"A new inquiry committee will probe the failed naval command operation in which 12 IDF soldiers were killed in a raid by a Shi'ite force shortly after they landed on the Lebanese coast, Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz has decided."

"It will be the third investigation of the September 1997 disaster conducted by the army, and will focus on a question that has deeply troubled the families of the dead soldiers as well as many senior officers in the IDF: Was the ambush that the soldiers walked into set up by accident or was it pre-planned?"

"The decision to hold a new inquiry was announced yesterday at a meeting with the families of the soldiers held by the deputy chief of operations, Major General Dan Halutz, the head of the Human Resources Branch, Major General Yehuda Segev, and the military advocate general, Brigadier Uri Shoham"

"Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi yesterday recommended that (War) Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, with the concurrence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, set up a panel to conduct an indepth inquiry into the families' complaints about the manner in which body parts of the commandos were buried. Hanegbi acted after meeting with the fathers of Sergeant Raz Tabi and Staff Sergeant Guy Golan, two of the soldiers who were killed in the raid. They told Hanegbi that no one informed them about the burial of the body parts and that when they asked questions, the head of Human Resources in the IDF told them, "You are problematic families."

"The first panel to examine the abortive operation, headed by Major General Gabi Ophir, found a "high probability" that information about the raid had not leaked out, but said it could "not totally rule out that possibility."

The new panel will be headed by Brigadier General (Res.) Giora Zorea, a former chief intelligence officer. Military sources said last night that "even after the Zorea committee completes its work, it is doubtful that we will have an unequivocal answer."

"Also discussed at the meeting yesterday was the appointment of a "trustee" for the families who will be able to examine all the classified material in connection with the failed raid. Yoram Golan, Guy's father, told Ha'aretz yesterday that the appointment of a new panel "is an admission by the IDF that it does not have all the information about the episode. The Pandora's Box is beginning to open."