Irish troops in Lebanon spent much of yesterday in bomb shelters after one of the most intensive offensives ever mounted by Islamic guerrillas against the Israeli-occupied "security zone" in the south of the country.
Seven people including three civilians and a Fijian United Nations soldier were wounded in heavy fighting between the Hizbullah guerrillas and the forces of Israel and its allied militia, the South Lebanon Army (SLA). The other three casualties were two Israeli soldiers and an SLA member, according to Israeli military sources.
There was concern yesterday that the offensive signalled the beginning of a period of increased violence in the area before the Israeli withdrawal, due to be completed by July 7th.
The Hizbullah offensive began at around 3.30 a.m. when nine fortified hilltop posts controlled by the Israelis and SLA were attacked simultaneously by the Hizbullah with artillery and heavy machinegun fire.
Hizbullah claimed to have temporarily overrun one SLA position on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Mediterranean. Until last week this post, which bristles with radio antennae, was occupied by the Israelis. It is a key position for observing activity along the coastal plane towards Tyre and Sidon.
The SLA said it had repulsed the attack when the guerrillas were within a few metres, killing or wounding three of the enemy. However, the Hizbullah attack on one of the key former Israeli posts was seen as a major blow against the pro-Israeli SLA. UN sources expect there will be even greater Hizbullah attrition against the SLA positions, followed by heavy retaliation in the form of artillery strikes from the posts.
In anticipation of the increased hostility in the area the Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Lieut Gen Dave Stapleton, ordered that another 54 soldiers and additional vehicle-mounted anti-tank weapons be flown out to Lebanon to reinforce the Irish Battalion.
Apart from the assault on the coastal position, most of yesterday's Hizbullah attacks were on SLA and Israeli positions in the Irish Battalion area and in the neighbouring area held by Nepalese UN troops. The UN reported many instances of artillery shells landing near UN posts but none inside the posts and there were no reports of injuries. There are around 560 soldiers in the Irish Battalion area and some 15,000 UN troops in all in UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon). All the military contingents are being strengthened prior to the final Israeli withdrawal date.