Israel Matzav

Kfar Giladi death toll at 12

Two of the wounded in the Kfar Giladi terror attack have succumbed to their wounds, so the number of dead R"L (God save us) has now risen to twelve. The New York Times has a much more detailed account than anything I have seen in the media here:

A rocket fired by Hezbollah today landed in a parking lot on a kibbutz housing Israeli soldiers, killing 11 people and wounding at least a dozen more in the deadliest attack by the militia since the war with Israel began almost a month ago.

The rocket sprayed ball bearings in a deadly cloud up to 200 feet in diameter, leaving a scene that eyewitnesses and even one war-weary ambulance driver described as the most horrific carnage they had ever seen.

Witnesses said they believed all of those killed and wounded were reserve Israeli army soldiers, but an Israeli military spokesman, Maj. Zvika Golan, said he could only confirm that the victims were Israeli citizens. [The newspapers here have described them as reservists. CiJ]

The rocket struck two small cars parked next to each other in front of a cemetery enclosed by a stone wall and tall trees that overlooks the long valley that runs from northeastern Israel into Lebanon, just east of the ridge that forms the border. Israeli defense officials said the rocket strike was apparently from at least one Katyusha, and perhaps one to two more.

“It was a direct hit,” Major Golan said. “It might be only one rocket, but we’re not sure. Maybe one or two or three rockets.”

The victims were both inside and outside the two cars, Major Golan said. The cars were left in a burning ruin as emergency workers and soldiers rushed to evacuate blanket-covered corpses and wounded to ambulances that took them down the steep hill to helicopters waiting next to the highway below. The stone wall in front of the cars was covered in blood.

The victims apparently were “just resting,” Major Golan said. “A couple of them were staying here,” he said. “Maybe the cars had come or were leaving. Some of them were in the cars, and some of them were out of the cars.”

...

Gidon Giladi, whose grandfather founded the kibbutz, said he rushed to the site of the attack to extinguish what he first thought was only a fire, and what he saw when he arrived left him shocked and almost speechless.

“It is nothing that can be described,” Mr. Giladi said. “It’s something I’ll never speak about publicly.”

Warning sirens at the kibbutz had already been activated intermittently during the day, before the deadly rocket struck the two cars, Major Golan said.

“They were running on all the time when the hit took place,” he said. “By the time it happened, we knew the sirens were on.” [The Israeli media reported that the victims ignored the warning sirens and stayed outside without taking cover. CiJ]

Apologies to the military censors if there's something in here that Israelis were not supposed to publish. The Times has had the story online for over an hour already.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:36 PM