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The IDF has stepped on the gas racing to the Litani River before the U.N. cease-fire takes effect at eight o'clock local time on Monday morning.

Keren Tendler

The IDF is going for broke at the last minute to knock out as much of the Hezbollah missile threat as possible. But 24 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the first day of the operation that got the green light on Friday night.  Dozens of choppers have landed hundreds of troops on the Litani in the biggest airlift since the Yom-Kippur War in 1973. A Hezbollah missile knocked down one helicopter killing four soldiers and one female soldier, Keren Tendler. But tanks on the ground have now linked up with the troops on the Litani. Most of the Katyusha rockets fired into Israel are from this area down to the border. Until Monday morning at least, the IDF will knock out as many of the Katyusha teams as possible.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz says the operation will clear out Hezbollah for the 15,000 UNIFIL troops who are to take control of the region. They are not expected to arrive for at least another week and the cease-fire resolution stipulates that the IDF will stay put until they do. The question is whether the IDF will be enabled to continue mopping up Hezbollah down to the Israeli border. In its dash to the Litani that began just hours before the passage of Security Council resolution 1701, the IDF has skirted Lebanese villages which are Hezbollah fortresses. This is the major ground operation that the country has been waiting for since the start of the war on July 12 th . Many military experts are puzzled as to why it was delayed until the very last moment.  

Interviewed on Channel 10, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz defended his handling of the war. He said: 'The IDF has dealt a severe blow to the terrorists. Over 500 were killed, most of their long range missile launchers have been destroyed and their infrastructure is in tatters'. But he added it was tough to take out the thousands of short range Katyushas that can be launched so easily. General Halutz also admitted that he had opposed a major ground operation and that some aspects of the war could have been better executed. But he went on to say the IDF was one of the best armies in the world. Did he believe the cease-fire would hold? That depended on whether Hezbollah leader Nasrallah would keep his word about honoring it.

The terrorists are apparently busier dodging the advancing Israeli forces than they are with launching Katyushas. On Saturday, they fired off only twenty far less than their daily quota of 150 rockets.

If this trend continues it will add fuel to the flames in the public debate over why the IDF did not move to the Litani at the outbreak of the war. There may be two conclusions:

• In a country like Israel , it could be a mistake if both the prime minister and defense minister have no senior military service under their belt. At least one should have served in a command position. Otherwise, the civilian echelon may lack the background to challenge a strategy proposed by the IDF Chief of Staff who enjoys immense prestige.
• Secondly, it may not be a good idea to appoint an Israel Air Force commander to Chief of Staff . The perception is that General Halutz based his whole strategy on air power. However, F-16s could not deliver the goods when it came to knocking out Katyusha rocket teams that can fire off a missile in a couple of minutes.  He now admits they must be tackled on the ground. To compound the problem, this has been a new type of guerrilla warfare that requires innovative infantry tactics carried out on a large scale. When asked about a possible Israeli inquiry into the war, General Halutz retorted: I'm not worried about any inquiry - I wasn't born a Chief of Staff'.  

What went wrong? The Chief of Staff apparently believed that the Air Force could clobber Hezbollah and Lebanon into accepting a political deal that would end the repeated guerrilla attacks on Israel . Prime Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz embraced this strategy that could save IDF casualties. However, this approach was based on air power being able to suppress the rocketing of Israel . This crucial aspect failed. After two weeks of war, the Chief of Staff did mobilize three divisions of reservists, but a major ground operation to the Litani River was not launched until Friday night.

As for the final U.N. Resolution, thanks to the U.S it is more favorable to Israel than the first draft. Cabinet Minister Shimon Peres calls it: 'One of the best resolutions for Israel ever adopted by the Security Council'. Not only does it not condemn Israel for a change, it points the finger at Hezbollah. The terrorists are barred from moving south of the Litani River and have been hit with an arms embargo. The UNIFIL force has been beefed up from 2,000 to 15,000 foreign troops who will come from combat units. Although they do not have a 'Chapter 7' mandate to actively confront Hezbollah, they will be there to assist the Lebanese army. Moreover, although Secretary-General Kofi Annan will present proposals for the Israeli held Shebaa farms, Israel gets a veto. But the opposition calls the deal a disaster for Israel . Hezbollah will not be disarmed and the UNIFIL force will not crack down on the terrorists. Nor is Hezbollah forced to immediately return the two IDF soldiers. Both the government and the opposition are marketing their positions to the Israeli public.

Signs are that a political volcano will erupt when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addresses the Knesset this week.