Israeli warplanes struck at suspected guerilla targets deep inside Lebanon yesterday. The Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that more was to come if the Iranian-backed Hizbullah movement continued its attacks in Israel's self-styled security zone. Yesterday's attacks resulted in the deaths of four Israelis, including a high-ranking officer.
The Israeli Chief of Staff, LtGen Shaul Mofaz, , promised to wage a ground, sea and air assault on Lebanon in response to the Hizbullah guerrillas.
Among the four, who were killed when their armour-plated Mercedes hit a series of Hizbullah roadside bombs around mid-day, was Brig Gen Erez Gerstein, the chief liaison officer between Israel and its proxy South Lebanon Army militia. Gen Gerstein (38) was the most senior Israeli officer to be killed since the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Also killed were two other officers and a 32-year-old Israel Radio reporter.
Hizbullah reacted to the Israeli aerial bombardment which came as dark fell in the region by firing a salvo of katyusha rockets into northern Israel. While there were no casualties, 250,000 residents in the north of Israel were ordered into air-raid shelters for the night. At a press conference called just after the Israeli retaliation, Mr Netanyahu warned that "we have hit the Hizbullah and we will continue to do so with greater force if the situation demands it".
Asked whether the aerial assault - which included a strike at the Hizbullah headquarters in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon - was part of a broader military operation, the prime minister would only say that Israel was "not seeking escalation, but we are not prepared to tolerate what is going on there."
Lt-Gen Shaul Mofaz said the military action would continue "as long as needed". The attack was the second painful blow to Israel within the space of five days - last week three members of an elite paratroop unit, including the commander, were killed during a clash with Hizbullah gunmen - and there was growing speculation in Israel as to whether the government would launch a broad offensive inside Lebanon.
The escalation in south Lebanon also comes against the backdrop of elections in Israel which are scheduled for May 17th. With Mr Netanyahu seeking re-election, there were suggestions he might choose to respond extensively so as not to appear weak.
But Mr Netanyahu will also be acutely aware of how his predecessor, Mr Shimon Peres, got bogged down in Lebanon during the runup to the 1996 election when he launched "Grapes of Wrath", killing around 100 civilians sheltering in a UN base.
Gen Gerstein's death has once again raised questions about whether Hizbullah has succeeded in acquiring intelligence on Israeli military movements in the security zone. And the death of seven Israelis in five days is sure to reignite the debate inside Israel over the army's continuing presence in south Lebanon, where it has occupied a security zone since 1982.
Jim Cusack, Security Correspondent, writes: UN sources last night reported that the Irish Battalion area where more than 500 soldiers are serving in the central part of south Lebanon was "calm", although there was strong local anticipation of Israeli retaliation in the area.
The killing of the four Israeli's occurred in the adjoining UN Battalion area which is patrolled by Indian troops. It is about 20 km from the Irish Battalion headquarters in the village of Tibnin.