Israeli officials expressed surprise today at the strongly worded U.S. condemnation of the Israel Air Force raids on terrorist targets along the Lebanese coast Sunday. The Israelis insisted that their raids and other incursions by land and sea forces were vital self-defense measures. Last night, hours after the U.S. protest, an Israeli army force entered a Lebanese village and demolished a house said to belong to terrorists. The demolition was carried out after all occupants were evacuated, a military spokesman said.
(In Washington, State Department spokesman John Trattner said today the Department had received reports “of a military incursion by Israel into Lebanon. I am told that we no independent information on that so that we don’t have a comment. When we do; we will be able to respond.” Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ephraim Evron, defended Sunday’s air strikes. “The policy of the (Israel) government is quite clear here,” he told reporters. “We shall hit the bases of terrorists wherever they are.”)
NO CONFIRMATION OF ARAB ALLEGATIONS
Israeli officials were particularly incensed by the American statement that the air raids caused casualties among innocent civilians, a statement the State Department spokesman based on news reports from Lebanon.
Israeli intelligence sources claimed today that a full review of the air raid’s results showed that hits were scored on terrorist headquarters and bases and that at least.15 terrorists were killed. They said there was nothing to confirm allegations from Arab sources that a number of soldiers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been injured by Israeli artillery fire. They noted that the UNIFIL command has made no such complaints.
On the other hand, Israel continues to accuse UNIFIL of allowing armed terrorists to take shelter or move freely in the area under its control. Last night, terrorists ambushed and killed two Lebanese Christians, Dr. Spiridion Khouri, 65, and his driver, George Faiz, 26, while the physician was making a professional call in a Christian village. According to Israeli sources, the Christian militia investigating the ambush found that the killers fired from territory controlled by the Nigerian UNIFIL contingent and escaped through that territory.
Israel is laying great stress on the self-defense nature of its pre-emptive strikes against the terrorists in Lebanon. Two weeks ago, Gen. Yehoshua Saguy, chief of military intelligence, claimed that the Israeli raids have aborted about 80 percent of the planned terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. He said the raids made the logistics, planning and assemblage of men and equipment for terrorist attacks extremely difficult.
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