Israeli forces, consolidating their positions in south Lebanon, were reported today to be very near the Litani River and in control of the approaches to the Akiya bridge, the major terrorist route for supplies and re-enforcements from the north. Israeli troops have not crossed the river, an unofficial demarcation line.
But Chief of Staff Gen. Mordechai Gur said today that the terrorists’ deployment of Soviet-made 135 mm. artillery at Nabatiyeh, just north of the Litani, to shell Israeli villages in Upper Galilee, may force Israel to adopt new tactics. He did not elaborate. Israeli artillery and aircraft pounded Nabatiyeh and other targets and reportedly scored direct hits on terrorist command posts.
Israeli forces were also reported less than seven miles from the south Lebanese port of Tyre, the principal terrorist supply port. Israeli naval units shelled terrorist supply columns on the Lebanese coastal road. Israeli forces were also engaged on the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the weekend dispersing highschool student demonstrators who have been protesting the Israeli operation in Lebanon.
Soviet-made artillery with a 20 kilometer range and Katyusha rockets took two civilian lives Friday. Michael Laiser, 56, was killed by a shell burst at Me’ona township in northern Galilee, and Menahem Carmon, 46, was struck by a rocket in the fields near Kibbutz Manera. A military spokesman reported three Israeli soldiers were killed Thursday and four yesterday, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since Wednesday to 18. Three of the four who died Saturday were killed when their troop carrier overturned in a road accident near Tel Hai. The fourth was a victim of terrorist gun fire. The four were not immediately identified.
The Israeli soldiers killed Thursday were identified as Lt. Abshalom Ben-Yehuda, of Kibbutz Ein Shemer; Cpl. Shai Vittert, of Moshav Timoorim; and Cpl. David Kopstein, of Haifa. Funeral services were held Friday at their respective towns. Gur said today that the majority of Israeli casualties so far were caused by mines planted by retreating terrorists. He estimated terrorist casulaties at about 300 dead, not including those killed by air, artillery and naval attacks.
ISRAELIS WELCOMED IN MANY VILLAGES
Gur toured areas under Israeli control today. He said that many Moslem villages surrendered and in fact invited Israeli troops to take over, indicating that they were glad to be rid of terrorist occupation.
The first town to surrender was Tebnin, north of Bint Jibeil, which had been used as a terrorist communications center. The town elders, led by Mukhtar (chief) Abbas Tawas, approached an Israeli unit with a white flag and invited them to enter the village. An Israeli advance unit was ambushed as it approached Tebnin but the town was clear of terrorists when the Israelis arrived. Within hours, additional villages in the area surrendered in the same manner.
There are, at present, eight villages in the central section of south Lebanon under Israeli control. The 10-kilometer security belt, designated as Israel’s objective when the Lebanese operation began, has now been deepened to 15 kilometers. But Defense Ministry circles insisted that Israel has no intention whatever of holding the region permanently or setting up a military government. Israeli forces are helping the local population restore normal life and are providing food and health services.
DEMONSTRATIONS ON THE WEST BANK
The events in south Lebanon touched off a series of demonstrations on the West Bank. Two Arab youths were killed yesterday when an Israeli army vehicle, whose driver had been rendered unconscious by stoning, smashed into a coffee house where they were sitting. Demonstrators, mainly highschool students, have been erecting road blocks, burning piles of tires and hurling stones at passing vehicles.
Israeli forces dispersed demonstrators in Nablus yesterday but new disorders erupted there today. Similar incidents kept Israeli forces busy in Gaza, where tires were burned on the main road Friday and yesterday at Halhoul, Hebron, Tulkarem, Jenin and Ouza neer Jericho.
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