Balahsan, Musko, Ambao laid to rest

Balahsan, unnamed soldier killed in morning clashes with Hizbullah.

By YAAKOV KATZ, AP
Phillip Musko 298 (photo credit: IDF)
Phillip Musko 298
(photo credit: IDF)
Two IDF reservists were killed and two others were wounded - one moderately and one lightly - in the clashes in Labounah in the western sector of southern Lebanon. One of the dead soldiers was identified as Capt. (res.) Gilad Balahsan, 28, of Karmiel. He was buried at 8 p.m. in the military section in the Karmiel cemetery. For a Jerusalem Online video of events click here Intense fighting continued in southern Lebanon midday Tuesday. IDF troops have killed 25 Hizbullah gunmen in the western sector since Monday night. In total, eight soldiers were wounded on Tuesday, one seriously. Overnight Monday, one IDF paratrooper was killed and five other soldiers were lightly wounded when Hizbullah guerrillas fired anti-tank rockets at an armored vehicle during clashes in the southern village of Dbil, west of Bint Jbail.
WAR IN THE NORTH: DAY 28
A member of the Armored Corps was seriously wounded in the intense fighting in Bint Jbail before dawn on Tuesday. The dead paratrooper was identified as St.-Sgt Phillip Musko, 21, from Ma'ale Adumim. His funeral was held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the Mt. Herzl military cemetery. The wounded soldiers - from the Paratroopers Brigade and Engineering Corps - were evacuated for medical treatment. Troops destroyed 12 rocket launchers in the western sector of southern Lebanon. At least 15 Hizbullah guerillas were killed in fighting, and five were apprehended by IDF troops overnight Monday. The IAF hit over 80 targets in Lebanon overnight including 42 Hizbullah structures, 30 access routes and six rocket launchers. The IDF said it has declared an indefinite curfew on the movement of vehicles in Lebanon south of the Litani River, beginning Monday night. Humanitarian traffic would be allowed, but other transport would be at risk if it ignored the order to stay off the roads, the army said. Residents were notified by leaflets dropped by Israeli aircraft and by media broadcasts. The ban went into effect at 10 p.m (1900 GMT) but the army did not say how long it would last. A spokesman said it was part of an effort to stop the supply of arms and ammunition to Hizbullah fighters in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to convene the security cabinet Wednesday to discuss an expansion of IDF ground operations in south Lebanon. The plan involves an advance to the Litani River in order to take control of Hizbullah's short-range rocket launching sites, and may include a limited push beyond the Litani in the area of Nabatiyeh, from which medium-range rockets are being launched at Haifa and the southern Galilee. The IDF decided to send the Givati Brigade, which has been operating in the Gaza Strip, to the North on Tuesday to beef up forces in preparation for the expected massive incursion into Lebanon on Wednesday. Three soldiers were killed during Monday's clashes in Bint Jbail. The three were identified as Noam Meyerson, 23, from Jerusalem, Major Yotam Lotan, 33, from Kibbutz Beit Hashita, and St.-Sgt. Malko Moshe Ambao, 22, from Lod. Ambao's funeral was held at 3 p.m. in his hometown.