TEL AVIV — Israel has been struggling to contain Hizbullah rocket
strikes from Lebanon.
Military sources acknowledged that the Israel Air Force has failed to
destroy Hizbullah's arsenal or command and control capabilities. They said
that despite more than 1,400 sorties, Hizbullah continues to fire
Katyusha-origin rockets near the northern Israeli border.
"We know that they have many hundreds of rockets," Israel Air Force
commander Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy told a briefing on Sunday. "We have
struck some of the rockets over the last few days, but they still have many
of all kinds."
Hizbullah's rocket strikes have yielded increasing Israeli casualties.
On Sunday, eight people were killed in a Hizbullah strike on a train station
in the northern city of Haifa. The rockets were identified as the Raad-2 and
Raad-3, the latter said to be a Syrian-origin 333 mm missile.
"Hizbullah has many missiles that are easily moved and quickly fired,"
Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs
Center, said. "They carry a small warhead, just enough to wreck a single
building and kill people caught in the open or victims of a direct hit."
An Israeli Air Force officer said the military has reduced Hizbullah's
capabilities by at least 25 percent since the start of the June 12 air
campaign. The officer said Hizbullah has reduced the launch of short-range
rockets while increasing the use of medium-range weapons, such as the
Fajr-3, which can travel 43 kilometers. The officer said most of the rockets
fired toward Israel were 122 mm and 220 mm weapons produced in Syria.
The officer said Israel, which has used U.S.-origin bunker-busting
weapons, does know the extent of damage on Hizbullah's underground weapons
arsenals. Earlier, the air force reported the destruction of five long-range
and 10 short-range rocket launchers deployed by Hizbullah.
Israel has assessed that Hizbullah has fewer than 50 rocket launchers.
The rockets have penetrated some 60 kilometers in Israel.
On Monday, Hizbullah rockets struck Acre, Carmiel, Haifa, Safed,
Tiberias and other northern Israeli communities. Military sources said
Hizbullah appeared to be aiming for Haifa's petrochemical plant.
"We are in the phase of stability, where surprises have been exhausted,"
[Res.] Maj. Gen. Eitan Ben Eliahu, former commander of the Israel Air Force,
said. "Now, we need stamina."
Ben Eliahu said the war with Hizbullah, with an estimated 15,000
rockets, could continue indefinitely. But he said the air force would have
greater chance of destroying the Shi'ite militia's heavier and longer-range
rockets.
"We have to assume that they have longer-range means," Ben Eliahu said.
"If there are such assets, then they are more bulky, need greater logistics
and would be easier to strike."
Analysts said the military must drive Hizbullah rockets and troops away
from the Israeli border while inflicting sufficent damage to force the
Beirut government to deploy the military in the south. They said Israel must
also sever supply lines from Damascus and develop counter-measures to
Hizbullah rockets.
These goals could not be achieved through Israeli air operations alone,
the analysts said. They said the military must deploy troops in southern
Lebanon to ensure a halt in Hizbullah and Palestinian rocket fire.
"There are ground forces in Lebanon, although this is not being said,"
[Res.] Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan, former deputy chief of staff, said. "If we have
to we should enter, although not in a massive way."
