Israel Matzav

IDF southern commander comes under mortar fire from Gaza

The IDF's southern commander Yoav Galant came under mortar fire this morning as he toured the fields of Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border. No one was injured and there was no damage to property. Ten days ago, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter came under fire in a similar incident. DEBKA reports that the IDF brass is furious at the lack of response (Hat Tip: Danny in Tokyo).

DEBKAfile’s military sources report OC Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, his aides and local security officers took cover when they came under heavy cross-border mortar fire from Gaza Sunday, April 13. None was hurt although the Palestinian aim was precise, starting as soon as the Israeli group inspecting security measures came with in sight. Four shells landed 40 yards away.

This is the third time in a month that increasingly aggressive Palestinian cross-border fire has targeted a high-ranking Israeli.

...

Israel’s grip on the border fence and surrounding populations is under constant assault as Palestinian audacity increases and Israeli forces are restricted by policy-makers to showpiece operations on the fringes of the Gaza Strip, instead of tactically effective engagements.

These operations not only fail to halt Palestinian fire but have encouraged their gunmen to draw ever closer to the border barrier and improve their aim at Israeli targets with impunity.

Furious southern command officers told DEBKAfile that no army in the world would put up with its senior commanders’ exposure to attack inside their sovereign territory by a belligerent neighbor. They are forced to watch day by day as armed Palestinians take up forward firing positions and command a strip of Israeli territory up to one kilometer deep, condemning tens of thousands of Israeli civilians to life under constant fire.

And as long as Olmert is in power, the IDF will continue to fight with at least one hand tied behind its back.

But I don't get why Galant didn't order his party to return fire after they took cover.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:34 PM