JERUSALEM – In the final report of a government-commissioned war probe expected to be published by the end of the year, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be blamed for the deaths of 33 Israeli soldiers in final 60 hours of the 2006 war in Lebanon, the Sunday Times of London reported yesterday.
The Times article quoted a source familiar with the classified Winograd war report stating the prime minister was aware of a cease-fire agreement to take effect within days when he ordered the start of a massive ground operation consisting of about 40,000 soldiers, but then halted the operation three days later. Thirty-three soldiers died in the operation, which military officials charge was meant to be a show of force that did not achieve results on the ground.
WND first reported in August 2006, two days after the Lebanon War ended, the Israeli military began its own quiet inquiry blaming Olmert for the deaths.
WND reported the Winograd committee, formed amid countrywide calls to probe the top Israeli leader's decision-making processes during the war, was expected to include a accusations regarding the 33 deaths in its report.
In 2006, WND quoted Israeli Defense Forces sources questioning whether Olmert knew a cease-fire would be imposed when, after a month of fighting in Lebanon, he green-lighted the large-scale ground operation for which IDF leaders allegedly had been petitioning since the beginning of hostilities.
"It's possible Olmert knew a cease-fire was coming. If so, our stepped-up operation that he approved two days earlier was a pointless exercise in which troops were killed. This is a very serious situation," said a senior military official in August 2006, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media.
Israel launched a 34-day offensive against Hezbollah July 12, 2006, after the Lebanese militia stormed the Israeli border and kidnapped two soldiers. Hezbollah had for years been accused by Israel of amassing stockpiles of rockets near the border aimed at the Jewish state. During the confrontations, Hezbollah fired thousands or rockets into northern Israel.
Olmert ordered the massive battle in question on Aug. 11 reportedly after four weeks of refusing a larger ground offensive to reach Lebanon's Litani River – about 18 miles from the Israeli border, encompassing the swath of territory from which Hezbollah fired most of its rockets into northern Israel.
Troop advances were halted some 60 hours later in line with a cease-fire proposal accepted by Israel to end the conflict.
Immediately after the war, Israeli military officials told WND that from the start of the Jewish state's campaign in Lebanon, the IDF petitioned for the deployment of up to 40,000 ground troops to advance immediately to the Litani River and from there work their way back to the Israeli border while surrounding and then cleaning out Hezbollah strongholds under heavy aerial cover.
But Olmert at first only approved aerial assaults, they say. After Hezbollah retaliated in July by firing large numbers of rockets into Israel, the Olmert government about two weeks later approved a smaller ground offensive of up to 8,000 soldiers that, according to military officials, were not directed to advance to the Litani. The IDF was charged with cleaning out Hezbollah's bases within about three miles of the Israeli border.
IDF leaders told WND they suffered in "very specific" ways on the battlefield because of a lack of sufficient ground troops. They cited instances in which they claimed there were not enough soldiers to surround key villages, such as Bint JBail in southern Lebanon, allowing Hezbollah fighters to infiltrate cities after the IDF began combat inside the areas.
After nearly four weeks of fighting, Olmert's cabinet Aug. 11 approved the larger assault for which the IDF had petitioned, authorizing about 40,000 troops to enter Lebanon and advance to the Latani River. The IDF estimated it would need three days to reach central Lebanon and another four to six weeks to successfully wipe out the Hezbollah infrastructure in the areas leading back to the Israeli border.
But three days after the Israeli army was given a green light to advance – a cease-fire was imposed and the Jewish state suspended operations.
Thirty-three Israeli troops were killed during the IDF's advance to the Litani.
"If Olmert did not know a cease-fire was coming, then our reaching the Litani would have been crucial for the continued battle. We needed to clean out those areas to defeat Hezbollah. If he did know, Olmert sent our troops to their deaths for nothing other than to prove we can reach the Litani," a top IDF official said.
The official charged that whether the IDF reached the Litani or not, the cease-fire agreement would still call for the Lebanese army and an international force to deploy in the area.
Other military officials told WND of other instances they claimed Olmert was directly responsible for the deaths of soldiers. During several occasions of the war, while heavy diplomacy looked to be gaining momentum, such as during Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visits to the region, the IDF was asked by the political echelon to halt most operations and troop advances for up to 36 hours while negotiations ran their course. Military leaders charge some troop battalions, instructed to hold positions outside villages but not to advance, became sitting ducks for Hezbollah antitank fire, which killed at least 20 Israeli soldiers. After the diplomacy failed, the military officials say, soldiers were ordered to carry on.
The military officials at the time demanding the government's management of the war be probed.
The Sunday Times yesterday reported the Winograd Committee will focus on the decision to continue the warfare after a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah had already taken shape at the U.N. Security Council.
The Times quoted one source stating "Olmert, aware that a cease-fire agreement was under way, ordered the army to carry out an impossible operation to wind up a failed war against Hezbollah with a big showdown."
Another source stated that, "my hunch is that the report will blame Olmert in the harshest way possible and the last 60 hours of the war will be the hook on which they hang him."
To interview Aaron Klein, contact Tim Bueler Public Relations by e-mail, or call (530) 401-3285.
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