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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Hezbollah rocket kills 12 Israeli reserve soldiers |
| 2006-08-07 |
| KFAR GILADI, Israel - Twelve Israeli soldiers were killed when a Hezbollah rocket landed among reservists in northern Israel on Sunday, the guerrilla group’s deadliest single missile strike of the Lebanon war. The army confirmed reservists called up for duty for ground operations in southern Lebanon had been killed in the attack on the Kfar Giladi communal farm, but did not say how many. Medics put the toll at 12, with dozens of people wounded. Soldiers near the scene held their heads and one wept as a military ambulance pulled away. Helicopters landed nearby to fly the seriously wounded to hospitals further from the war front. Blood-stained army boots stood on a stone wall. Stretchers lay on the ground, covered in blood. One officer looked down at the bodies, some covered by blankets, and shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t recall so many dead ever. This is terrible,” said Ron Valensi, head of the upper Galilee municipal council and a resident of Kfar Giladi, on Channel 2 Television. The attack occurred near the communal farm’s graveyard, not far from the Lebanese border. Smoke rose from two destroyed cars. Trees burned in the aftermath of the attack, sending plumes of smoke into the air. Medics said several soldiers among the wounded were in critical condition. The casualties bring to 45 the number of people killed in northern Israel in rocket strikes since war broke out on July 12 after Hezbollah seized two soldiers in a cross-border raid. At least 153 rockets landed across northern Israel on Sunday, police said. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #10 Let's keep some perspective here. However dreadful the loss may be (and it is), that's thousands of missiles and only a few dozen IDF or Israelis killed by them. We're looking at, what?, hundreds of missile to kill just one individual. Whilst offing Hezbollah leadership and troops must remain a priority, the time to begin torching the rocket command in Anjar and the actual manufacturing sites is long overdue. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-08-07 19:53 |
| #9 On NPR tonight they reported there just are not enough shelters for the troops in the field, who often enough are literally camped in the fields awaiting movement to the front, far from buildings with safe rooms and such. These brave men simply got caught on the wrong side of the statistics. Yitgadal v'yitkadash Sh'mai rabah. Magnified and sanctified is God's Name. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-08-07 19:33 |
| #8 Good question: One concern expresssed by Col. David Hunt and others on Fox News is that the IDF does not seem all that concerned in restricting news outlets to film, often live, IDF staging areas. Often the footage is accompanied by commentators saying stuff like this: "The Israeli infantry and armored units are preparing to go into Lebanon. We're just about a mile from Lebanese territory and maybe three miles from the hilltop town of whatever. Back to you, Brian." Perhaps Hezbos have figured out that by watching network and cable news, they just need to adjust their rockets and pour a number of them right at the border. |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-08-07 11:10 |
| #7 Are Hizb'Allah getting live intel about Israeli soldiers' location? |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2006-08-07 10:57 |
| #6 Hezbs may be getting better intel to correct their missle shots. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-08-07 10:55 |
| #5 "...it appears these reservists had taken a rather cavalier attitude towards *their* own safety." Of course, it also did not help that the Hezbos scored a lucky, direct hit. |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-08-07 10:48 |
| #4 In every conflict, armies screw up. Mistakes often occur toward the end of conflict or under circumstances where one side lets its guard down. Recall in the Falklands War (1982), Brits' single greatest loss of life occurred when a jam-packed troop-ship was offloading. Two Argentine aircraft made it through air defenses and struck the vessel. This incident occurred near the end of that conflict, just about the time the UK had won the day. In the first Persian Gulf War (1991), the single greatest loss of American lives also occurred within hours of victory. I believe it was a Penn. Quartermaster Unit of National Guardsmen that sat down to eat dinner in a hanger at a Riyadh airbase when a Scud missle crashed through and killed about 28 of them. And now this incident. While the IDF has not won the day yet, it appears these reservists had taken a rather cavalier attitude towards theie own safety. |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-08-07 10:45 |
| #3 The Radical Islamists and aligned terror groups have had since the Lebanese civil war and 1980's to pre-sight all of Israel, or at least major or significant targets, just as Israel has had same to gather INTEL. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-08-07 02:26 |
| #2 After 4000 missiles this was bound to happen. During GW1, a Saddam missile hit US barracks in Saudi Arabia in the last days of the conflict. Hopefully, the Hizbis won't get lucky again. |
| Posted by: Snease Shaiting3550 2006-08-07 02:00 |
| #1 That's very saddening, but I cant help questionning myself why these soldiers didn't go to the shelters when they heard the alarm, as did the civilians of Kfar Giladi? I hope that from now IDF soldiers will be more carefull. They are doing a great job, protecting Israel and the life of all Israelis, but they shouldn't forget their own lives. |
| Posted by: leroidavid 2006-08-07 01:38 |