2 soldiers seriously hurt in gun battles with Hizbullah
Paratrooper seriously wounded during operation against Hizbullah posts on western part of northern border; three troops hurt - one of them seriously - in fighting along eastern part of border; during additional exchanges of fire erupt on eastern part of border, three soldiers lightly to moderately injured by anti-tank missile. Hizbullah: We destroyed Merkava tank
An Israel Defense Forces paratrooper was seriously injured after being shot by a sniper Thursday morning in exchanges of fire with Hizbullah members during an operation on the western part of the northern border.
Three soldiers were wounded - one of them seriously - in fighting that erupted between IDF forces and Hizbullah terrorists near Avivim, on the eastern part of the border.
The force was operating on Lebanese territory as part of redefining the new border between Israel and Lebanon, aimed at hitting Hizbullah targets near the border. The soldiers also destroyed three rocket launchers. At a certain stage, Hizbullah opened fire at the forces, hurting one of the soldiers in his jaw. He was evacuated to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
Exchanges of fire also erupted Thursday morning between the Israel Defense Forces and Hizbullah members on the northern border, near Avivim in the eastern region.
Three soldiers were injured, sustaining light to moderate wounds, after being hit by an anti-tank missile in an IDF tank on Lebanese territory.
Simultaneously, heavy exchanges of fire are being held in the northern border's western region.
Injured evacuated to hospital (Photo: Reuters)
Hizbullah's al-Manar television station enthusiastically reported of the incident in Avivim: "The Zionist enemy's soldiers have tried in vain to advance toward the Lebanese lands in order to achieve a military victory."
"Once again the people of God resisted them, and proved to them that an army without an army can overcome them. The last attempt took place at 6:50 this morning, Thursday, when the fighters resisted them and destroyed a Merkava tank. Fighting continues to this hour," al-Manar reported.
Two of the injured soldiers were evacuated to the Ziv Medical Center. One of them was taken to the surgery room after suffering from shrapnel and wounds to his legs. The other soldier suffered from shrapnel wounds in his lower limbs.
IDF fighters went through long hours of battle in the Avivim area Wednesday. The battles took place during an operation of an elite IDF unit against terrorists near the community of Avivim north of Safed, a few hundred meters inside the Lebanese territory.
The force was operating in the area in order to strike a Hizbullah bunker in which arms and rockets were being stored. The soldiers waited in the area since the morning hours, before encountering the terror cell in an area in which an IDF post once existed, which looked out over the area.
IDF: Hizbullah built mass bunker network
The soldiers killed during the gunbattles are Staff Sergeant Yonatan Hadassi, 21, from kibbutz Merhavia and Staff Sergeant Yotam Gilboa, 21, from kibbutz Maoz Haim. Nine soldiers were wounded.
A senior IDF Northern Command officer told Ynet that Hizbullah has set up an extensive underground bunker network not far from the Israeli border.
Hizbullah terrorists were hiding out in the fortified underground bunkers some 40 meters (roughly 120 feet) underground, along with mass weapons caches, the officer said.
“Despite the results of the event, we’ll continue with this operation,” the officer stated. “There are missions that the Air Force cannot carry out and they need to be completed by other means.”
While the war in the north enters its ninth day, and the firing of rockets at Israel continues, defense establishment and cabinet officials are debating whether to also launch a large-scale ground offensive.
The grave events of the past two days are apparently being taken into consideration if Israel decided to enter Lebanon again.
Meanwhile, the air and artillery strikes continued. A senior IDF officer told Ynet: "So far we have fired more than 10,000 shells at Lebanon. Using our equipment, we hit ammunition storerooms, launchers and even groups of terrorists."
He added that the artillery equipment enables a more precise hit up to dozens of kilometers inside the Lebanese territory.
