The military casualties fell in the battle for Hizbullah stronghold Marun A-Ras, just beyond the Israeli-Lebanese border near Avivim. Two - First Sgt. Yotam Gilboa, 21, and First Sgt. Yonatan Hadasi, 21 - were killed on Wednesday, and five more fell on Thursday. The names of three were released by Friday, and the other two were released only over the weekend: Sgt. Liran Saadiah, 21, of Kiryat Shmonah, and Sgt. Yehonatan Velsiyuk, 21, of Kibbutz Lahav.
Velsiyuk was originally considered missing, but a state-of-the-art technological analysis of aerial photographs and the precise path of the battle helped locate his body by Friday. Heavy gunfire and fighting in the area prevented the recovery of his body, though his friends in the Egoz commando unit demanded of their commanders to launch a mission to retrieve the body. Only the next day, after the area had been conquered and totally cleansed of terrorists, was Velsiyuk's body recovered.
Velsiyuk immigrated to Israel six years ago without his family. The principal of his high school told Ynet: "He was the epitome of modern Zionism. A 15-year-old youth who came to Israel without his parents and without any knowledge of Israeli culture and society. Because of his determination and wonderful personality, he integated successfully in all social circles."
Arab Victims of Moslem Terrorism
Two of the most recent civilian casualties of the Katyushas were brothers of an Arab family in Nazareth, 7-year-old Mahmoud Talouzi and 3-year-old Rabiya. The family has strong anti-Israel feelings, and even reportedly referred to its sons as "shahids" [holy martyrs] in the war against Israel. Hizbullah leader Sheikh Nasrallah apologized to the family, saying they were "martyrs for Palestine," and offered his sincere condolences. The boys' funeral was peppered with speeches and slogans similarly declaring the children martyrs in the war against Israel.
Ironically, Kadima MK Avigdor Yitzchaki paid a condolence visit to the family last week, later saying, "The Hizbullah rockets prove once again the shared destiny of the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel."
A third Israeli-Arab casualty, Imad Habib, 48, of the village of Eblin in the western Galilee, was killed on Sunday when a Katyusha hit the carpentry shop in which he worked. His brother said that unlike the two children in Nazareth, Imad is definitely not a "holy martyr." He was buried in a Christian ceremony Monday afternoon in his hometown.
The fourth civilian casualty of the past few days' Katyusha rockets was Shimon Glicklich, 60, Kiryat Ata, north of Haifa. Shrapnel from a rocket hit his car as he was driving home from work on Sunday, overturning the vehicle and killing him almost instantly. Two passengers in his car were injured. He immigrated to Israel from Moscow 15 years ago with his wife and daughter.
In the past month of warfare, 19 soldiers have been killed in the north and 2 in Gaza, and 17 civilians have been killed in the north and 1 in the south. In addition, a soldier and a civilian were each killed in Samaria.
Three hostages are being held by enemy terrorist forces. Corp. Gilad (ben Aviva) Shalit, of Mitzpeh Hila in the Galilee, was abducted from his tank on a base outside Gaza one month ago. Ehud (ben Malkah) Goldwasser and Eldad (ben Tova) Regev were abducted on July 12 by Hizbullah terrorists along the Lebanese border, in the incident that started the current warfare in the north.
Shlomo Goldwasser, the father of one of the captives, said it is very important that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visit the hostages. "The representative of ICRC in Israel who visited us last week," Goldwasser said, "told us that this is the way to ascertain and receive the most trustworthy information. He took our written request on this matter and gave it to the Red Cross representative in Lebanon; we have not yet heard anything from them."
Helicopter Crashes
Two helicopter crashes have occurred in the past few days, involving aircraft that were involved indirectly in the combat in the north. One person, Maj. Ran Yehoshua Kochba from Hanania, was killed in Thursday's crash. In a second incident, which took place around 1 PM today (Monday) near Tzfat, a helicopter crashed to the ground and burst into flames. No official word has yet been received on the condition of the pilot and co-pilot, nor on why or how the copter malfunctioned. It was carrying a large amount of war materiel.
Velsiyuk was originally considered missing, but a state-of-the-art technological analysis of aerial photographs and the precise path of the battle helped locate his body by Friday. Heavy gunfire and fighting in the area prevented the recovery of his body, though his friends in the Egoz commando unit demanded of their commanders to launch a mission to retrieve the body. Only the next day, after the area had been conquered and totally cleansed of terrorists, was Velsiyuk's body recovered.
Velsiyuk immigrated to Israel six years ago without his family. The principal of his high school told Ynet: "He was the epitome of modern Zionism. A 15-year-old youth who came to Israel without his parents and without any knowledge of Israeli culture and society. Because of his determination and wonderful personality, he integated successfully in all social circles."
Arab Victims of Moslem Terrorism
Two of the most recent civilian casualties of the Katyushas were brothers of an Arab family in Nazareth, 7-year-old Mahmoud Talouzi and 3-year-old Rabiya. The family has strong anti-Israel feelings, and even reportedly referred to its sons as "shahids" [holy martyrs] in the war against Israel. Hizbullah leader Sheikh Nasrallah apologized to the family, saying they were "martyrs for Palestine," and offered his sincere condolences. The boys' funeral was peppered with speeches and slogans similarly declaring the children martyrs in the war against Israel.
Ironically, Kadima MK Avigdor Yitzchaki paid a condolence visit to the family last week, later saying, "The Hizbullah rockets prove once again the shared destiny of the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel."
A third Israeli-Arab casualty, Imad Habib, 48, of the village of Eblin in the western Galilee, was killed on Sunday when a Katyusha hit the carpentry shop in which he worked. His brother said that unlike the two children in Nazareth, Imad is definitely not a "holy martyr." He was buried in a Christian ceremony Monday afternoon in his hometown.
The fourth civilian casualty of the past few days' Katyusha rockets was Shimon Glicklich, 60, Kiryat Ata, north of Haifa. Shrapnel from a rocket hit his car as he was driving home from work on Sunday, overturning the vehicle and killing him almost instantly. Two passengers in his car were injured. He immigrated to Israel from Moscow 15 years ago with his wife and daughter.
In the past month of warfare, 19 soldiers have been killed in the north and 2 in Gaza, and 17 civilians have been killed in the north and 1 in the south. In addition, a soldier and a civilian were each killed in Samaria.
Three hostages are being held by enemy terrorist forces. Corp. Gilad (ben Aviva) Shalit, of Mitzpeh Hila in the Galilee, was abducted from his tank on a base outside Gaza one month ago. Ehud (ben Malkah) Goldwasser and Eldad (ben Tova) Regev were abducted on July 12 by Hizbullah terrorists along the Lebanese border, in the incident that started the current warfare in the north.
Shlomo Goldwasser, the father of one of the captives, said it is very important that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visit the hostages. "The representative of ICRC in Israel who visited us last week," Goldwasser said, "told us that this is the way to ascertain and receive the most trustworthy information. He took our written request on this matter and gave it to the Red Cross representative in Lebanon; we have not yet heard anything from them."
Helicopter Crashes
Two helicopter crashes have occurred in the past few days, involving aircraft that were involved indirectly in the combat in the north. One person, Maj. Ran Yehoshua Kochba from Hanania, was killed in Thursday's crash. In a second incident, which took place around 1 PM today (Monday) near Tzfat, a helicopter crashed to the ground and burst into flames. No official word has yet been received on the condition of the pilot and co-pilot, nor on why or how the copter malfunctioned. It was carrying a large amount of war materiel.