Air force, navy pound PFLP base south of Beirut
The IAF and the Israel Navy are pounding a PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) base south of Beirut this evening, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. This is the closest raid to the Lebanese capital since two IDF soldiers were kidnapped early this morning.All residents along Israel's northern border from Nahariya in the west to Kiryat Shmona in the east were ordered into bomb shelters on Wednesday night.
"This is a new situation. The residents of Israel need to know that we are going into a period that will require resilience," Minister Issac Herzog said after an emergency cabinet meeting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert convened on Wednesday night in Tel Aviv in light of the events on the northern border.
According to the Post:
OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam said the IDF was preparing for a widespread operation not only against Hizbullah but also against the Lebanese government. The IDF, The Jerusalem Post learned, has drawn up plans to bomb main infrastructure, including power stations in Lebanon. "The IDF is responding with its full might by the air, the sea and the ground," Adam said. "We are also preparing for a massive operation to defend Israeli citizens and stop the terror." Warplanes, meanwhile, flew over the Na'ameh base in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean, about 16 kilometers south of Beirut. Gunboats sailed facing the position, and explosions rang out across the area. The base is run by the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and was a frequent target of Israeli attacks in the past. The IDF also released the name of a third soldier who was killed in Lebanon today. He was Sgt. Nimrod Cohen, 19, from Mitzpe Shalem.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:50 PM
3 Comments:
Wondering here (from the States), if the present activity presages a larger IDF push into Lebanon, possibly in the areas south of the Litani involved in the 1978 incursion ? I don't see how Israel can sit still for something like this raid today without some kind of massive response.
There will be a massive response. But there's an aversion here to staying in Lebanon. What I suspect will be like the late 70's and early 80's is that there will be an effort to install a friendly government. Hopefully, with what's going on in Iraq, the US will have an interest in helping Israel out once Israel does the dirty work of cleaning out the vipers.
The government in Lebanon is not run by Hezbollah. Rather, Hezbollah's control really is more limited to Southern Lebanon, and I believe the strings are pulled in Syria. Actually, from what I have read, the government in Beirut is neither favorable nor unfavorable towards Israel. Given this is the Middle East, that is almost all you can hope for.
I am telling you, Syria is where the problems are. It's where Assad is, it's where Meshaal is located. It's the ultimate base of Hamas's financial and technical support.
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