Free Republic

Despite claims of a mounting humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, the navy is under orders to maintain a sea blockade until a multinational force completes its deployment in the south, a high-ranking naval officer told The Jerusalem Post Sunday. The officer said the blockade could continue for another "several months" pending a decision by the diplomatic echelon and was in place with the goal of preventing transfer of arms to Hizbullah. Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Sunday that Israel would continue to use all the means at its disposal to thwart attempts to smuggle weapons to Hizbullah. "We plan to insist...

Israeli Navy ships destroyed the Adi Nasrallsh Harbor in south Beirut on Friday evening. According to the army, the harbor, named after Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah's son who was killed by the IDF 1997, was the launching site of the Iranian C-802 missile that was fired at the Navy ship Hanit killing four soldiers in mid-July. The site was also used to train Hizbullah operatives in weapons-smuggling, the army said.

It was only last Saturday that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a two-day conference attended by officials from Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria, called on the Islamic world to mobilize and wipe out Israel. Less than a week later we see the results of this conference.

The remains of three missing Israel Defense Forces soldiers who disappeared when their warship was attacked by Hezbollah off the coast of Lebanon were found Sunday aboard the damaged vessel, military officials said. The body of a fourth soldier hurt in the attack was identified Saturday as Staff Sergeant Tal Amgar, 21, from Ashdod. The three soldiers have been named as Sergeant Yoni Hershkovitz, 21, from Haifa; Corporal Shai Atias, 19, from Rishon Letzion and First Staff Sergeant Dov Shteinshos, 37, from Carmiel. The incident occurred close to 8 P.M., west of Beirut, when the INS Spear, a Saar-5 Class...

Tartous, Syrian coast, July 15 (SANA)- Twelve Egyptian sailors have been rescued and taken to al-Bassel Hospital in the Syrian coastal city of Tartous on Saturday after their ship which was in offshore Beirut in the Lebanese international waters was fired at, set ablaze by an Israeli barge that was firing at random in all directions. The Egyptian survivors said they sent a distress call via the satellites Friday night. They were rescued by two Syrian and Egyptian ships who were sailing in the area towards the Syrian coast, definitely to Tartous seaport. Director General of al-Bassel Hospital Dr. Talal...

Yesterday, July 14th 2006, An IDF missile ship, "Ahi Hanit", was hit by a missile that was launched from the Lebanese coast. As a result of the attack, fire erupted on board. The crew members on board managed to control the damage, but four crew members were declared missing. During searches conducted on board the ship the body of one of the missing soldiers was found- Staff Sergeant Tal Amgar, 21, resident of Ashdod. Staff Sergeant Tal Amgar Sergeant Yaniv Hershkowit Master Sergeant Dov Shtierenshos

Initial probe into attack on missile boat Friday reveals Navy had no intelligence of possible missile threat in area where boat was operating; missile, aircraft interception system has been turned off due to presence of IDF planes in sector The actions taken by crewmembers of the IDF missile boat that sustained a direct Hizbullah missile hit Friday, prevented a great disaster that could have resulted in numerous casualties, an initial inquiry into the incident reveals. Boat Attacked Sailor killed at sea / Tova Dadon Shortly after deadly attack on Navy ship operating off Beirut shores, Amgar family of Ashdod informed...

Here are the first pictures I am aware of of the damaghed IDF Naval vessel, the Saar 5. Fron these pictures, it is clear that the ship was hit at an angle that would have allowed the CIWS to engage if it was active. I am now leaning towards the systems not being engaged at the time of attack. IMHO, if true, as some reports have indicated today (buit that I did not want to believe), it would be a fatal and inexcusable mistake in the environment the vessel found itself in...defending other IDF gunboats against air attack during shore...

The navy ship that was attacked and damaged by a missile fired by Hizbullah off Beirut's shores arrived to the navy base in Ashdod. The navy is investigating the event.

On July 14th the IDF's best anti-air defense vessel was mission killed by a strike from shore off the Beruit, Lebannon coast. It appears that the vessel was hit by a guided missile, launched either by Iranian trained Hezbollah, or by Iranian Guards themselves operating out of Lebannon. Land-launched Chinese anti-shipping missile, C-802 The missile was apparently a Chinese-made C-802 which is a sub sonic surface to surface anti-shipping missile. The Iranians have purchased a lot of these from China, and is working with N. Korea to improve the design. The missile is capable of a sea-skimming approach, and reportedly...

JERUSALEM — The bodies of two of the four Israeli soldiers missing in a Hezbollah attack on their warship off Lebanon were found Saturday aboard the damaged vessel, military officials said. The ship was severely damaged Friday either by a drone loaded with explosives or a missile fired by Hezbollah as the Israeli navy blockaded Lebanon as part of its military offensive against the guerrillas.

The disaster that overtook one of the Israeli Navy’s state of the art warships, Ahi-Hanit, was thoroughly planned in advance by an enemy which managed to take Israel’s military commanders by surprise. It has shocked Israel’s military to a degree comparable to the profound effect on US forces of al Qaeda’s 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Aden. The Saar-5 class corvette, with a crew of 61 seamen and a 10-man helicopter crew, was hit Friday, July 17 at 20:15 hours, while shelling Beirut international airport. Four crewmen were reported missing. One was found dead Saturday aboard the crippled...

A missile fired by Hezbollah, not an unmanned drone laden with explosives, damaged an Israeli warship off Lebanon, the army said Saturday. Elite Iranian troops helped fire the missile... One sailor was killed and three were missing. The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said about 100 Iranian soldiers are in Lebanon and helped fire the Iranian-made, radar-guided C-102 at the ship late Friday. The official added that the troops involved in firing the missile are from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, an elite corps of more than 200,000 fighters that...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A missile fired at an Israeli naval vessel off Lebanon hit a civilian boat, possibly from Egypt, the Israeli army said on Saturday. A spokeswoman said those on board were believed to have been evacuated, adding it was unclear if there were any casualties. After initially saying the missile had been fired at an Israeli vessel in a fresh strike early on Saturday, the spokeswoman later said it had been part of an attack late on Friday when an Israeli warship was badly damaged. "At the same time as the incident took place in which an Israeli...

Body of one of the four missing Israeli sailors found - Israeli radio. No story yet, only BBC Headline

Hizballah Brings out Iranian Silkworm to Hit Israel Navy Corvette DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Analysis July 15, 2006, 1:37 PM (GMT+02:00) The disaster that overtook one of the Israeli Navy’s state of the art warships, Ahi-Hanit, was thoroughly planned in advance by an enemy which managed to take Israel’s military commanders by surprise. It has shocked Israel’s military to a degree comparable to the profound effect on US forces of al Qaeda’s 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Aden. The Saar-5 class corvette, with a crew of 61 seamen and a 10-man helicopter crew, was hit Friday, July 17 at...

A senior IDF officer said the ship was struck by an Iranian-made C802 missile, but he refused to say whether or not Iranian activists were behind the launching itself. The army said two C802 missiles were fired at the vessel; the first missed the ship and struck an Egyptian boat some 60 kilometers (37 miles) off the Lebanon coast. The stern of the ship was hit shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday night and a conflagration ignited on the helicopter landing pad. The hit also damaged the ship’s internal operating systems.

JERUSALEM (AP) - An unmanned Hezbollah aircraft rigged with explosives rammed into an Israeli missile ship late Friday, leaving four sailors missing and causing heavy damage and a fire, Israeli military officials said. The army said a search was underway for the seamen. The statement confirmed earlier news reports the four were missing. The attack by the remote-controlled drone indicated Hezbollah has added a new weapon to the arsenal of rockets and mortars it has used against Israeli troops. The army said a missile ship carrying several dozen sailors suffered severe damage and was set on fire. Several hours after...

<p>Paula Zahn on CNN just said Reuters reported that Hezbollan fired a missile at an Israeli ship in the Mediterranean, but it missed and hit an Egyptian ship instead.</p>

Just flashed on haaretz... If this is true, then Hezbollah is definately using iranian made equipment... who would think terrorist could have access to UAV bombs?