by Hezbollah FIRST, then hezbollah was the aggressor.

If you punch me in the face, and in response I punch you back, I'm the aggressor?

If the IDF was responding to rockets fired by Hezbollah FIRST, then hezbollah was the aggressor.

hezbollah fired rockets AFTER israel started bombing lebanon so in the case the soldeirs were captured in lebanon israel was the agressor and the whole self-defense bla bla is just another israeli LIE

hezbollah fired rockets AFTER israel started bombing lebanon so in the case the soldeirs were captured in lebanon israel was the agressor and the whole self-defense bla bla is just another israeli LIE

Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel for YEARS now. Saying that they "only started" after the invasion is the lie.

If you punch me in the face...If Canada or Mexico sends soldiers into US territory they are the agressors.. and viceversa...

scenario1:
Pakistan sends soldiers+Tank into India.. the Indi have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be Pakistan's fault.

scenario2:
India sends soldiers+Tank into Pakistan.. the Pakis have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be India's fault.

scenario3:
Isreal sends soldiers+Tank into Lebanon.. the Lebs have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be Israel's fault.

get it?

If Canada or Mexico sends soldiers into US territory they are the agressors.. and viceversa...

Not if the US attacked them first. Or do you believe moving soldiers across a border counts as aggression, but launching a FUCKING ROCKET across the border does not



scenario3:
Isreal sends soldiers+Tank into Lebanon


Try this. Lebanon attacks israel with a rocket, Israel sends soldiers + tank into Lebanon. Lebanon's fault.

.. the Lebs have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be Israel's fault.

get it?

And israel has every right to get them back, and dismantle a terrorist organization that has been strapping bombs to 14 year old girls in the process.

Get it?

If the IDF was responding to rockets fired by Hezbollah FIRST, then hezbollah was the aggressor.If you have a NEWS-link saying that they were captured while looking for a Rocket launcher..then you could have a point.

Do you have that NEWS-link?

Let me ask you one simple question OceansDrive, and answer it with a yes, or a no. Not hyperbola, not comparison, not allegory, just yes or no.

If Hezbollah launched a rocket from Lebanon and into Israel before Israeli troops entered Lebanon (I'm not even conceiding that Israeli troops were in Lebanon but let's go with that), would that make Hezbollah the aggressor?

Again, yes or no, if Hezbollah launched a rocket into Israel FIRST, and the IDF was responding to that by entering Lebanon, would that make Hezbollah the aggressor, not Israel?

If you have a NEWS-link saying that they were captured while looking for a Rocket launcher..then you could have a point.

Do you have that NEWS-link?

Do you have anything that says what they were doing? Yours just proportes that they were iN lebanon, not why.

Try this. Lebanon attacks israel with a rocket, Israel sends soldiers + tank into Lebanon. Lebanon's fault.true..

now lets see a link.

Do you have anything that says what they were doing? Yours just proportes that they were iN lebanon, not why.I have presented my links (OP).. your turn.

true..

now lets see a link.

OK...

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0607/timeline.lebanon.israel/content.1.html

Wednesday, July 12
Hezbollah fires a pair of rockets into northern Israel from southern Lebanon, and guerrillas capture two Israeli soldiers...Eight Israeli soldiers also die in fighting that day. In response, Israeli ground, air and naval forces attack at least eight Hezbollah bases and five bridges in southern Lebanon.

OK...

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0607/timeline.lebanon.israel/content.1.html
Wednesday, July 12
Hezbollah fires a pair of rockets into northern Israel from southern Lebanon, and guerrillas capture two Israeli soldiers...Eight Israeli soldiers also die in fighting that day. In response, Israeli ground, air and naval forces attack at least eight Hezbollah bases and five bridges in southern Lebanon.Your link says that the soldiers were captured/killed in Israel.. In that case the rockets would be irrelevant.

OK...

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0607/timeline.lebanon.israel/content.1.html
I don’t know about anyone else but it sounds like the kidnapping and the rocket attacks happened at the same time rather then the rocket attacks coming Israel responding and Hez capturing those responding solders.

Your link says that the soldiers were captured/killed in Israel.. In that case the rockets would be irrelevant.

I edited that part out because that question is, for the purposes of this post, in dispute.

It is NOT irrelevant however, since it questions why the soliders were IN lebanon in the first place, which well could be they were responding to rocket fire FROM lebanon.

Which would turn their presence from aggression, as you claim, and into a retaliatory act from the initial aggression, IE firing the rockets.

What a silly complaint, not even Hezbollah claims they didn't enter Israel.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrillas did not expect Israel to react with an all-out offensive after the capture of two soldiers, the first acknowledgment by the group that it had miscalculated the consequences of the raid two weeks ago.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_fighting_hezbollah;_ylt=AmSzDMNckGNofJ__fF7CK31I2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--)

If this is true, Israel's government has lied deliberately to it's own people (never mind the rest of us) about a substantive matter.
Remember the pictures they released of "the tunnel being demolished"? True, or destroying the evidence?

It's ironic: with the conflict still hot, there'll be those who say this was justifiable misinformation in a time of war. Without the hostilities, it would be an impeachment offence.
But guess what? There's a war, and it's a direct consequence of the capture of those soldiers, at least officially.

which well could be they were responding to rocket fire FROM lebanon.your link does not reflect that.
In fact it says the capture took place in Israel.. wich invalidates your theory.

your link does not reflect that.
In fact it says the capture took place in Israel.. wich invalidates your theory.

Because one piece MAY be untrue does not make the other part untrue.

You asked for a news link that stated rockets were fired into Israel, I provided one.

Nice poisoning the well fallacy there. And btw, as noted above, it seems even HEZBOLLAH THEMSELVES are admitting to entering Israel.

What a silly complaint.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrillas did not expect Israel to react with an all-out offensive after the capture of two soldiers, the first acknowledgment by the group that it had miscalculated the consequences of the raid two weeks ago.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_fighting_hezbollah;_ylt=AmSzDMNckGNofJ__fF7CK31I2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--)He is not mentioning the country.. wheter the Raid took place in Lebanon or Israel.

He is not mentioning the country.. wheter the Raid took place in Lebanon or Israel.

Try actually...reading the link?

He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel after the two soldiers were seized by guerrillas on Israel's side of the border on July 12.

Try actually...reading the link?LOL.. you posted a full paragraph.. and did not post the relevant part.

He is not mentioning the country.. wheter the Raid took place in Lebanon or Israel.

Okay, now I see what kind of conspiracies you believe in, I suppose last week you were telling us that Elvis Shot Kennedy from a UFO platform... Denial is denial, plain and simple. Hezbollah says they raided, I see no reason not to believe them here. But that doesn't fit your current attempt at attacking the IDF, so you deny it, apparently that shouldn't come as a surprise.

LOL.. you posted a full paragraph.. and did not post the relevant part.

I did not post the link in the first place, I merely posted a section of it, which I will reitterate:

He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel after the two soldiers were seized by guerrillas on Israel's side of the border on July 12.

Additionally, I just read (but idiotically closed and lost the link, so will try to find) that the tank mentioned was sent to get the solider's BACk, was not with them initially, and was then destroyed.

So the tank may well be in Lebanon, but it may not have been part of the group that Hezbollah attacked.

If Canada or Mexico sends soldiers into US territory they are the agressors.. and viceversa...

scenario1:
Pakistan sends soldiers+Tank into India.. the Indi have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be Pakistan's fault.

scenario2:
India sends soldiers+Tank into Pakistan.. the Pakis have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be India's fault.

scenario3:
Isreal sends soldiers+Tank into Lebanon.. the Lebs have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be Israel's fault.

get it?

scenario4:
USA sends soldiers+Tank into Iraq.. the Iraqi's have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be America's fault?

Because one piece MAY be untrue does not make the other part untrue.

You asked for a news link that stated rockets were fired into Israel, I provided one.

Nice poisoning the well fallacy there. And btw, as noted above, it seems even HEZBOLLAH THEMSELVES are admitting to entering Israel.

"As noted above" -- I read that story, it was boilerplate. It did not directly quote any words from Nasrallah regarding where the soldiers were captured. Still searching for such ... get back to you all.

EDIT:

"The truth is - let me say this clearly - we didn't even expect (this) response ... that (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us,"

"As noted above" -- I read that story, it was boilerplate. It did not directly quote any words from Nasrallah regarding where the soldiers were captured. Still searching for such ... get back to you all.

Well more to point it said he said it. Which I consider just about as legitimate as quoting him saying it.

If they can make up the fact he said it, surely the could also make a quote right?

Try actually...reading the link?
He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel after the two soldiers were seized by guerrillas on Israel's side of the border on July 12.
Let me explain you how it Works:

#1 Everything inside the "..." is Mahmoud Komati words..

#2 Everything outside the *..." is AP words.

>> So NO, he did not say inside Israel.

BTW, when I say Mahmoud Komati words.. these are the phrases AP chooses to report.. he may have said many other things AP did not judge interesting to report.

scenario4:
USA sends soldiers+Tank into Iraq.. the Iraqi's have every rigth to capture/kill them.. in this case it would all be America's fault?of course.

Well more to point it said he said it. Which I consider just about as legitimate as quoting him saying it.

If they can make up the fact he said it, surely the could also make a quote right?

Wtf? That's weak man. Full quote (even though in translation) with a phrase like "this operation into Israel" or "the incident in Israel" will do for me. And I'm still searching. EDIT: The internet is kind of slow in .lb ... who would have guessed that? :p

Actually, I lean towards thinking the soldiers were captured inside Israel, if only because Hezbollah haven't explicitly stated otherwise that I can see.

Hezbollah says "we raided", I see no reason not to believe them here. .and I see no reason either.

Whats your point?

Well more to point it said he said it. Which I consider just about as legitimate as quoting him saying it.

If they can make up the fact he said it, surely the could also make a quote right?

if you want to state that there is no PROOF that Israeli troops were captured in Israel...ok I'll concede that.

But on the same token there is no PROOF they were in Lebanon either. So if you refuse to believe as a matter of proof they were in Israel, you must, in the name of intellectual honesty, concede that you can't say they weren't either.

So there are three scenarios:

1) Israel entered Lebanon unprovoked, gets attacked and soliders get kidnapped

2) Hezbollah attacks Israel, Israel sends IDF into Lebanon to find the attackers, troops are attacked and kidnapped/killed in Lebanon

3) Hezbollah coordinates attacks, and launches rockets into Israel the same day they raid northern Israel and take two IDF soldiers hostage

Now, without 100% PROOF in either way, we both must believe what we think is most probable. If you think it is option #1, ok, personally I believe option #3.

And what's one of my reasons? If it is true, if Israel actually ENTERED lebanon without provocation, was attacked in LEBANON and soldiers were captured, wouldn't Hezbollah be screaming this up and down to anyone who will listen? that their attack on the IDF was a legitimate response to aggression? Why didn't the leader of Hezbollah scream from the mountaintops that Israel came into lebanon FIRST.

It would be a VERY good justification to paint Israel as the aggressors in the community, yet Hezbollah hasn't ever actually even claimed that this is what happened. The fact that not even Hezbollah has stated that israel was IN Lebanon FIRST and was unprovoked seems pretty damning to me.

But again, it's not PROOF, but it is a consideration in developing my belief in what happened.

Actually, I lean towards thinking the soldiers were captured inside Israel, if only because Hezbollah haven't explicitly stated otherwise that I can see.

That does a lot for me too. if israel was REALLY in Lebanon, for NO reason, don't you think Hezbollah leadership would be SCREAMING this to anyone who would listen, and not sitting down in an interview with the AP and saying nothing of the sort?

I've found alink that claims that they were captured in Lebanon. In this one it's the Lebanese police and Hezbollah who claim they were in Lebanon.

Link (http://in.news.yahoo.com/060712/43/65tzi.html)

And a link that claims they were captured in Israel. Here, the source isn't stated, but I'd imagine it was from an Israeli press release.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060712/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel_clash)

Its not even three weeks and the propaganda bullshit idiots are already out in FORCE...hezbollah claimed they used tunnels to get accross the border to ambush the soldiers in Israel,,all a continuation of the assualt on sheeba farms.

Take your sources and tiin foil hats and go stand in a corner you need a time out .

Hezbollah seizes Israel soldiers

Israel says it is planning to retaliate against Lebanon
Lebanese guerrillas have captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, triggering the first Israeli land incursion into the country since 2000.
Planes struck outposts of the Hezbollah militant group in south Lebanon, as well as roads, killing two civilians.

Israel has called up reserve troops, signalling a large-scale campaign, as operations continue to free a soldier seized by Palestinians in Gaza in June.

Israel's PM Ehud Olmert said the attack was an "act of war" by Lebanon.

Mr Olmert has said he holds Lebanon responsible for the fate of the two soldiers and that it would pay a "heavy price".

The prime minister has called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss further action, although he has already ruled out negotiations.

"The Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah is a part, is trying to shake regional stability," he said at a press conference in Jerusalem.

"We are already responding with great strength," he said, threatening "very painful and far-reaching" action.

Soldiers' search

Israeli ground troops have entered southern Lebanon to search for the two soldiers, for the first time since Israel ended its occupation of south Lebanon six years ago.

HAVE YOUR SAY
Hezbollah and the Lebanese Government have brought this assault upon themselves



Several thousand reservists will be deployed along the border, officials say.

The news of the clashes comes as a major Israeli offensive is under way in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli soldier was kidnapped by Palestinian militants in Israel over two weeks ago.

Overnight, Israel carried out an air strike on a Gaza City house, killing at least six people and injuring 15.

On Wednesday morning, Hezbollah launched dozens of Katyusha rockets and mortar bombs at the Israeli town of Shlomi and at Israeli outposts in the Shebaa Farms area.

Later on Wednesday, Hezbollah said its fighters had destroyed an Israeli tank attempting to cross the border. An Israeli military spokeswoman said there had been a number of casualties.

Two civilians were killed when Israeli planes bombed a road bridge on major route though southern Lebanon.

Civilians in northern Israel have been told to stay in their shelters.

The UN representative in Lebanon, Geir Pedrson, has condemned the escalation and called on Hezbollah to release the soldiers.

Call for swap

Hezbollah said it captured the two Israeli soldiers at 0904 (0704 GMT).

A statement from the group said the two were taken to a "safe place". It did not mention whether they were alive or dead or injured.




What is Hezbollah?
Capture marks escalation
The group says it has captured the soldiers to secure the release of detainees held in Israeli prisons.

"Fulfilling its pledge to liberate the prisoners and detainees, the Islamic Resistance... captured two Israeli soldiers at the border with occupied Palestine," the Hezbollah statement said.

Hezbollah captured three Israeli soldiers in 2000. They died during the operation, but four years later, the group was able to exchange their bodies for 430 Palestinians and Lebanese held in Israeli jails.

BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says the capture of two Israeli soldiers is a dramatic gesture of solidarity with the Palestinians - and at the same time adds to the pressures on the Israeli government.

Complicating the picture is the fact that the Lebanese group has the backing of both Syria and Iran.

Israel and American officials are already saying Syria must bear some of the blame for the capture of a young Israeli soldier in Gaza last month - because it plays host to part of the Hamas leadership.

Pressure on Syria - as well as on the Lebanese government - will now intensify, our analyst adds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5171616.stm

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah militants crossed into Israel on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel responded in southern Lebanon with warplanes, tanks and gunboats, and said eight of its soldiers had been killed in the violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the soldiers' capture "an act of war," and his Cabinet prepared to approve more military action in Lebanon — a second front in the fight against Islamic militants by Israel, which already is waging an operation to free a captured soldier in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said three soldiers were killed in the initial raid, and four others were killed when their tank hit a land mine in southern Lebanon. An eighth soldier was killed as an Israeli force tried to get to the tank, which was part of a ground invasion aimed at rescuing the captured soldiers.

heres your tank dumbass

Olmert said he held the Lebanese government responsible for the two soldiers' safety, vowing that the Israeli response "will be restrained, but very, very, very painful."

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said he will not release the captives except as part of a prisoner swap. He said the two soldiers were "in a safe and very far place."

"No military operation will return them," he told a news conference in Beirut. "The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade."

Israeli jets struck deep into southern Lebanon, blasting bridges and Hezbollah positions and killing two civilians, the Lebanese officials said.

The Israeli military planned to call up thousands of reservists, and residents of Israeli towns on the border with Lebanon were ordered to seek cover in underground bomb shelters.

The Israeli stock market plunged on word that two more soldiers were captured and that Israel was getting entangled in a second front against Lebanese guerrillas. The exchange's TA-25 blue chip index sank as much as 4.9 percent in exceptionally heavy trading. It rose slightly in afternoon trading to close down 4.2 percent.

The United States, U.N., European Union, France and Germany expressed deep concern about the fighting. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for the immediate release of kidnapped Israeli soldiers and condemned Israel's retaliation in southern Lebanon.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Hezbollah action went against the interest of the Lebanese people, and that Syria has a "special responsibility" to resolve the crisis.

"All sides must act with restraint to resolve this incident peacefully and to protect innocent life and civilian infrastructure," she said ahead of meetings in Paris.

Separately, Israel escalated its Gaza assault, killing 23 people.

Israeli attacks in the central Gaza town of Deir Al-Balah killed 12 people, while two people were killed in separate incidents elsewhere in Gaza.

Israel also dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a home in Gaza City before dawn to try to kill top Hamas fugitives. Palestinian hospital officials said the blast killed nine members of a family — seven children and two parents.

After initially claiming its leaders had escaped harm, Hamas militants took over the intensive care unit of Gaza City's main hospital, where doctors said seven militants were in critical condition. The gunmen refused to say who was being treated.

The Israeli military said Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Hamas military wing and No. 1 on Israel's wanted list for more than a decade, was among the wounded.

The Shiite Lebanese Hezbollah said it captured the two soldiers to help win the release of prisoners held in Israel. Hamas had made identical demands in seizing Cpl. Gilad Shalit on June 25.

A top Hamas leader said his movement did not coordinate with Hezbollah over the capture of the soldiers but said it was "natural" for the groups to work together against Israel.

"Now Israeli has to decide on its choices," Osama Hamdan, Hamas' spokesman in Lebanon, told The Associated Press. "It is early to talk about details of the exchange, but no doubt the operation carried out by Hezbollah today will strengthen our demands to exchange the captives."

Israel, however, appeared determined to win freedom for its troops with a show of force.

Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz warned the Lebanese government that the Israeli military will target infrastructure and "turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years," if the soldiers were not returned, Israeli TV reported.

Israeli troops crossed into a southwestern sector of Lebanon, across the border from where the soldiers were seized, trying to keep their captors from moving them deeper into Lebanon, Israeli security officials said.

Israeli warplanes and gunboats blasted bridges and Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon, killing two civilians, the Lebanese security officials said.

The Israeli jets made their deepest foray in an afternoon strike on a road in the Zahrani region along the Mediterranean coast — about halfway between the border and the capital of Beirut. Anti-aircraft guns opened fire on jets flying over the coastal city of Sidon.

In the evening, warplanes made their closest strike to Beirut, hitting a Palestinian guerrilla base 10 miles to the south.

The Arab League planned an urgent meeting on the crisis Thursday amid "fears of widening of tension and possible Israeli strike against Syria," which backs Hezbollah, a senior league official in Cairo said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa blamed Israel for the escalating violence in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and denied his country had a role in either abduction.

"It's up to the resistance — both the Lebanese and the Palestinian — to decide what they are doing and why are they fighting," he told reporters in Damascus.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, visiting Cairo, said the capture of the two Israeli soldiers was "a very dangerous escalation" that "puts at risk all the effort that's being put forth by many to find a solution to the current situation."

Jubilant residents of south Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, and Palestinians in the Ein el-Hilwa refugee camp fired guns in the air and set off firecrackers in celebration after the capture of the Israeli soldiers was announced.

The top U.N. official in Lebanon, Geir Pedersen, met with Lebanon's prime minister and denounced Hezbollah's incursion across the border into northern Israel, known as the Blue Line.

"Hezbollah's action escalates the already tense situation along the Blue Line and is an act of very dangerous proportions," he said in a statement.

Elsewhere, Israeli troops killed a Hezbollah guerrilla as he tried to infiltrate a military base in northern Israel. The army said Hezbollah also fired rockets toward the Israeli border. There were no reports of injuries.

Hezbollah's military arm said its fighters captured two Israeli soldiers "on the border with occupied Palestine, fulfilling the promise to liberate its prisoners" held by Israel.

NITWIT I GUESS HEZBOLLAH SAYING WHAT THEY DID DOESNT COUNT.
[i] empasis added to article by me [/]
Hamas-linked militants have demanded the release of at least some of the estimated 9,000 prisoners held by Israel in exchange for Shalit's freedom. Israel has carried out several prisoner swaps with Hezbollah in the past to free captured Israelis.

Israel occupied a small strip of southern Lebanon for 18 years before withdrawing in 2000 amid public complaints in Israel. Hezbollah fighters have controlled the Lebanese side of the border since then. Israel and Hezbollah have been clashing for two decades and still fight over a small sliver of border territory — Chebaa Farms.

Lebanon is under U.N. and U.S. pressure to disarm the Shiite guerrilla group and move its own military into the south, but the government has refused to do so, calling Hezbollah a legitimate resistance group.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060712/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel_clash

[quote]Their capture was announced by Hezbollah this morning on the group's al-Manar television station. The militants later faxed a statement to the Associated Press that read: "At 09.05 this morning, the Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers near the border with occupied Palestine, and the captives have been moved to a safe area."

As news of the capture spread, Hezbollah supporters fired guns into the air and set off firecrackers in southern Beirut, a stronghold of the movement that earlier this year won 23 of the 128 seats in the Lebanese parliament.

The violence opened a second front in the ongoing stand-off between Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinian government over the fate of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli corporal taken hostage by Palestinian militants in a raid on an Israeli border post on June 25.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is one of three groups believed to be holding Corporal Shalit, who was the first Israeli soldier taken hostage by the Palestinians since 1994. The militants have reportedly demanded the release of up to 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons in exchange for the soldier.

Hours after the raid, Hezbollah said it was also seeking the release of prisoners held by Israel. The co-ordination between the two groups was confirmed in a statement released by Hamas:

"Hezbollah’s operation proves again the complimentarity of the resistance against the Zionist entity, whether it is in Palestine or in Lebanon," the statement said. [quote]

More anti bullshit potions for the propaganda meisters from bizzaro world .

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2266551,00.html

Dumbass...occupied Palestine is hezbollah's name for ISRAEL..notice they didnt say anything about capturing or ambushing Israeli's in LEBENON...BECAUSE IF THEY DID...ISRAEL WOULD HAVE HAD A HARD TIME JUSTIFYING AN ATTACK...You are trying to make it sem that the Hezbollah statements do not exist and in a parralell universe were you make this bullshit up..Hezbollah didnt really mean it..they were in Lebanon...yeh..thats right ..Lenenon...


Except that means you have to ingnore reality .

I've found alink that claims that they were captured in Lebanon. In this one it's the Lebanese police and Hezbollah who claim they were in Lebanon.

Link (http://in.news.yahoo.com/060712/43/65tzi.html)

And a link that claims they were captured in Israel. Here, the source isn't stated, but I'd imagine it was from an Israeli press release.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060712/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel_clash)

Interesting, if you check the second link it states:

The Israeli army said three soldiers were killed in the initial raid, and four others were killed when their tank hit a land mine in southern Lebanon. An eighth soldier was killed as an Israeli force tried to get to the tank, which was part of a ground invasion aimed at rescuing the captured soldiers.

Even the Israeli army admits the tank was IN LEBANON. So this whole article of "omg the tank must have been in Lebanon" is a given. however the tank wasn't with the soldiers that got kidnapped.

and I see no reason either.

Whats your point?

My point? What Hezbollah says and what you say are two different things, that's my point.

He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel after the two soldiers were seized by guerrillas on Israel's side of the border on July 12.

In the past, he said, Israeli responses to Hezbollah actions included sending commandos into Lebanon, seizing Hezbollah officials and briefly targeting specific strongholds in southern Lebanon.

Komati said his group had anticipated negotiations to swap the Israeli soldiers for three Lebanese held in Israeli jails, with Germany acting as a mediator as it has in past prisoner exchanges.

The second bolded part shows that it was a pre-planned event, an anticipated resolution to their coordinated attack and raid. He is saying that this was planned, not a defensive maneuver against an offensive force, as you would have us believe.

More anti bullshit

The violence erupted in the early morning hours when Hezbollah gunmen fired katyusha rockets and mortars from the western sector of south Lebanon across the border, targeting the Israeli military outpost of Nourit.

Clashes across the Blue Line ensued during which the two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and six others injured.

A Hezbollah statement said the kidnapped soldiers were taken to a safe place and that the operation "came in line with the promise made by Hezbollah to free prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails."

The operation is on the surface aimed at swapping the Israeli soldiers with at least four Lebanese prisoners, along with Arab and Palestinian detainees.

Hezbollah, which is backed and influenced by both Syria and Iran, has previously vowed to free the prisoners. Among them the longest-held Lebanese prisoner in Israel Samir Kantar who was captured 27 years ago while carrying out an operation inside Israeli territory.

An Israeli military source, speaking to United Press International on condition of anonymity, confirmed the kidnapping of the two soldiers and said three soldiers were killed. Another 4 soldiers died when the tank in which they were travelling drove over an improvised explosive device. A fifth soldier injured in that attack later died, pushing the death toll for Israeli soldiers on the day to 8.



http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=1602175d3cdbe55d

More huge piles of ANTI bullshit .


The leader of Hezbollah said ..

Nasrallah continued, "We announced that two soldiers were taken hostage. We will make details known as the time is right. It is not true that IDF forces entered the south of Lebanon after the encounter. The Israeli report is not true. No forces entered. Whoever heard this could have assumed that they reached Beirut, but this didn't happen."

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2137

Regarding the reports of the Israeli tank that was destroyed, Nasrallah said, "The tank was destroyed when it infiltrated Lebanese territory. Other than that there was no infiltration. The hostages are in a secure place, very far away."

"The operation was carried out at 9:05 a.m., and at 10:30 the Israelis still didn't know what happened. The infiltration of the tank was at one point only, and it was destroyed. What we did today was our natural right and the only way to bring about the release of prisoners and detainees held by Israel."

Nasrallah demands prisoner exchange

Regarding the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, he said: "The soldiers will be returned on one condition – indirect negotiations for the exchange of prisoners. If the aim of the Israelis is to bring their soldiers home, they can't do it with a military operation. The Lebanese government is under very heavy pressure from the United States, the UN and the rest of the international elements. We are getting very severe threats."

"Up until now the Israelis carried out a series of response operations and we exercised great restraint," he continued. "Any infiltration into Lebanese territory will meet a very harsh response. Our restraint is not out of weakness. We are exercising level-headed restraint."

IDF pursues kidnappers

Wednesday afternoon, the IDF continued its ground pursuit of the kidnappers on Lebanese territory. Simultaneous to the ground battle, Lebanese land was being shelled by IDF tank artillery, cannons, planes and navy battleships. The Air Force attacked over 30 targets in Lebanon.

During the IDF operations, the IAF targeted bridges, power stations and a number of Lebanese infrastructure sites. Lebanese media reported that due to the shelling, the Lebanese army was preventing residents from entering Tyre. In one of the shellings, it was reported, at least two Lebanese civilians were killed. Simultaneously, fighter jets flew over Beirut.

The kidnapping itself occurred in the morning hours. Under heavy shelling, that "lit up" the whole region, RPG missiles were fired towards IDF stations. Tracks, blood stains and a breach in the fence were found on the scene. Shortly thereafter, Hizbullah announced that it was holding two Israeli soldiers hostage, who had been transported to a secure location and who would only be released – together with Gilad Shalit – in a large-scale prisoner exchange



Go e- mail your bullshit sellers and tell them to contact Hezbollah..they seem to have a problem with their bullshit version of events .

if you want to state that there is no PROOF that Israeli troops were captured in Israel...ok I'll concede that.

But on the same token there is no PROOF they were in Lebanon either. So if you refuse to believe as a matter of proof they were in Israel, you must, in the name of intellectual honesty, concede that you can't say they weren't either.

So there are three scenarios:

1) Israel entered Lebanon unprovoked, gets attacked and soliders get kidnapped

2) Hezbollah attacks Israel, Israel sends IDF into Lebanon to find the attackers, troops are attacked and kidnapped/killed in Lebanon

3) Hezbollah coordinates attacks, and launches rockets into Israel the same day they raid northern Israel and take two IDF soldiers hostage

Now, without 100% PROOF in either way, we both must believe what we think is most probable. If you think it is option #1, ok, personally I believe option #3.

.Fair enough...

I guess not even all the Hezbollah/Isreali comanders know for sure what side of the Border all this took place.. War is hell.. hell is a mess.

Even the Israeli army admits the tank was IN LEBANON. So this whole article of "omg the tank must have been in Lebanon" is a given. however the tank wasn't with the soldiers that got kidnapped.

I don't think that's been in dispute for a couple of pages.

The Israeli story seems to be this:

Hezbollah attacks a patrol, capturing two soldiers and killing 3. An Israeli QRF gives chase and a tank hits something. Some sources say a mine, some say a shit-ton of buried explosives. Since all four crewmen died I'd lean towards the explosives. I saw tanks in Iraq that ran over mines and they were merely disabled, with no injuries to the crew. However, we've lost at least one tank in Iraq to buried explosives.

The Hezbollah/Lebanese police story seems to be that Israeli soldiers were in Lebanon near Aitaa al-Chaab, and were captured. They haven't given much of a story beyond that.

I've found alink that claims that they were captured in Lebanon. In this one it's the Lebanese police and Hezbollah who claim they were in Lebanon.
Link (http://in.news.yahoo.com/060712/43/65tzi.html)


Yeah, that's something. It's timely, but an anonymous statement. Congrats.

Interesting, if you check the second link it states:



Even the Israeli army admits the tank was IN LEBANON. So this whole article of "omg the tank must have been in Lebanon" is a given. however the tank wasn't with the soldiers that got kidnapped.interesante indeed..

time for me to sleep..
later all

Fair enough...

I guess not even all the Hezbollah/Isreali comanders know for sure what side of the Border all this took place.. War is hell.. hell is a mess.

It may be worth noting that one of the main issues of contention between Hezbollah and Israel is exactly where that line between Lebanon and Israel IS. That's one of the reasons for continued conflict.

It's entirely possible for Lebanon to say they were in Lebanon and Israel to say they were in Israel, and both be right from their own perspective.

NOt saying that's the case, but consider that the border itself is one thing that's caused the issues, it may be worth considering.

interesante indeed..

time for me to sleep..
later all


Hezbollah itself has destroyed your bullshit story.

Regarding the reports of the Israeli tank that was destroyed, Nasrallah said, "The tank was destroyed when it infiltrated Lebanese territory. Other than that there was no infiltration. The hostages are in a secure place, very far away."

"The operation was carried out at 9:05 a.m., and at 10:30 the Israelis still didn't know what happened. The infiltration of the tank was at one point only, and it was destroyed. What we did today was our natural right and the only way to bring about the release of prisoners and detainees held by Israel."

Nasrallah demands prisoner exchange

Regarding the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, he said: "The soldiers will be returned on one condition – indirect negotiations for the exchange of prisoners. If the aim of the Israelis is to bring their soldiers home, they can't do it with a military operation. The Lebanese government is under very heavy pressure from the United States, the UN and the rest of the international elements. We are getting very severe threats."

"Up until now the Israelis carried out a series of response operations and we exercised great restraint," he continued. "Any infiltration into Lebanese territory will meet a very harsh response. Our restraint is not out of weakness. We are exercising level-headed restraint."

IDF pursues kidnappers

Wednesday afternoon, the IDF continued its ground pursuit of the kidnappers on Lebanese territory. Simultaneous to the ground battle, Lebanese land was being shelled by IDF tank artillery, cannons, planes and navy battleships. The Air Force attacked over 30 targets in Lebanon.

During the IDF operations, the IAF targeted bridges, power stations and a number of Lebanese infrastructure sites. Lebanese media reported that due to the shelling, the Lebanese army was preventing residents from entering Tyre. In one of the shellings, it was reported, at least two Lebanese civilians were killed. Simultaneously, fighter jets flew over Beirut.

The kidnapping itself occurred in the morning hours. Under heavy shelling, that "lit up" the whole region, RPG missiles were fired towards IDF stations. Tracks, blood stains and a breach in the fence were found on the scene. Shortly thereafter, Hizbullah announced that it was holding two Israeli soldiers hostage, who had been transported to a secure location and who would only be released – together with Gilad Shalit – in a large-scale prisoner exchange


Nighty night .

It may be worth noting that one of the main issues of contention between Hezbollah and Israel is exactly where that line between Lebanon and Israel IS. That's one of the reasons for continued conflict.

It's entirely possible for Lebanon to say they were in Lebanon and Israel to say they were in Israel, and both be right from their own perspective.

NOt saying that's the case, but consider that the border itself is one thing that's caused the issues, it may be worth considering.

I think what may be more likely is that the people giving reports to the media on the first day really didn't know what was going on. I'm sure all sorts of crazy rumours were flying around, and the press would all certainly want to get their story out quickly. I think the guys reporting that it happened in Lebanon may have heard that from somewhere and just put the story out.

I think what may be more likely is that the people giving reports to the media on the first day really didn't know what was going on. I'm sure all sorts of crazy rumours were flying around, and the press would all certainly want to get their story out quickly. I think the guys reporting that it happened in Lebanon may have heard that from somewhere and just put the story out.

Quite possible. I think that when the dust settles and the truth of what really happens comes out, it'll be seen that the rocket launches AND the raid into Israel was part of one large coordinated effort by Hezbollah to force Israel into negotiations for prisoner relief (and maybe to kill a few jews while they were at it...ya know, just for fun)

Well, my take is that when the dust settles this conflict will be seen as a military campaign by Israel to diminish what they rightly see as a growing threat on their border. Partially successful in destroying the rockets, but largely counter-productive in destroying Hezbollah.
And the kidnappings will be seen as a pretext, if they aren't already. Even ignoring the Lebanese casualties, 34 Israeli civilians for two soldiers doesn't make any kind of sense.

It's odd how Hez are so vague about the circumstances of the incident. Hmm.

the hezbollah rockets started only after Israel bombed/killed lebanese civileans.


Nice...more revisionist history.......

Kidnapped in Israel or Captured in Lebanon?
Official justification for Israel's invasion on thin ice
http://www.antiwar.com/frank/?articleid=9401
(July 25, 2006)... numerous reports from international and independent media, as well as the Associated Press, raise questions about Israel's official version of the events that sparked the conflict two weeks ago.
...
These sources contend that Israel sent a commando force into southern Lebanon and was subsequently attacked by Hezbollah near the village of Aitaa al-Chaab, well inside Lebanon's southern territory. It was at this point that an Israel tank was struck by Hezbollah fighters, which resulted in the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the death of six.

As the AFP reported, "According to the Lebanese police force, the two Israeli soldiers were captured in Lebanese territory, in the area of Aitaa al-Chaab,
MSNBC online first reported that Hezbollah had captured Israeli soldiers "inside" Lebanon, only to change their story hours later after the Israeli government gave an official statement to the contrary.
...
A report from The National Council of Arab Americans, based in Lebanon, also raised suspicion that Israel's official story did not hold water and noted that Israel had yet to recover the tank that was demolished during the initial attack in question.

"The Israelis so far have not been able to enter Aitaa al-Chaab to recover the tank that was exploded by Hezbollah and the bodies of the soldiers that were killed in the original operation (this is a main indication that the operation did take place on Lebanese soil, not that in my opinion it would ever be an illegitimate operation, but still the media has been saying that it was inside 'Israel' thus an aggression first started by Hezbollah)."

Before independent observers could organize an investigation of the incident, Israel had already mounted a grisly offensive against Lebanese infrastructure and civilians, bombing Beirut's international airport, along with numerous highways and communication portals. Israel didn't need the truth of the matter to play out before it invaded Lebanon. As with the United States' illegitimate invasion of Iraq, Israel just needed the proper media cover to wage a war with no genuine moral impetus.
_______________________
my2cents: ...the truth is the first casualty of war.

I hate to break this to you Mr. Oceandrive but the soldiers were indeed captured on the Israeli side of the border and not inside Lebanon.

the hezbollah rockets started only after Israel bombed/killed lebanese civileans.

I'm going to have to ask you for proof of that.

hezbollah fired rockets AFTER israel started bombing lebanon so in the case the soldeirs were captured in lebanon israel was the agressor and the whole self-defense bla bla is just another israeli LIE

Um no actually, Hezbollah has been launching rockets even before this round of fighting started. By the rules of war, that does make Hezbollah the agressors.

If you have a NEWS-link saying that they were captured while looking for a Rocket launcher..then you could have a point.

Do you have that NEWS-link?

Do you have a link proving that the soldiers were in Lebanon prior to the fighting to begin with?

What a silly complaint, not even Hezbollah claims they didn't enter Israel.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrillas did not expect Israel to react with an all-out offensive after the capture of two soldiers, the first acknowledgment by the group that it had miscalculated the consequences of the raid two weeks ago.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_fighting_hezbollah;_ylt=AmSzDMNckGNofJ__fF7CK31I2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--)

Ahh the truth is out. Thank you PootWaddle

the hezbollah rockets started only after Israel bombed/killed lebanese civileans.
The rockets have been launched in a slow trickle for years. They are not a sudden, new action. They've just radically escalated the number of rockets that they've been firing.

and I see no reason either.

Whats your point?

The thread title for one and the article you quoted being number 2.

Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel for YEARS now. Saying that they "only started" after the invasion is the lie.

Lets examine this.

You say Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel for years. This is true. What you fail to realize is that Hezbollah was created in response to a violation of Lebanese sovereignty by Israel. Israel invaded Lebanon in the late 70s/early 80s, essentially creating a resistance movement, Hezbollah. In other words, Hezbollah's firing of rockets was a retalliation itself.

What was first, the gen or the egg?

Sorry

Lets examine this.

You say Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel for years. This is true. What you fail to realize is that Hezbollah was created in response to a violation of Lebanese sovereignty by Israel. Israel invaded Lebanon in the late 70s/early 80s, essentially creating a resistance movement, Hezbollah. In other words, Hezbollah's firing of rockets was a retalliation itself.

What I guess you failed to realize is that Lebanon is no longer occupied by Israel. Therefor, there is no need for the rocket attacks to continue. Since they have continued, it constitutes terrorism for they are intentionally targeting civilians.

What was first, the hen or the egg?

The egg. Something that was not quite a hen laid it.

The rockets have been launched in a slow trickle for years. They are not a sudden, new action. They've just radically escalated the number of rockets that they've been firing.


And thats sooooooooooooo acceptable ..:rolleyes:

the hezbollah rockets started only after Israel bombed/killed lebanese civileans.


This is all taken from Mitchell G. Bard's "Online Myths and Facts on the Arab Israeli Conflcit" check it at jewishvirtuallibrary.org

Hizballah Terrorist Attacks Since May 2000
(July 24, 2006)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24 Jul 2006 - Hizballah fired more than 70 Katyusha rockets into Israel, several of which landed in Nahariya, Safed, and Kiryat Shmona. Medics treated at least 49 people who were lightly to moderately wounded. More than 2200 rockets have been fired at Israeli cities since July 12, killing 17 Israelis, all of them civilians. 20 Israeli soldiers were killed in other incidents.

23 Jul 2006 - Shimon Glickblich, 60, of Haifa was killed Sunday morning (11:00) while driving his car in Haifa. Habib Isa Awad, 48, of Iblin, was killed while working in the carpentry shop in Kiryat Ata. Another 12 were wounded in the morning barrage in Haifa, and more later in the day as over 90 rockets were fired at Haifa, Akko, Kiryat Shmona, and elsewhere in northern Israel. .

20 Jul 2006 - Five IDF soldiers were killed and five wounded in continuing exchanges of fire in the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, near Avivim, where two soldiers were killed on Wednesday. The body of the fifth soldier, St.-Sgt. Yonatan (Sergei) Vlasyuk, 21, of Kibbutz Lahav was retrieved on July 22. At 16, Yonatan immigrated alone to Israel through the Jewish Agency's "Na'aleh" program. He was adopted by Dalia Gal, a member of Kibbutz Lahav in the Negev. An IDF officer was killed and three soldiers were wounded as two Apache (Cobra) combat helicopters on their way to Lebanon to assist IDF forces operating against Hizballah terrorists near Avivim collided and then crashed south of Kiryat Shmona.

19 Jul 2006 - St.-Sgt. Yonatan Hadasi, 21, of Kibbutz Merhavia and St.-Sgt. Yotam Gilboa, 21, of Kibbutz Maoz Haim were killed and nine soldiers were wounded in exchanges of fire between IDF and Hizballah in south Lebanon, near Moshav Avivim. The Israeli force had crossed the border to destroy the Hizballah rocket-launching position at the former IDF outpost of Shaked. Rabia Abed Taluzi (3) and his brother Mahmoud (7) who were playing soccer outside their house were killed and dozens were wounded in two Katyusha rocket attacks on the Israeli Arab city of Nazareth.

18 Jul 2006 - Andrei Zelinksy, 36, was killed Tuesday evening in Nahariya outside a bomb shelter. Though he managed to save his family by rushing them into the shelter, he returned home to get a blanket for his daughter and was killed. Some 130 rockets were fired at the north on Tuesday, 100 of them within one hour and a half - also landing in the Haifa area, Karmiel, Tiberias, Safed, Maalot and Rosh Pina. About 60 people injured were evacuated to hospitals in Safed and Nahariya.

17 Jul 2006 - Over 50 rockets were fired towards the eastern and upper Galilee on Monday night. A Katyusha rocket hit the external wall of the Rebecca Sieff Hospital in Safed, causing damage to infrastructure; five patients, two doctors and two other hospital employees were injured. Earlier, 11 people were wounded in Haifa when a 3-story apartment building was hit by missile. The Israel Air Force destroyed at least ten long-range Iranian-made missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv, by targeting a Hizballah truck carrying the missiles before they could be launched. To date, missiles have been fired up to 40 kilometers into Israel.

16 Jul 2006 - Eight killed, 50 wounded in Hizballah rocket attack on Haifa - Rockets began falling on the Haifa area shortly after 9:00 a.m. Eight employees of Israel Railways at the Haifa train depot were killed in a direct hit by a Fajar missile made in Syria. A total of over 50 people were wounded in Haifa and the Haifa Bay area.

15 Jul 2006 - Katyusha rockets landed for the first time in Tiberias, located 35 kilometers from the Lebanese border on the Sea of Galilee, as well as in nearby communities.

14 Jul 2006 - Shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday night an Israeli navy ship was severely damaged by an Iran-manufactured missile fired by Hizballah. Four IDF soldiers were killed: Staff Sgt. Tal Amgar, 21, of Ashdod; Yaniv Hershkovitz, 21, of Haifa; Shai Atias, 19, of Rishon Lezion; and Dov Steinshuss, 37, of Karmiel. Omer Pesachov, 7, of Nahariya, and his grandmother Yehudit Itzkovitch, 58, of Moshav Meron were killed by a Katyusha rocket in Meron early Friday evening. Roni, Omer's older sister, was badly wounded, and the grandfather, Naftali, was lightly hurt. The family had fled the Katyushas in Nahariya to spend a quiet weekend with their grandparents.

13 Jul 2006 - Monica Seidman (Lehrer), 40, of Nahariya was killed in her home by a Katyusha rocket Thursday morning. In the evening, Nitzan Roseban, 33, was killed in Safed by a direct rocket hit. On Thursday evening Katyushas landed in Haifa.

12 Jul 2006 - Hizballah terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory and attacked two IDF armored jeeps patrolling the border with Lebanon, killing three soldiers and kidnapping two. Ground forces entered Lebanon in the area of the attack. A large explosive device was detonated underneath an Israeli tank, killing all four of the tank crew. An eighth soldier was killed when IDF troops entered Lebanon to try to retrieve the bodies of the tank crew. Throughout the day, Hizballah terror organization fired Katyusha rockets and mortar shells at Israel's northern borders' communities and IDF posts.

27 May 2006 - An IDF soldier was wounded when Katyushas were fired at an army base at Mt. Meron in the upper Galilee.

27 Dec 2005 - A branch of a Palestinian organization connected to Al-Qaida fired 6 Katyushas, damaging a house in Kiryat Shmona and a house in Metulla. In response, the IAF attacked a training base of the Popular Front, south of Beirut.

21 Nov 2005 - An attempt to kidnap an IDF soldier was foiled when paratroopers patrolling near Rajar village discerned a Hizballah unit approaching. Private David Markovitz opened fire, killing all four. In a heavy attack of mortars and Katyusha rockets that ensued, nine soldiers and and two civilians were injured.

29 Jun 2005 - More than 20 mortars were fired from across the border. Cpl. Uzi Peretz of the Golani Brigade was killed and four soldiers wounded, including the unit's doctor. Fire was exchanged and helicopters and planes attacked five Hizballah outposts in the Reches Ramim area.

24 Apr 2005 - Several explosive devices exploded near the Lebanese-Israeli border, in the Mount Dov area. Officials believe the devices were planted by Hezbollah, but this was not confirmed. No injuries were reported in the explosions.

7 Apr 2005 - Two Israeli-Arabs from the village of Rajar near the Israel-Lebanon border were kidnapped by Hizballah operatives and held in captivity for four days. The men, identified as Muki Ben-Jamal and Nuef Maharj Ben-Ali, said they were interrogated by their captors who wanted information on Israel. They were later released. Israeli officials did not believe that any security information had been compromised.

9 Jan 2005 - An explosive device was detonated against an IDF patrol at Nahal Sion. One Israeli soldier was killed, and a UN officer was killed.

20 Jul 2004 - Hizballah sniper fired at an IDF post in the western sector of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Two IDF soldiers were killed.

7 May 2004 - Fire in the Mt. Dov sector. IDF soldier Dennis Leminov was killed, and two other soldiers were severely wounded. The IDF returned fire.

19 Jan 2004 - An anti-tank missile was fired at IDF D9 while neutralizing explosive charges near Zari’t. An IDF soldier, Yan Rotzenski, was killed and another soldier was severely wounded.

6 Oct 2003 - Staff Sgt. David Solomonov was killed when Hizballah fired at an IDF force south of the Fatma Gate in the eastern sector. In addition, the Hizballah fired missiles and rockets at an IDF post in the Reches Ramim area.

10 Aug 2003 - Haviv Dadon, 16, of Shlomi, was struck in the chest and killed by shrapnel from an anti-aircraft shell fired by Hizballah terrorists in Lebanon. Four others were wounded.

20 Jul 2003 - Hizballah snipers fired on an Israeli outpost near Chetula, killing two Israeli soldiers. The IDF retaliated with tank fire directed at a Hizballah position, killing one operative manning the post. That night, there were multiple Israeli flights over Lebanon, two of which generated powerful sonic booms over Beirut.

7 May 2003 - Hizballah attacked IDF positions in the Sheba' farms with heavy rocket, mortar, and small arms fire. One Israeli soldier was killed and five others were wounded in the attack. Lebanese authorities asserted that the Hizballah firing had been preceded by an Israeli army foot patrol crossing the Blue Line.

5 May 2003 - A cycle of armed exchanges across the Blue Line began. Israel carried out more than 20 air sorties over the country. Subsequently, Hizballah fired several anti-aircraft rounds with shrapnel landing inside Israel.

22 Mar 2003 - Hizballah fired rockets and mortars at Israeli army positions in the Sheba' farms and adjacent areas. This attack followed eight incursions into Lebanese airspace by Israeli aircraft.

6 Jan 2003 - Hezbollah fired anti aircraft shells in the vicinity of Birait in the western sector of the Lebanese border. No one was hurt and no damage was caused.

29 Aug 2002 - Fire at an IDF post in the Mt. Dov sector. IDF soldier Ofer Misali was killed, and two other soldiers were lightly wounded.

12 Mar 2002 – Infiltration: In a shooting attack on the Shlomi- Metzuba route. Six Israelis civilians were killed, among them IDF officer Lt. German Rojkov.

7 Aug 2001 - Two houses belonging to senior members of the former Israeli-allied South Lebanon Army militia were blown up using explosive devices. One of the houses belonged to Robin Abboud; the other to Samir Raslan. Hizbollah is suspected.

28 Apr 2001 - A 60 year-old Israeli man was found stabbed to death in Kfar Ba'aneh, near Carmiel in Galilee. The terrorists responsible for the attack were apprehended in July. Six members of a Hizballah-linked Palestinian terrorist cell responsible for the murder were arrested in July. The murder was the initiation rite of the organization.

14 Apr 2001 - Fire at an IDF post in the Mt. Dov sector. IDF soldier Elad Litvak was killed.

1 Apr 2001 - A 42 year-old Israeli woman was stabbed to death in Haifa. Her murder was the initiation rite of a terrorist cell, whose members were apprehended in July. Six members of a Hizballah-linked Palestinian terrorist cell responsible for the murder, originally thought to be criminally motivated, were arrested in July. The murder was the initiation rite of one of the terrorists into the organization.

16 Feb 2001- Fire at an IDF convoy on Mt. Dov. IDF soldier Elad Shneor was killed, and three other soldiers were wounded.

26 Nov 2000 - A charge was detonated near an IDF convoy. IDF soldier Khalil Taher was killed and two other soldiers were wounded.

7 Oct 2000 - Kidnapping: Three IDF soldiers: Adi Avitan, Omer Soued and Binyamin Avraham were kidnapped by the Hizballah from the Mt. Dov sector.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Summary of Events; RAND Terrorism Database; The Institute for Counter-Terrorism; U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2004
Read all Fact Sheets

Dr. Bard is available for media interviews and speaking engagements on this and other topics.

You can help AICE continue this work by becoming a sponsor of the Jewish Virtual Library. Click here for more information.



Hizballah has been orchesrating rocket attacks against Israeli argets on and off for years. What was different this time was their crossing of the border iinto Israel proper and killing and kidnapping soldiers. An open act of war. Hizballah wasn't expecting such a well warranted death-blow response to finally end the terrorist organization and restore peace to souther Lebanon without Hizballah.

This is all taken from Mitchell G. Bard's "Online Myths and Facts on the Arab Israeli Conflcit" check it at jewishvirtuallibrary.org




Hizballah has been orchesrating rocket attacks against Israeli argets on and off for years. What was different this time was their crossing of the border iinto Israel proper and killing and kidnapping soldiers. An open act of war. Hizballah wasn't expecting such a well warranted death-blow response to finally end the terrorist organization and restore peace to souther Lebanon without Hizballah.

I guess that proves the rocket attacks have been occuring long before this conflict.