Israeli soldiers held by Hezbollah badly injured: report (Roundup)

Dec 6, 2006, 22:44 GMT

Tel Aviv - The two Israeli soldiers, whose capture by Hezbollah sparked a month-long war in Lebanon and Israel this summer, were badly wounded during the cross-border raid in which they were taken, Israeli broadcast media reported Wednesday.

The news broadcasts quoted a report by the Israeli military, which was completed two months ago but had not been cleared for release by the media until now.

According to the report, one of the soldiers was seriously injured and the other critically when Hezbollah militants crossed into northern Israel on July 12 and attacked soldiers patrolling the border with Lebanon.

The broadcasts gave few details of the report, which marked the first time any assessment of the soldiers' well-being has been disclosed.

The Israeli military would not confirm or deny that it described the conditions of the two soldiers as 'serious' and 'critical.' An official statement issued by the military said only that its working assumption was that the soldiers were still alive.

'According to this assumption the IDF continues with its actions and efforts to return the soldiers home, as was done since the moment of the abduction,' a military spokeswoman told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.

Israel Channel One reported that the military allowed the Israeli media to disclose the existence of the report because of a slip of the tongue by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a questions and answers session with high school students earlier this week.

Olmert had said that Israel would not release any Lebanese or Palestinian prisoners in return for 'coffins,' a statement which some interpreted as meaning the soldiers could be dead and has led to speculation about their condition.

The military experts reached their conclusions about the soldiers' injuries by investigating the wreck of their vehicle, which had been badly damaged by anti-tank rockets, as well as blood stains on the site.

The publication coincided with that of yet another highly- sensitive report on the Israeli army's performance during the war.

The report by retired Major-General Amiram Levine, who led an internal investigation by the Israeli military, concluded that the army's leadership had failed on all levels during the fighting.

According to Levine, the Israel Defence Forces had failed to fulfil its mission of protecting Israel's northern communities, which had suffered a barrage of rockets during the 33 days of combat.

He held Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz responsible for mistakes made. Halutz had erred in his judgements by giving higher priority to air power rather than to ground troops and by deciding too late to call up large numbers of reserve soldiers, the report said.

Both Halutz, Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz have come under fire for their functioning during the crisis, and opinion polls have shown the premier's Kadima party losing popularity.

The July 12 capture prompted Israel to launch a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the Shiite militant movement launched thousands of rockets into Israel. The fighting came to an end with a United Nations-brokered ceasefire on August 14.

Lebanese authorities have said that more than 1,000 Lebanese, mostly civilians, died in the fighting. The Israeli Army contends that more than 500 of the Lebanese dead were Hezbollah fighters.

Israel lost 159 people, 118 of them soldiers and the rest civilians killed by Hezbollah rockets.

Israel is currently said to be conducting behind-the-scenes, indirect negotiations via a German mediator about a prisoners swap with Hezbollah.