(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)
Yesterday, July 14, 2006, An IDF missile ship, "Ahi Hanit", was hit by a missile that was launched from the Lebanese coast. As a result of the attack, fire erupted on board. The crew members on board managed to control the damage, but four crew members were declared missing. New findings were discovered and submitted for further examination.
The four crew members are:
- Sgt. Yaniv Hershkovitz, 21, resident of Haifa.
- Cpl. Shai Atias, 19, resident of Rishon Lezion.
- 1st Sgt. Dov Steinshos, 37, resident of Karmiel
- Staff Sgt. Tal Amgar, 21, resident of Ashdod,
During searches on the ship, the body of Staff Sgt. Tal Amgar, 21, resident of Ashdod, was identified. The ship sailed back to Ashdod port. The remains of the three missing soldiers were found where the ship was hit. The bodies were identified on July 16.
During the incident, Israeli navy ships identified an explosion on an Egyptian commercial ship while was sailing in international territorial waters. It is assured that the ship was struck by a similar missile that hit the Israeli boat. The Egyptian ship sank and its crew was rescued by another nearby commercial ship.
The Israeli Navy will continue to enforce the naval blockade on Lebanese ports and has also attacked earlier this morning a number of Hizbullah targets around Beirut.