Israeli Offensive - Mar 78
In quick retaliation for the PLO 11 Mar 78 suicidal raid, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) started massing along the mountainous border with Lebanon, a jagged 100 km line that runs from the Mediterranean to the foothills of Mt Hermon (see map). After a 24-hour delay caused by rain and heavy clouds, the biggest antiterrorist raid ever mounted by Israel began. Starting with a night attack on 14-15 Mar 78 with infantry and armour supported by artillery, air and naval bombardments, the approximately 8,000 strong IDF force quickly carved out a 10 km deep 'security belt" the length of the border.
The IDF entered Lebanon at four points, and eventually linked up at the Litani River. One column pushed across the border from the coastal town of Rosh Haniqra to the Naqoura terrorist camp from which guerrillas in the past had launched Soviet made Katyusha rockets at Israeli settlements. At dawn, IDF aircraft bombed the port of Tyre and destroyed several ships reportedly carrying guerrilla arms. Missile boat and gunboat attacks along the coastal road between Tyre and Beirut interdicted Palestinian supply columns.
A second IDF advance struck at Bint Jubayl, a main PLO stronghold and continued northward. The third Israeli assault, from the country's northernmost sector, between Qiryat Shemona and Metulla, crossed the border and split in two. One portion pushed west to take the terrorist stronghold at En Taibe after close hand-to-hand combat. The other drove due North to Marjayoun and came under subsequent shelling by guerrilla units outside the towns of Ebel Es Saqi and Khiam. IDF aircraft knocked out the PLO artillery positions and Marjayoun's Christian population welcomed the IDF.
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As a safety measure, a fourth IDF column drove across the eastern border to Khiam and then to the northeast on a guerrilla supply route. In the meantime, commandos attacked the southern Lebanese coastline. Missile boats strafed the port of Tyre and aircraft bombed PLO camps South of Beirut, where the terrorists who raided Israel on 11 Mar had been based. Frogmen landed at several points along the coast and attacked Palestinian command posts. The main IDF ground forces stopped short of crossing the Litani River or entering the Tyre pocket. North of the Red Line the APKF remained in control.
Central to the IDF plan was the decision to hold Israeli casualties to a minimum by moving slowly and making heavy use of artillery and armour as well as air strikes. The Israeli tactics seemed to have been successful in holding down their own casualties. By the third day of the invasion, the death toll stood at about 1,000 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians killed along with 19 Israeli soldiers and about 250 PLO commandos. The impact on the civilian population was devastating as an exodus of approximately 280,000 Lebanese and Palestinian refugees fled their homes and travelled North towards Sidon and Beirut. Of some 100 villages in Southern Lebanon, 10 were totally destroyed by the IDF and about 25 were subjected to extreme shelling.
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