VIDEO - Another raid against Hizbullah: Special commando forces operating overnight Saturday in the area of theLebanese
cityof Tyre encountered harsh battles with Hizbullah operatives in the area.
Ten IDF soldiers were wounded in the fighting, two of whom suffered severe wounds. The rest were lightly
to very lightly injured.
The army reported that seven Hizbullah operatives were killed in the confrontation. Lebanese media reported that a Lebanese soldier was killed by IAF helicopter gunship fire. Additionally it was reported that a Lebanese civilian was killed.
The nighttime raid targeted the cell responsible for the rocket attack on Hadera Fridaynight. The city of Tyre and its surroundings have become a central source of the long-range rocket fire against Israel recently.
On Saturday a senior official in the Israeli Navy praised the efficiency of the raid in Tyre, noting it was quickly and effectively executed via a combination of “intelligence capabilities, which led forces to those responsible for the long-range missile fire towards Israel.”
Tyre, Saturday morning (Photo: Reuters)
Lebanese sources reported that the IDF commando fighters arrived in two units by helicopter around 1:00 a.m. and landed in an orange grove by the city’s northern entrance. The troops cut through a fence and opened fire towards an apartment on the second floor of a building. The apartment was directly hit, and eyewitnesses reported its occupants were wounded.
A gunbattle between soldiers and Hizbullah gunmen erupted, with Israeli Air Force helicopter gunships backing up the soldiers on the ground.
Some three hours later, at around 4:00 a.m., the soldiers withdrew the scene. The two severely wounded soldiers as well as the other casualties were airlifted to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
It was reported that the Lebanese army fired antiaircraft missiles at the Israel helicopters, which responded fire, hitting a Lebanese army tank and causing casualties.
News agencies contributed to the report
First published: 09:36, 08.05.6