Menachem Einan's division was driving down a road that ended in a fork west of Jezzine and had to pass through the town.

[2] On the night of Tuesday June 8, Israeli Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon, said at a meeting in the Northern Command headquarters "We know today that there will be a direct confrontation with the Syrians" and argued that it would be best to move deeper into Lebanon.

Israel was not yet aware that a reduced Syrian battalion of tanks and a commando unit had joined the defending forces in Jezzine.

[1] The 460th Armor Brigade, under Colonel Hagai Cohen's command, had crossed the Litani River on the Hardele Bridge on Monday, June 8.

Shortly after 1:30 PM, Major General Avigdor Ben-Gal, commander of the eastern sector, ordered Cohen to prepare for an attack on the town.

It was now positioned in a high commanding area, but exposed to Syrian armor fire behind the opposite ridge, southeast of the town.

[4] During the night, the armor crews, not being trained in infantry warfare, were fighting until dawn against dozens of Syrian commando troops trying to attack the tanks.

Israel saw the fact that those SAMs were brought to Lebanon from the Golan Heights as a sign that Syria was not interested in expanding the war.

The Israeli Air Force considered this to be an encouraging sign, and decided to launch Operation Mole Cricket 19.