Israel embarassed by Hizbullah successes
Lebanon, Military, 9/9/1997

The committee investigating the failed operation in Lebanon last week is having difficulties deciding whether the explosives carried by the Israeli elite unit soldiers blew up because of a Hizbullah ambush or because of a mishap. One of the officers in the naval commando unit said that there is a feeling that the committee wants them to say that the failure was caused by an error but that there are many questions still unanswered.

Fury and embarassment have been felt among Israel's top brass officers following statements made by Hizbullah leaders in Beirut about the existence of a double agent who had aided Hizbullah by directing the Israeli raid right into a well-planned ambush. Many of those had tried to underestimate the importance of the ambush, blaming the failure on lack of luck. In this respect, conflicting reports continued to flow from sources familiar with the commission of inquiry that the Israeli army set up to determine why the raid on Lebanon failed and ended with such a deadly price for Israel.

One of the reports coming through said that from internal investigations conducted by the naval unit 13 following its failed operation in Ansariyeh, it appears that the failure was a result of an accident that was caused by the Israeli force and not as a result of confrontations with Hizbullah. This version was reinforced by the claim that there had been in fact no planned stakeout by Hizbullah. Israeli military sources said that at the time of the incident, a picture was taken pinpointing two simultaneous explosions. They added, besides, that the Israeli raiding unit was carrying with it two explosives.

Eleven soldiers were killed in the explosions. The connection: the only soldier that wasn't injured was at the end of the line of soldiers. Upon hearing the explosion, four soldiers returned to the orchard and were injured, and their commander, Lt. Col. Korkin was killed. Additional explosions occured, according to army estimations, of ammunition and grenades that the soldiers were carrying. According to another assessment, the gunfire, which the injured reported, came from the exploding ammunition and from shots fired by Israeli soldiers who were still able to fight at this point.

There were also conflicting reports about this gunfire. According to evidence compiled in the initial investigation in Tel Aviv on Friday morning, the fire aimed at the force was very light. In contrast, the wounded reported that the fire was massive and fired from a number of pointed guns. The helicopter pilots involved in the rescue operation also reported random weak firing into the air. There is also a contradiction between the naval unit's version of the accident and the version accepted by the Chief of Staff, which says that the incident was caused by the readiness of the Hizbullah fighters and that the chain of explosions was caused by Hizbullah bombs. Pieces of those bombs used by Hizbullah were found in the bodies of the Israeli soldiers who were not carrying explosives of this kind.

Previous Stories:
  Five-Nation committee holds a meeting   (9/9/1997)
  Israelis ready to leave Lebanon   (9/9/1997)
  Flotilla 13 commandos' bodies to be swapped for prisoners   (9/8/1997)

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