Middle East

The Fron Lines

Soldiers from the Golani Brigade return to Israel on July 27 after recovering the

bodies of comrades killed in battles with Hezbollah in south Lebanon.

Israeli soldiers fky a captured Hezbollah flag "atop their armored personnel carrier
on the Israel-Lebanon border on July 27.

Traveling in northern Israel, where the soldiers
and the journalists roam.

Brett Kline
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Upper Galilee, Israel

T

he mobile artillery sit in a
large field in the wooded,
rocky hills near Israel's
border with Lebanon. Under a
broiling sun, Sgt. Eran explains
how the tank-like guns send 155-
millimeter shells to hit Hezbollah
launch sites several miles into
Lebanon.
Boom: The noise is head-rat-
fling and stomach-shaking. The
couple dozen Israeli soldiers spread
among the 10 or so guns are all
wearing ear plugs. Eran, the com-
mander of the unit — like all
Israeli soldiers, he's not allowed to
give his last name — says the IDF
artillery has a precision strike zone
of only 50-100 meters, but that
Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets have
no precision control at all.
"According to reports, we are hit-
ting the Hezbollah launch sites, but
not all of them:' he says.
Eran lives in the field. "I've been
here sleeping, eating and launch-
ing artillery shells in this field for

20

August 3 • 2006

16 days, and I'm sure every soldier
strategy is working?'
The TV crew is filming the high
An unshaven reserve soldier
here agrees with me that we are not
"Among the soldiers in the field,
hills in front of the field. Another
named Erez, a management stu-
wasting our time': he says. His crew I think there is total consensus that TV van is coming down the dirt
dent wearing dark glasses, is eating
of 18-year-olds felt horribly about
this is our war to fight': adds Uriel,
road. From the paved road above
pizza with his rifle at his feet. The
the nine soldiers killed last week
a tour guide who speaks eloquerlt
the field, the view of the Golan
smoke is thick and black.
in the bloody battle at Bint Jbail,
English. He wears dark glasses and Heights and Hula Valley is spec-
A TV cameraman from
not far away in Lebanon, especially a stylish cotton hat against the sun, tacular.
Argentina rushes in to buy water.
because a few Israeli artillery shells with grease smudges on his face.
A few miles from Kiryat
"We filmed the hit up there': he
could have flattened the town
Israel last week announced a
Shmona, a highway rest stop is
says, pointing to the smoke. "No
and all the Hezbollah fighters in
call-up of an additional 30,000
buzzing with soldiers in jeeps,
. one was hurt" The cameraman
it. However, hundreds of civilians
reserve soldiers. Some Israelis
truck drivers and TV crews. Police
has family in Israel, while Erez has
were in their homes there; and
criticized the move, saying it could cars speed by. Smoke is rising -from family in Buenos Aires. They talk
Israel has a policy not to use artil-
spell a full-scale ground invasion of the town: A small factory has just
in Spanish.
. lery on civilians.
Lebanon.
been hit by a Katyusha. There's
The Argentine's phone rings.
"I feel very badly, really very
Uriel compares the current
more smoke from over the hills.
"That was a cameraman I know,"
badly, about the civilians killed
situation to painful wisdom teeth.
"It's not safe anywhere' says
he says. "The TV crews are getting
in Lebanon': Eran says, "but
"Either you take ibuprofen or
Shani Amedi. She and her new
' across the border at Avivim. We're
Hezbollah are cowards. They oper- you get root canal, an invasive
husband, Yogev, live on Kibbutz
out of here." The cameraman says
ate in heavily populated areas?'
procedure. Now our government
Dafna, just west of Kiryat Shmona. goodbye and runs out.
Boom. Boom. Two more artillery is thinking of full root canal to
Their kibbutz took a rocket hit two
Not far away, Kiryat Shmona is
rounds are fired into the hills. Thai
disarm the Hezbollah," he says.
weeks ago although no one was
almost empty. An elderly person
workers in a nearby pear orchard
"If we can do it, we have done our
hurt. They have just returned from is sitting at a cafe table. There's
don't even look up.
job. If not, we keep on with the
Afula, more than an hour away,
broken glass all over one inter-
Isaac, a technician at Ben-
ibuprofen!'
where they attended to some bank- section. The smoke has almost
Gurion Airport who is a sergeant
A German TV crew arrives and
ing business.
stopped. The roads south through
in a reserve unit, wanders over. He
does quick interviews with Uriel
"Everything is closed up here,
the Galilee are virtually empty for
wonders why the world doesn't see and Danny, another reserve soldier so we had to go down there': she
at least an hour. Much of northern
what's really going on. "Hezbollah
who wears his thick blond hair in • says. "We were looking forward to
Israel has gone south.
is the little problem but Iran is
a ponytail. He says he flew in from
a great tourist season here in the
Those who stayed are waiting,
the big problem," he says. "They're
South America when his family
Upper Galilee, and now this!' They
out of sight, leaving the roads to -
using the Hezbollah to make the
notified him that the army had
pay for their gas and head down a
the soldiers and journalists. El
world forget about the atomic
called. "I hope we can do the job'
side road to Dafna to avoid Kiryat
bomb they're building, and their
he says.
Shmona.

Hsi

