"The operation was necessary," the official in the Prime Minister's Office, said, "because Hizbullah is violating the ceasefire by smuggling in war materiel from Syria and Iran. It was a necessary operation, and it is good that we did it."
The weekend operation involved two Hummer jeeps that were helicoptered in to the Baalbek region of southern Lebanon, not far from the Syrian border. The Hummers were used to attack a school building used to store weapons brought in from Syria. The building also served as a hideout for Hizbullah terrorists. IDF officer Lt.-Col. (ret.) Emanuel Moreno, 35, of the religious moshav Tlamim in the Negev, was killed in the operation, and two soldiers were wounded, including one in serious condition. Three Hizbullah men were killed.
The IDF announced afterwards, "The purpose of the operation was to prevent and interfere with the transfer of arms from Syria and Iran to Hizbullah... The objectives were achieved in full."
"Hizbullah cannot complain when we take action to stop them from smuggling weapons, in violation of the ceasefire," the aide said. "Hizbullah is not adhering to the ceasefire in other ways as well. There were several incidents this past week in which they fired at IDF soldiers."
Lebanese Defense Minister Alias Al-Mor threatened, following the Israeli attack, that his country would stop deploying its forces in the southern region. He demanded that the UN make its position clear on Israel's action. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has already gone on record as saying that it was Israel that violated the ceasefire.
The killed officer, Lt.-Col. Moreno, was buried at 2 AM Sunday morning at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem.
The weekend operation involved two Hummer jeeps that were helicoptered in to the Baalbek region of southern Lebanon, not far from the Syrian border. The Hummers were used to attack a school building used to store weapons brought in from Syria. The building also served as a hideout for Hizbullah terrorists. IDF officer Lt.-Col. (ret.) Emanuel Moreno, 35, of the religious moshav Tlamim in the Negev, was killed in the operation, and two soldiers were wounded, including one in serious condition. Three Hizbullah men were killed.
The IDF announced afterwards, "The purpose of the operation was to prevent and interfere with the transfer of arms from Syria and Iran to Hizbullah... The objectives were achieved in full."
"Hizbullah cannot complain when we take action to stop them from smuggling weapons, in violation of the ceasefire," the aide said. "Hizbullah is not adhering to the ceasefire in other ways as well. There were several incidents this past week in which they fired at IDF soldiers."
Lebanese Defense Minister Alias Al-Mor threatened, following the Israeli attack, that his country would stop deploying its forces in the southern region. He demanded that the UN make its position clear on Israel's action. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has already gone on record as saying that it was Israel that violated the ceasefire.
The killed officer, Lt.-Col. Moreno, was buried at 2 AM Sunday morning at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem.