WEDNESDAY JULY 26, 6:00 PM

Shalom from Jerusalem,

Dozens of Hizbullah rockets bombarded many parts of northern Israel this afternoon, including Tiberius and Haifa, wounding over 30 people by 5:30 PM, one critically.  This came after Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened again last night to rain longer range rockets upon Tel Aviv, which has been placed under a major security alert this afternoon after intelligence information was received that a terror attack was about to be launched in the area.

The latest rocket blitz came on a day that has turned out to be the deadliest for Israeli military forces since Hizbullah suddenly lobbed rockets into northern Israel exactly two weeks ago today to cover an unprovoked cross border raid designed to kidnap IDF soldiers.  The deaths came on the first day of the Hebrew month of Av, when Jews traditionally mourn the destruction of the first and second temples in ancient times, and other catastrophes that have befallen the Jewish people over the centuries.  At least nine IDF soldiers were reportedly killed in today’s fighting, and over two dozen others wounded. This came during intense close quarter combat in the south Lebanese Shiite town of Bint Jabail, located some three miles north of Israel’s border with Lebanon.  I noted yesterday that while Israel said it had secured overall control of the strategic town, hundreds of heavily armed Hizbullah militiamen were believed to be hiding inside buildings nearly empty of civilian residents.  The sheltered fighters suddenly emerged at dawn to engage IDF troops surrounding the town, with horrific results.  The army said some of the heaviest fire came from inside a mosque near the edge of town.

The severe combat broke out as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert indicated that Israel would establish a two kilometer border buffer zone all along the international border in order to prevent future Hizbullah infiltrations into Israeli territory, and to push rocket launchers a bit further back from civilian targets in Israel.  Olmert outlined the plan in a closed-door meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, reportedly telling legislators that, "We want a two-kilometer space from the border in which it will not be possible to fire rockets toward soldiers and civilian houses, and in which there will not be contact with military border patrols."  Just how long Israel might control the new buffer security zone was not spelled out.  Olmert is thought to want some sort of international force to take over the area as quickly as possible so as not to give Hizbullah and its regional backers an excuse to continue rocket and ground attacks from Lebanese territory.

Such a force was apparently discussed at an international summit in Rome today, but no concrete decisions were apparently taken, nor was there a unified call for an immediate ceasefire.  Israeli officals were said to be dismayed by comments made after the summit by Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora.  He began by blasting Israel for supposedly “destroying his country” in order to “bring it to its knees” (he said two days ago that an Israeli air strike on a mosque in Sidon that was filled with Hizbullah weapons was “worse than anything that happened in all of World War Two”!!).  Later the Sunni politician lectured Israeli officials on the need to make peace with the Palestinians and all regional Arab countries—as if it was not Hizbullah and its Syrian and Iranian masters who successfully destroyed the “land for peace” Oslo peace process that was meant to do just that, mainly via the economic and weapons aid they have given since the early 1990s to their Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist comrades.
 

UN DEATHS

Meanwhile Israeli officials were busy dealing with the heavy political fallout from what they all insited was an accidental shelling last evening of a UN outpost in El Khiyam, not far from the main south Lebanese Maronite Christian town of Marjayoun. Four UN “peacekeeping” soldiers were killed in the incident—from Canada, China, Finland and Austria.  Officials were dismayed when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan angrily declared that the IDF had “apparently deliberatly targeted” the outpost.  Some government leaders privately termed the comment anti-Semitic, dredging up the old canard of evil Jews wantonly killing Gentiles in order to drink or cook with their blood.  They said it was absurd to suggest that professionally trained IDF army commanders—in the middle of an intense conflict that has already drawn widespread condemnations of Israel for supposedly using excessive and disproportunate force—had deliberately given an order to slaughter UN soldiers from countries that Israel has close diplomatic and business ties with.

PM Olmert phoned Annan this morning to offer his condolences for the tragic deaths, and to assure him that the shelling was not at all intentional.  He said he would order an immediate investigation into the incident, adding that the results would be quickly forwarded to UN officials.  Demonstrating again his apparent disdain for Israel, Annan insisted on a joint investigation.  Israeli officials noted that Hizbullah often used the ground right around such UN outposts during the 1980 and 90s to shoot rockets at IDF forces, knowing that understandably intimidated UN personell would not dare to stop them.  In fact, UN commanders filed complaints several times over such activity, which was seemingly also going on again during yesterday’s heavy artillery and rocket exchanges in the area.  

Indeed, the UN’s own chief humanitarian officer, Jan Egeland, admitted on Monday after visiting Beirut that Hizbullah fighters were deliberately stationing themselves among Lebanese Shiite civilians to reduce their own militia casualties, knowing Israel is reluctant to strike such areas.  The radical Shiite group would presumably care even less if non-Muslim infidels are killed by IDF fire in the fighting, especially knowing it would bring world wrath upon the Jewish State.  Egeland said Hizbullah “must stop this cowardly blending among women and children," adding that he had “heard they are proud because they have lost very few fighters, and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don't think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men."  

Israel’s two Chief Rabbis have called for intensive prayer on behalf of the soldiers who have crossed into Hizbullah’s heartland territory in Lebanon.  Large crowds gathered last night at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to recite psalms and cry out to the Almighty for His mercy and protection at this dangerous time.  Similar gatherings are planned for this evening, and indeed for every evening that the conflict continues.  

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DAVID DOLAN is a Jerusalem-based author and journalist who has lived in Israel since 1980.  His new DVD, titled “FOR ZIONS’S SAKE—REPORTING FROM THE LAND OF THE BIBLE,” is now available on both PAL and NTCS versions.  Details are posted at his web site, www.ddolan.com