Israeli commando raid near Tyre kills 5 (Reuters)

[laststeamtrain]

Israeli commando raid near Tyre kills 5

By Hussein Saad 57 minutes ago

Helicopter-borne Israeli commandos landed near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and clashed with Hizbollah guerrillas on Saturday, Lebanese security sources said.

At least five people were killed in the night raid, which occurred as world powers edged slowly toward a deal aimed at ending the 25-day-old war in Lebanon.

Hizbollah said in a statement one Israeli soldier was killed and many were wounded in the attack. The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the operation or any casualties.

Two Israeli units landed in citrus groves at the northern entrance of Tyre and left after three hours, the security sources said. Their targets were not immediately clear.

<more>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060805/ts_nm/mideast1_dc_55&printer=1;_ylt=Anuo1IFqK9eewByHJ15v5fJg.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

[IndianaGreen]

1. Eight IDF wounded, two seriously (Haaretz)

The crawler is saying one IDF was killed.

Lebanese sources report five killed in IAF raid on Tyre

By Yoav Stern and Amos Harel, Haaretz Service and News Agencies

Soldiers belonging to an elite naval commando unit of the Israel Defense Forces killed seven Hezbollah gunmen in a raid which it conducted against targets in the Tyre region before dawn Saturday.

The troops were transported by helicopter to citrus groves near the northern entrance to Tyre, where they were met by resistance from armed Hezbollah operatives.

At least seven Hezbollah fighters were killed in the exchange of gunfire. Eight IDF soldiers were wounded, including two seriously.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/746583.html

[IndianaGreen]

2. 45 IDF soldiers have been killed since the war began

Three soldiers killed in south Lebanon clashes

By Amos Harel and Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies

An Israel Defense Forces soldier who was seriously injured by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile in south Lebanon succumbed to his wounds before dawn Saturday.

An IDF officer and two soldiers were killed and six others hurt in fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas Friday as Israel continued its ground forces campaign in South Lebanon.

The officer and two soldiers were killed in fierce gunbattles in the village of Markaba. Golani Brigade infantrymen were marching near the village when an anti-tank missile was launched at the force.

Since the outbreak of hostilities, 45 IDF soldiers have been killed.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/746619.html

[Ghost Dog]

3. Hmm. Reuters & Haaretz refer to undefined 'targets'. BBC/AP has this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5247670.stm
BBC: 5 August 2006, 10:08 GMT

Israel sent special troops into Tyre hours after a long-range missile hit the Israeli town of Hadera, 75km (50 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border - the deepest strike into Israel so far.

The Israeli military says it targeted the cells and infrastructure involved in launching the attack.

Lebanese officials said a unit of commandos landed by helicopter near an orange grove in the north of the city and raided an apartment building, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Qassem Aad, 18, said he saw several people walk out of the building before gunfire erupted. "I saw a man screaming, he was shot," Mr Aad was quoted by AP as saying.

Hezbollah al-Manar television said Hezbollah fighters repelled the attack and showed pictures of spent bullets and a blood-stained concrete floor.

/...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14196226/
AP: Updated: 5:44 a.m. ET Aug. 5, 2006

Lebanese military officials said the Israeli commandos landed near an orange grove, cut a hole through a barbed wire fence and targeted the second floor of an apartment building.

The commandos were repelled by Hezbollah guerrillas and Lebanese soldiers who clashed with the forces, the Shiite militia said.

A resident said he saw the commando force attack the building. “They all had beards. I thought maybe they were Hezbollah,” said 18-year-old Qassem Aad, who lives nearby.

Aad said he saw several people walk out of the building with their hands up, and that shooting then erupted. “I saw a man screaming — he was shot.”

Ambulance workers said six people were killed, including two from Hezbollah and one soldier from the Lebanese army who was at a nearby checkpoint and was shot at.

A Lebanese army officer confirmed one Lebanese soldier died and said four people in the targeted apartment were killed.

[laststeamtrain]

4. AFP:Israel in deadly Lebanon clashes amid UN rift on ceasefire

<snip>

One Israeli soldier was killed and another wounded in fighting around the Lebanese village of Taibe and eight soldiers were wounded in an airborne commando operation near the southern coastal city of Tyre, the Israeli military said.

A Lebanese soldier was also killed in the Tyre assault after an anti-aircraft battery opened up on an Israeli helicopter during the raid, prompting retaliatory fire against his armoured personnel carrier.

The exchanges caused panic among the remaining residents of the town, which had largely emptied in the face of repeated Israeli bombardment.

A private clinic to the north of Tyre assembled its patients on the ground floor to try to protect them, a doctor told AFP. "It's a real battle," he said.

General Udi Adam, the chief of
Israel's northern command, told public radio that special forces troops were sent to Tyre "to kill top Hezbollah officials and to destroy arms caches" in the area.

"There have been, and will continue to be, other operations of this kind," he said.

<snip>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060805/wl_afp/mideastconflict_060805093302

[HereSince1628]

5. Maybe I've missed it...How long has the Lebonese military been

activly combatting Israel incursions?

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. First report I saw was about a week ago

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2423811

I think they have no effective presence near the border - it's when the Israeli go further into the country that the are against the Lebanese army.

[IndianaGreen]

7. Lebanon's army is only 75,000 strong

and they are lightly armed. Israel doesn't like strong neighbors.

[IndianaGreen]

8. More IDF casualties!

Simple math says that IDF cannot maintain the current kill ratio to Hezbollah fighters. IDF's failure to achieve victory on the ground against Hezbollah, coupled with increased Israeli angst about the military operation in Lebanon, could bring about a ceasefire and an end to the killings on both sides.

Politically, this is as much a defeat for Israel as Iraq is for the US.

Strategically, this is a disaster for the IDF, millions of Arabs have now realized that IDF's vaunted military machine can be defeated.

This is also a warning to the war planners in the Pentagon. Hezbollah follows Iranian military doctrine. American troops are likely to have more trouble than IDF were they to invade Iran. Unlike the highly motivated IDF, the US military is demoralized and nearly broken from its military adventures in Iraq. Defeat is a real possibility!

Soldier killed in fighting in southern Lebanon; 7 Hezbollah men killed in commando raid on Tyre

By Jonathan Lis, Amiram Barkat, Yoav Stern and Agencies

Israel Defense Forces troops exchanged heavy fire with Hezbollah militants in the southern Lebanon village of Ayta a-Shab on Saturday afternoon. A number of fierce battles were fought in the village in the past week, and several soldiers were killed by anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah.

Earlier Saturday, an IDF soldier who was seriously injured after a mortar round struck an engineering corps vehicle in which he was being transported died of his wounds.

The incident occurred near Nabi el-Awadi, which lies near the village of A'taibeh and is situated in the eastern sector of south Lebanon. Another soldier suffered light injuries and was treated at the scene.

<snip>

On Friday, an IDF officer and two soldiers were killed and six others hurt in fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas Friday as Israel continued its ground forces campaign in South Lebanon.

The officer and two soldiers were killed in fierce gunbattles in the village of Markaba. Golani Brigade infantrymen were marching near the village when an anti-tank missile was launched at the force.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/746648.html