Just after midnight, IDF infantry soldiers and tanks entered central Gaza for the first time since Operation Summer Rains began, seizing control of the road leading from the Kissufim checkpoint to the former Gush Katif settlements, and effectively cutting the Strip in two. This represents an expansion of IDF operations, deemed necessary in order to target the terrorist infrastructure.“Israel is engaged in an on-going war to thwart Palestinian terrorism and stop it in its tracks before it reaches the hearts of our own communities. Palestinian terrorist leaders continue to look for refuge and hide behind their own population. Israel is compelled to take measures to stop this terror, including neutralizing the threat posed by Palestinians terrorists who are actively planning terror attacks against Israel.”
I hope this is not all that the government decided.
11:05PM: Hamas gives props to Hizbullah.
“This is a heroic operation carried out against military targets and so it is a legitimate operation, especially as it took place in occupied Lebanese territory,” Hamas political bureau member Mohammad Nazzal told Reuters
10:50PM: Our soldiers continue to search for the remains of their comrades, under heavy fire.
10:40PM: This morning’s death toll has risen to 8, with an IDF official reporting that 19 year-old Sergeant Nimrod Cohen from Mitzpe Shalem was killed while attempting to rescue the bodies of the soldiers killed in the attack.
10:30PM: Here’s more on Eyal Banin and Shani Turgeman.
After three torturous weeks, Staff Sergeant Eyal Banin was all set to finish this year’s stint of reserve duty today. It turned out to be the last day of his life.
Instead, the 22-year-old Beer Sheva native was killed in Wednesday morning’s Hizbullah attack.
Banin was due to move to Jerusalem next month with friends, and was planning to begin law school at Hebrew University in the fall.
Wednesday morning, his mother Daniella woke up to news of fighting in the north, tried calling her son, but to no avail. She called the IDF communications officer in Tel Aviv several times in an attempt to glean some information about her only son, but also couldn’t get through there. Hours later, she received the bad news.
“It’s so hard to say we ‘were’ three brothers. I remember him looking at me with that smile. That’s my last memory of him,” said Chaim Turgeman, brother of 24-year-old Shani Turgeman who was also killed in the attack.
Several months ago, Turgeman returned from a post-army backpacking trip to South America, and moved from his hometown of Beit Shean to Tel Aviv.
“He felt Beit Shean was too small,” said brother Chaim with a pain-filled smile.
Shani served in the Nahal Brigade as an enlisted solider. According to Chaim, the trip to South America was the only thing on his mind after finishing his mandatory service.
“He saved and saved for the trip,” said Chaim Turgeman. “He finally got to go, and traveled the length and breadth of South America for 10 months.”Turgeman’s father Albert added: “My father had a dream that I would be an engineer and Shani would be an architect, and that we would build houses together.
“Now, only one part of that dream can ever come true,” he said.
Banin was part of a group called “The 18” – 18 guys from the southern town of Omer (where Banin lived until the10th grade) who lived together, served together, and were the best of friends. Because he was an only child, his parents had to agree to his enlistment in a combat unit.
Other members of the group took Banin’s death particularly hard. “I spoke to him yesterday, and he said he was thrilled to be finishing up reserve duty,” said Ariel Zisman, a member of “The 18.” Zisman said that when news of Banin’s death spread, members of the group dropped everything and traveled to his mothers apartment.
Eyal Banin will be laid to rest Thursday at 4:00 p.m. at the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul.
Due to the close age gap between Chaim and Shani – just 18 months – they were always close.
“The last couple of years, as we got involved with our own lives, we saw each other less. But the last time we saw each other two weeks ago, we had a great time and lots of laughs,” he said.
Chaim said he first heard on the news Wednesday morning that soldiers had been kidnapped in the north, and understood immediately that it was in the area where his brother was serving.
“Even before I knew what had happened, I called my father and told him to take care of my mom,” he said. Then we found out that all our fears had come true,” said Chaim.
Shani Turgeman will be laid to rest at 6:00 p.m. at the military cemetery in Beit Shean. He is survived by his parents, Albert and Marcelle, and two brothers – Chaim and Einav.
10:20PM: I just saw Israel’s UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman being interviewed on the BBC. To say that the presenter took a condescending line with him is an understatement.
10:15PM: This Jerusalem Post report contains pictures of Eyal Banin and Shani Turgeman, 2 of the soldiers killed this morning. It also seems to indicate that one of the captured soldiers is Druze, and not both as previously suggested.
9:52PM: Israeli warplanes have reportedly attacked a terrorist base 16km (10 miles) south of Beirut.
9:45PM: Arabic newspaper Al Hayat has revealed details about the conditions under which abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is being held.
According to a report published in the Wednesday edition of the Saudi-backed, London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, the Israeli soldier is being held in isolation, somewhere underground, in the Gaza region. Even those gunmen assigned to guard Shalit have no contact with the outside, except in emergency situations, the newspaper said, adding that even that contact is carried out without the use of telephones or electronic communication.
The Al-Hayat report described the location of the kidnapped soldier as completely isolated. His captors are without cellular phones and their movements are well concealed from outside eyes. Among those who have contact with Cpl. Shalit, according to the London newspaper, is a medical professional, who is treating the soldier for injuries suffered at the time of his capture.
9:20PM: As a follow-up to my 9:05PM update, here is why Lebanon is responsible for today’s events.
Speaking to the Voice of Lebanon radio station today, Lebanese Finance Minister Fuad Saniora said that the government regards Hizballah as a “resistance organization,” and will take no steps against it. Saniora said that the subject would be discussed at a cabinet meeting Thursday, but that the government would likely not accede to the U.S. request.
“Lebanon’s stance is that there is difference between defining terrorism and the groups that seek to liberate their countries,” Saniora said. “Therefore Lebanon’s decision that will be taken in the cabinet meeting will be based on this differentiation. Lebanon will not take any measure concerning Hizballah.”
This article is from 2001. The above quoted Finance Minister, Fuad Saniora, is now the Lebanese Prime Minister.
9:12PM: Ynetnews reports that loud blasts have been heard in the western Galilee.
9:05PM: The Lebanese PM is playing dumb.
“The government was not aware of and does not take responsibility for, nor endorses what happened on the international border.”
8:55PM: Israel has filed a complaint with the UN, saying that Lebanon should be held responsible for Hizbullah’s kidnappings, and that such an act constituted an act of war. According to Ha’aretz, the complaint “urges the international community to enforce council resolutions calling on the Lebanese government to disarm all militias within its borders and to extend its authority throughout its territory and specifically to southern Lebanon and its shared border with Israel.”
8:50PM: Journalist/blogger/podcaster Dave Bender has an exclusive audio interview with Dr. Eran Lerman (IDF Col. – res.), former deputy chief of IDF strategic intelligence planning.
8:40PM: More first-hand reporting from Mrs Aussie Dave: There is a real feeling of dread amongst Israeli wives as their husbands receive Tzav Shmoneh (8) – the emergency reserve call-up.
8:30PM: My wife heard from an Israeli at the pool that the 2 kidnapped soldiers were, in fact, Druze (as Big Pharoah had reported – see 6:58PM update). And here is a Debka report indicating the same.
8:28PM: Kiryat Shmona residents have been called upon to get into their bomb shelters.
8:25PM: The names of 2 of our soldiers killed this morning have been released for publication: 22
year-old Staff Sergeant Eyal Banin from Tel Aviv and 24 year-old
Sergeant First Class Shani Turgeman from Beit Shean.
And now I see that once again, there is no agreement amongst the Israeli media: The Jerusalem Post report that Eyal was from Beer Sheba, and that they were both Sergeant-Majors.
