One of the two soldiers shot and killed by Hizbullah terrorists yesterday - Sgt. Itai Ilouz, 21, of Afula - will be buried today. The other, Sgt.-Maj. Avishai Korisky, 24, of Nazareth Illit, was to have been married in two weeks.
Hizbullah snipers shot the two soldiers as they fixed an antenna at the Nurit outpost, located near Moshav Zar'it and Israel's border with Lebanon. The IDF has begun an investigation as to why the two were ordered to expose themselves to Hizbullah fire, apparently without sufficient protection, in the face of a high alert for Hizbullah provocations.
The Israel Air Force responded almost immediately with a helicopter and artillery strike, destroying a Hizbullah position in southern Lebanon. Later, a second Hizbullah outpost was targeted - one that was used as an IDF position prior to Israel's hasty withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000 under then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
IAF jets also broke the sound barrier over Beirut, causing some panic and thus "sending a message" to the Lebanese government and Hizbullah. Hizbullah terrorists responded by firing anti-tank rockets into the northern Galilee in the late afternoon, setting fire to fields. In addition, the Lebanese government filed an official complaint with the United Nations Security Council regarding the Israeli response.
Israel has decided, for now, to keep its retaliation on a "low flame" and not to further exacerbate tensions.
Hizbullah had threatened retaliation for the car bomb death earlier this week of Hizbullah terrorist Ghaleb Awali - who also acted as a Hizbullah liaison with terror groups in PA-controlled areas - despite the fact that an Islamic Sunni group had already taken "credit" for the attack.
Hizbullah snipers shot the two soldiers as they fixed an antenna at the Nurit outpost, located near Moshav Zar'it and Israel's border with Lebanon. The IDF has begun an investigation as to why the two were ordered to expose themselves to Hizbullah fire, apparently without sufficient protection, in the face of a high alert for Hizbullah provocations.
The Israel Air Force responded almost immediately with a helicopter and artillery strike, destroying a Hizbullah position in southern Lebanon. Later, a second Hizbullah outpost was targeted - one that was used as an IDF position prior to Israel's hasty withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000 under then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
IAF jets also broke the sound barrier over Beirut, causing some panic and thus "sending a message" to the Lebanese government and Hizbullah. Hizbullah terrorists responded by firing anti-tank rockets into the northern Galilee in the late afternoon, setting fire to fields. In addition, the Lebanese government filed an official complaint with the United Nations Security Council regarding the Israeli response.
Israel has decided, for now, to keep its retaliation on a "low flame" and not to further exacerbate tensions.
Hizbullah had threatened retaliation for the car bomb death earlier this week of Hizbullah terrorist Ghaleb Awali - who also acted as a Hizbullah liaison with terror groups in PA-controlled areas - despite the fact that an Islamic Sunni group had already taken "credit" for the attack.