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2 Israeli Occupation Soldiers Killed, Several Wounded in Hezbollah Attack in Occupied Village of Ghajar

January 28, 2015 

 

Israeli military vehicles burning as a result of the Hezbullah attack, Jan 28, 1950	Israeli artillery targeting Al-Wazzan area in South Lebanon after the Hezbullah attack, Jan 28, 1950

Israeli occupation soldiers carrying a wounded soldier as a result of the Hezbullah attack, Jan 28, 1950	Israeli military vehicles burning as a result of the Hezbullah attack, Jan 28, 1950

 

Casualties as Hezbollah Targets Israeli Convoy in Shebaa Farms

Al-Manar TV, January 28, 2015

The Islamic resistance in Lebanon targeted an Israeli convoy of nine vehicles in occupied Shebaa Farms on Wednesday, killing and injuring a large number of Israeli soldiers.

Media outlets initially reported the operation, saying an anti-tank missile hit a vehicle in the Shebaa Farms.

Israeli Channel 10 pointed out that the Israeli targeted convoy included a number of Israeli military commanders who were inspecting the area.

In details, the resistance could penetrate all the Israeli security measures and ambush a military convoy, launching rocketry shells toward the vehicles. Hezbollah prepared militarily and logistically for the operation and withdrew its troops safely after carrying out the mission successfully.

Hezbollah claimed the attack, saying that an Israeli convoy was hit, leaving number of casualties.

The Zionist Entity (Israel) Shells Border Area in South Lebanon: UNIFIL Soldier Killed

Israeli tanks on Wednesday shelled areas of southeastern Lebanon, killing a soldier from the international forces working in the country’s south.

Two sources reported that more than a dozen shells had been fired on Lebanese border villages and that Israeli warplanes were flying over the area.

"At least 15 shells have been fired against five villages in the south," one security source said, adding that the village of Majidiyeh was hardest hit.

Al-Manar correspondent reported that a soldiers from the Spanish battalion of the UNIFIL force working in Lebanon’s south was killed in the shelling.

Media reports initially said that the Spanish soldier was injured.

Earlier on Wednesday, a group of Hezbollah targeted an Israeli convoy in the occupied Shebaa Farms, leaving large number of Israeli soldiers.

Hezbollah’s operation is widely seen as retaliation for the Israeli raid that killed six Hezbollah fighters in Syrian Golan town of Quneitra.  

"At 11:25 this morning, the Quneitra Heroic Martyrs group, of the Islamic Resistance, targeted an Israeli military convoy in the Shebaa Farms composed of several vehicles transporting Zionist officers and soldiers," a statement released by Hezbollah Media Relations said.

“Several vehicles were destroyed, and casualties were caused among the enemy ranks,” the statement added.

Shortly after the attack, the occupation army announced that one of its vehicles was destroyed and that several soldiers were injured many of whom were in critical condition.

Conflicting reports emerged concerning the number of Israeli casualties. Sky News reported that 4 occupation sodliers were killed, while the Israeli Military Censor put the death toll at 2 soldiers.

According to Israeli media outlets, a battalion commander in Givati Brigade major Yuhay Klinger as well as a soldier, Dowr Nini, were killed. 

 

Two Israeli soldiers, U.N. peacekeeper killed in Israel-Hezbollah violence

By Jeffrey Heller and Sylvia Westall

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:54pm EST

(Reuters) -

Two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed on Wednesday in an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel, one of the most violent clashes between the two sides since a 2006 war.

The soldiers were killed when Hezbollah fired five missiles at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles on the frontier with Lebanon.

The peacekeeper, serving with a U.N. monitoring force in southern Lebanon, was killed as Israel responded with air strikes and artillery fire, a U.N. spokesman and Spanish officials said.

Hezbollah said one of its brigades in the area had carried out the attack, which appeared to be in retaliation for a Jan. 18 Israeli air strike in southern Syria that killed several Hezbollah members and an Iranian general.

"Those behind the attack today will pay the full price," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned later on Wednesday, in televised remarks as he met with security chiefs.

The Israeli military confirmed the deaths of the soldiers, saying they had been attacked while driving in unmarked civilian vehicles on a road next to the fence that marks the hilly frontier. Seven other soldiers were wounded.

Andrea Tenenti, spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which employs more than 10,000 troops, said the peacekeeper's death was under investigation.

The U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon urged all parties to refrain from any further detribalization of the situation, while Lebanon's prime minister said his country was committed to the U.N. resolution that ended the 2006 war.

The 80-km (50-mile) frontier has largely been quiet since 2006, when Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in which 120 people in Israel and more than 500 in Lebanon were killed.

Since the end of the war with Hamas in Gaza last year, Israel has warned of frictions on the northern border and the possibility that Hezbollah might dig tunnels to infiltrate Israel. In recent days it has moved more troops and military equipment into the area.

"STATEMENT NUMBER ONE"

A retired Israeli army officer, Major-General Israel Ziv, said he believed Wednesday's assault was an attempt by Hezbollah to draw Israel more deeply into the war in Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting alongside forces loyal to President Assad.

"Israel needs to protect its interests but not take any unnecessary steps that may pull us into the conflict in Syria," he said.

Netanyahu, who faces a parliamentary election on March 17, said Israel was "prepared to act powerfully on all fronts".

In a communique, Hezbollah called Wednesday's operation "statement number one", indicating a further response to the Syrian incident was possible. Nasrallah is expected to announce the group's formal reaction to Israel's Jan. 18 air strike on Friday.

In Beirut, celebratory gunfire rang out after the attack, while residents in the southern suburbs of the city, where Hezbollah is strong, packed their bags and prepared to evacuate neighborhoods that were heavily bombed by Israel in 2006.

In Gaza, Palestinian resistance groups praised Hezbollah. The United States said it condemned the Shi'ite group's "act of violence" and urged all parties to refrain from actions that could escalate the situation.

With an Israeli election looming and Hezbollah deeply involved in support of Assad in Syria, there would appear to be little interest in a wider conflict for either side.

Regional analysts said they did not expect events to spiral.

"Netanyahu most likely realizes that a prolonged military engagement in Lebanon could cost him the election," said Ayham Kamel and Riccardo Fabiani of the Eurasia Group.

"Instead, Israel will pursue limited actions targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, but the low-scale, tit-for-tat exchanges will not broaden into a wider war."

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell, Luke Baker and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Laila Bassam and Oliver Holmes in Beirut, Julien Toyer in Madrid and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman; editing by Andrew Roche)

Israel tells U.N. will defend itself against Hezbollah

UNITED NATIONS Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:45am EST

(Reuters) -

 Israel told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday it will take all necessary measures to defend itself after an exchange of fire between Hezbollah militants and Israel that has raised the threat of a full-blown conflict.

"Israel will not stand by as Hezbollah targets Israelis," Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor said in a letter to the Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"Israel will not accept any attacks on its territory and it will exercise its right to self-defense and take all necessary measures to protect its population," he added.

The attack occurred on Wednesday in the biggest escalation of fighting since a 2006 war.

Two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed when Hezbollah fired a missile at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles at the Lebanon border. A U.N. spokesman and Spanish officials said the peacekeeper was killed as Israel responded with air strikes and artillery fire.

Resolution 1701 halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon. The south remains a Hezbollah stronghold.

Hezbollah said it carried out Wednesday's attack, which appeared to be in retaliation for a Jan. 18 Israeli air strike in southern Syria that killed several Hezbollah members and an Iranian general.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols; editing by Gunna Dickson) 

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