Saturday, July 15, 2006

IDF Press Conference - ha-Qirya, Tel Aviv

I'm listening to a press conference being given by the Chiefs of Staff of the different branches of the IDF right now. It's being broadcast live on Israel Army radio (Galey Tsahal) from Israeli Defence Headquarters in Tel Aviv. Here are some noteworthy remarks:

  • The missile that hit an Israeli Frigate 16 km off the coast of Lebanon was struck by an Iranian-made radar guided missile (C-802). Two such missiles were fired. One hit the Israeli frigate, inflicting heavy damage and resulting in the death of one soldier and three missing. Another missile hit a Cambodian ship and sank it. Its Egyptian crew was rescued by a passing boat. An Israeli navy representative noted that the IDF did not anticipate that Hizbullah would use the missile in the naval theater. They said that it was a surprise that the Iranians had granted Hizbullah use of advanced weaponry of this sort. It was also stated that the Lebanese Army allowed Hizbullah use of its radar facilities to fire the missile and that Lebanese Army radar facilities have been hit as a result.

  • Israel has no intention to invade Lebanon using ground forces

  • The IDF intends to refrain from striking at Lebanese Army forces unless they become involved in the fighting. Only Hizbullah-linked targets are being attacked.

  • The patriot missile batteries that have been positioned in the Haifa area are not intended for use against Hizbullah fire. They are intended as a defensive measure against a potential Syrian attack.


Asked about the IDF's targeting of a bus carrying 18 Lebanese civilians, a senior officer from the Air Force expressed regret for any civilian deaths.

1 comment:

Shirley said...

watching from CNN, i saw how precise the israeli weapons are when they pinpoint and even show on screen groups of 3 people scampering while they are apparently holding rockets and preparing to fire them. if this is so, why is it that civilians still get hurt in the process? i am pretty sure that the israeli forces are not dumb enough to just waste their ammunitions and target a cheese factory or a loadful of bus filled with mothers and babies if they do not think that these are legitimate targets. why do you think this happens? also, how credible and accurate these 300 so called dead figures are? only 1 hezbollah dead? and the western media bites it. do you think israel is so stupid that it can kill 275 civilians and make it off with only 1 hezbollah terrorist? it seems highly incredible when i hear this from refutable news reporters. also, as i was watching our local program the other day, mr Assad of the syrian embassy was arguing with the israeli ambassador regarding so many issues way back since methuselah and so on. when they were both asked to say their parting messages on how to solve this problem,mr assad said... we want the USA, FRance, U.N. etc., to help us and call for a ceasefire etc., and the israeli ambassador said. Why are you going to talk to these people, go thousand of miles out of your country to ask for their help, when you can simply just step out of your office in beirut and tell hezbollah to stop firing their rockets and bring back our soldiers and all these will be over. need i say more...?