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War In Lebanon: The IDF Moves In

The original UNIFIL map is here.

Casualties thus far are "more than 350 Lebanese and 34 Israelis dead since July 12 when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers."

Golani

Maroun al-Ras is strategically very important, at 911 meters (3,000 feet) high, it overlooks the Israeli village of Avivim just over the border. "The commander of IDF ground forces said Saturday that the IDF has won control of the village Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, allowing troops to overlook Hizbullah command posts in the area. Maj.-Gen. Beni Gantz also said the soldiers had found a mosque in Maroun al-Ras that contained stockpiles of weapons, including rockets." Maroun al-Ras was a forward observation post for Hezbollah, and lays along Hezbollah's supply line from Syria.

The Herev battalion, made up of Druze fighters (Druze have served with the IDF from the beginning of Israel) moved into Lebanon - "On Saturday, the Herev battalion operated in Marwahin, about two kilometers into southeast Lebanon, and discovered a great deal of Hizbullah weapons there. While forces were operating, shells were fired at them from a neighboring village. The Air Force was prepared to back up troops operating on the ground."

The next major goal of the Golani Brigade, the main force entering Lebanon, is the 'Hezbollah capital' of Bint Jubayl. The eventual goal of the IDF is to push Hezbollah 20 miles into Lebanon, beyond the Litani River, and the IDF ordered all Lebanese to move north of the Litani.

P.S. I forgot to link to the photo album with more awesome pics of the Israeli military.

P.P.S. and almost forgot the Herev pic!

Posted by Ken McCracken · 23 July 2006 12:17 PM

Comments

Posted by: vanderleun at July 23, 2006 02:36 PM

Posted by: Ken McCracken at July 23, 2006 03:06 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at July 23, 2006 03:36 PM