The IAF on Wednesday began to issue call up orders in preparation for retaliatory air strikes against Hizbullah targets in Lebanon, Channel 2 reported. The air force will target power stations and Hizbullah outposts inside Lebanon.
Reserve soldiers.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski [file]
The army was also calling up reservists. Only weeks ago, an entire reserve division was drafted in order to train for an operation such as the one the IDF is planning in response to Wednesday morning's Hizbullah attacks on IDF forces along the northern border.
A very high ranking military officer said that if the soldiers were not returned in good condition, Israel would turn Lebanon back 20 years by striking its vital infrastructure.
Defense officials said that Defense Minister Amir Peretz has instructed the IDF to take all the necessary steps to retrieve the kidnapped soldiers.
After IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz concluded his security briefings in the Kirya in Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon, a senior IDF officer said the military was preparing for a large operation against Lebanon. Communities along the northern border had been instructed to prepare accordingly.
Regarding Hizbullah's initial offer to release the soldiers, as well as Gilad Shalit for thousands of security prisoners, the officers explained that it only proved what the military has been saying all along: that Hizbullah and Hamas were working in cooperation and were connected to one another.
The IDF vowed to hold the Lebanese accountable for the attacks.
"The IDF holds the Lebanese government responsible for any act of terror launched from Lebanon at Israel," a statement released by the IDF spokesperson read.
