Israeli forces outfitted with video cameras

JERUSALEM — The Israeli army has equipped its soldiers in Lebanon with video cameras, hoping they will return from the battlefield with footage of Hezbollah casualties and weapon stashes, the army spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The move is Israel's latest attempt to ward off criticism that it is restricting media access to the front despite daily media briefings by top generals. Israel has not allowed reporters to accompany the troops, and its censors can delay the release of information.

Television crews and reporters are lining the Israel-Lebanon border, hoping for pictures of clouds of smoke rising from Lebanese towns and of wounded soldiers being rushed into helicopters.

The army has made available cockpit footage of attacks on Hezbollah positions. However, few photographs have come out from fierce ground battles for Maroun al-Ras and Bint Jbail in southern Lebanon.

The army's decision to hand out video cameras is meant not only to provide more battlefield footage, said Brig. Gen. Miri Regev, the army's chief spokeswoman, but also to clear up reports about Hezbollah casualties.

"We told them, 'Take pictures of what you do, take pictures of dead terrorists, take pictures of the captives you take ... take pictures of the arms warehouses, take pictures of tunnels,' " Regev told Israel's Army Radio.

However, the soldiers are obligated to do their duty first, so all of their footage will be shot after the fight, Regev said.