Ya’alon: Only Tanks Could Withstand Hizbullah’s Kornet Missiles

In response to questions on why the soldiers who were killed in Wednesday’s Hizbullah rocket attack on the Lebanese border were riding in unarmored vehicles, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told Army Radio on Thursday, “In the case of this type of [Kornet anti-tank] missile, an armored vehicle also would not have protected [the soldiers], unless it was a Merkava tank.”

Another defense official said it was doubtful an armored vehicle without an active protection system, such as the IDF’s Trophy system, would be able to withstand those missiles.

Meanwhile, the IDF has published a step-by-step account of the fatal Hizbullah attack on an IDF convoy near the Lebanese border on Wednesday that resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers.

Hizbullah on Thursday touted its deadly attack on the IDF convoy as a masterful display of military prowess. The Shiite terror group received letters of congratulation from across the Arab world, including from Hamas and Fatah, according to the pro-Hizbullah daily As-Safir.

“This is the first installment of the open account between us and Israel,” Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah was quoted as saying.

Hizbullah told UNIFIL officials that it wants calm, but it’s possible Hizbullah, and even more so the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, will try to carry out a much larger revenge attack. On Thursday, Samy Kalib wrote in the Hizbullah-affiliated Al-Akhbar that Hizbullah proved it had the ability to reach Israeli soldiers despite the high level of alert on the Israeli side. He added that Israel was getting Iran on its border.

{Matzav.com}