The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will award soldiers who fought in last summer's Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, local daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has authorized the final list of soldiers who are found eligible to receive citations.
The final list, the daily said, comprises 142 names, of whom 34 officers and soldiers will be awarded from the chief of staff, who will also award four citations posthumously to the families of the fallen soldiers.
Twenty of the 38 citations awarded by Ashkenazi are Chief of Staff Citations, 12 are Medals of Distinguished Service and six are Medals of Courage.
The remainder of the citations will be presented to recipients by command heads, division commanders and brigade commanders, said Yedioth Ahronoth.
The 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah conflict erupted on July 12, 2006, after the Lebanese Hezbollah guerilla killed eight IDF soldiers and captured another two in a cross-border raid.
The conflict continued until a UN-brokered ceasefire went into effect on Aug. 14, 2006.
After the war, Israeli leaders from the political echelon and the army were criticized for their flaws in handling the war and the management of the home front, resulting in the resignations of the former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and former Defense Minister Amir Peretz.
Regarding the awarding of citations, a military official was quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth as saying that, "We cannot only talk about what was wrong when there were also so many positive things. There are many soldiers who deserve much more than a good word."
Source: Xinhua
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