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Retaliation for bombing that killed 4 Israelis

February 28, 1999
Web posted at: 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT)

In this story: Netanyahu: Israel will strike 'with much force' General, reporter die in Hezbollah blast Main Israeli candidates oppose unilateral withdrawal RELATED STORIES, SITES

TEL AVIV, Israel (CNN) -- The Israeli military launched a large-scale attack on Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon late Sunday, in retaliation for the slayings of four Israelis, including a brigadier general.

Defense Minister Moshe Arens said the campaign began Sunday evening with airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Israel's army chief, Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, said the campaign will continue "on the ground, from the air and the sea."

"The army will fight the Hezbollah ... it has the capability," Mofaz said.

Witnesses reported seeing troop movements along the Lebanese border, and Israel ordered its citizens who live along the border to spend the night in bomb shelters.

Two Katyusha rockets, believed to have been launched by guerrillas, hit targets in civilian areas in northwestern Israel but did no damage.

Netanyahu: Israel will strike 'with much force'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appearing at a press conference in Tel Aviv flanked by Arens and Mofaz, said the campaign would expand according to Israel's assessment of the situation.

"We have carried out a strike on the Hezbollah and will continue striking with much force," he said. "If we don't act, the situation will be much worse."

The airstrikes focused on Hezbollah strongholds in the area of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon and around Beirut.

Mofaz said Israel was adhering to a 3-year-old understanding with the Hezbollah to avoid civilian targets, though the Katyusha rocket attacks on Israeli targets is an apparent violation of that agreement

General, reporter die in Hezbollah blast

On Sunday, Brig. Gen. Erez Gerstein, two Israeli sergeants and a reporter for Israel Radio were killed when two bombs exploded beside a military convoy, causing their car to careen off the road, crash and burst into flames.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, which brought to seven the number of Israelis killed in Lebanon in the past week.

Gerstein was the most senior Israeli officer killed since Israel's 1982 invasion of southern Lebanon to evict Palestinian guerrillas. Ever since, Israel has been bogged down in the region in a standoff with the Iranian-inspired Hezbollah.

More than 900 Israeli soldiers have died, and some Israelis are calling on the government to bring troops home from what some they see as their country's Vietnam.

Main Israeli candidates oppose unilateral withdrawal

	. . . . News: Wye River Memorandum Background: Mideast Timeline The West Bank in Brief Key Players Maps: Middle East Israel Land-for-peace deal Interactive: Message board

Netanyahu has offered to withdraw from Israel's 15-kilometer (9-mile) wide "security zone" along the border, if Lebanon deploys troops along the border to prevent Hezbollah guerrillas from attacking Israel.

But Lebanon and its neighbor Syria, which keeps 35,000 troops in Lebanon and has a big influence on its politics, are demanding an unconditional withdrawal.

While some politicians from both left- and right-wing parties in Israel advocate an unconditional withdrawal, the issue has not been hotly contested in the run-up to May 17 national elections.

The three leading candidates -- Netanyahu, Labor Party leader Ehud Barak and self-styled centrist Yitzhak Mordechai -- all oppose a unilateral pullout, demanding security concessions first.

Gerstein, 38, was the chief liaison between the army and its Lebanese militia ally, the South Lebanon Army, which helps Israel patrol the "security zone."

The other Israelis who died Sunday have been identified as Ilan Roech, 32, a reporter for Israeli radio; Sgt. Maj. Amad Abu-Rish, 34, and 1st Sgt. Omer El-Kabatz, 22.

Jerusalem Bureau Chief Walter Rodgers, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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