How Israel Fights....

The reality is that Israel goes out of its way to avoid civilian casualties.

Late on Saturday night, an Israeli commando unit landed by helicopter on a beach near the Lebanese city of Tyre. None of the soldiers wore military markings. All had grown beards, so observers would think they were just another group of Hezbollah jihadis.

After landing, the soldiers made their way to a building that housed a three-man Hezbollah rocket-launcher crew. From intelligence reports, the commandos knew the trio was holed up in a second-floor apartment.

The Israeli commander was the first through the door, and promptly took a bullet through a lung. The Israelis fired back. When the smoke cleared, all three Hezbollah members were dead. The Israeli commander was still breathing -- but only barely. Another commando was also seriously wounded.

As the commandos left -- their two wounded on stretchers -- they were attacked by Hezbollah gunmen spilling out of nearby buildings. Israeli helicopter gunships hovering nearby laid down a covering fire, allowing the commandos to retreat to their original landing area. After a military doctor performed emergency surgery that saved the commander's life, the whole team flew back to Israel.

These mission details sound like something out of a Hollywood film. But the truly amazing part of it is that the mission happened at all. Instead of risking the lives of its most elite soldiers, Israel easily could have dropped a bomb on the building and taken out their targets while they slept.

Why didn't Israel do just that? Because as well as serving as a barracks for Hezbollah, the building also contained civilians. And Israel didn't want to spill their blood. Hezbollah may wage war while hiding behind women's skirts and baby rattles. But Israel stubbornly adheres to a more humane creed.

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