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Ever since Israel's big raid into southern Lebanon in September 1972, the Israelis had been devising a plan for taking over, if need be, the entire portion of Lebanon south of the Litani River; Operation Stone of Wisdom was an updated version of that plan. Before dawn last Wednesday, Israeli forces entered Lebanon at four points, eventually linking up to form a chain. Central to the Israeli plan was the decision to hold Israeli casualties to a minimum by moving slowly and making heavy use of artillery and armor as well as air strikes. As the sun began to rise over the hilly south Lebanese landscape, tank units rushed in to back up the advancing infantry and paratroops. The Israelis proceeded cautiously. "It was no dash to the canal," cabled TIME Jerusalem Bureau Chief Donald Neff after a tour of the front. "One unit took seven hours to pick its way across the mine-littered terrain from Metullah to the guerrilla base at Khiyam, two miles away. By contrast, most of the skirmishes ended quickly; the fight at Khiyam lasted only 20 minutes." At Marun ar Ra's, where a platoon was ordered to take over the local Fatah headquarters, a two-story building, the platoon commander radioed impatiently that he could not find the place; he soon discovered that it had already been reduced to rubble by Israeli bombs.
"Our task is to kill as many terrorists as possible," said the Israeli Chief of Staff, Lieut. General Mordechai Gur. Palestinian resistance in a few spots was heavy but no match for the superior Israeli forces. Obviously, many Palestinians had al ready escaped from the area in anticipation of an Israeli strike. For months, Israeli intelligence had estimated guerrilla strength in the region south of the Litani River at 5,000, but General Gur placed the number at 2,000 at the time of the Israeli invasion; the others had presumably fled.
By midday Wednesday, senior Israeli officers were in a jocular mood. When he visited Marjayoun, Gur asked where the Palestinian firing was coming from. The front commander, Major General Avigdor Ben-Gal, replied, "Chief of Staff, this is a war. How am I supposed to know where the shelling is coming from? I would like to get your permission to order artillery and air force to fire and bomb all sources of shelling. This will solve our problem and answer your question." Gur grinned and said, "O.K., order the air force to search for fire sources."
When Gur reached the vicinity of another village, the local Israeli commander proposed using mortars to bomb enemy positions in Qantarah; Gur called the strikes by Phantom jets. To avoid hitting their own troops nearby, Israeli units responded to a call to release smoke grenades, and suddenly the green and yellow mountains were covered with red and blue smoke. As the first Phantom dove toward its target, antiaircraft fire opened up on it from the environs of the Litani River. At Bint Jubayl, the local commander complained that they had not been able to locate the huge bunker that was known to be the main guerrilla headquarters in the area. "I was here in 1972," Gur told them. "If I'm not mistaken, the bunker should be in the center of town near the green building." It was.