14 August 2006, one day after Israel accepted the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Initial action According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israel responded within 2 hours. "[A] force of tanks and armored personnel carriers was immediately sent into Lebanon in hot pursuit. It was during this pursuit, at about 11:00 A.M... . [a] Merkava tank drove over a powerful bomb, containing an estimated 200 to 300 kilograms (440–660 Lb) of explosives, about north of the border fence. The tank was almost completely destroyed, and all four crew members were killed instantly. Over the next several hours, IDF soldiers waged a fierce fight against Hezbollah gunmen... During the course of this battle, at about 3:00 P.M., another soldier was killed and two were lightly wounded." Hezbollah released a statement saying "Implementing our promise to free Arab prisoners in Israeli jails, our strugglers have captured two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon". Later on, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah declared that "No military operation will return them... The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade of prisoners." According to CNN: The Israeli Cabinet authorized "severe and harsh" retaliation on Lebanon ... Israel's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, told Israel's Channel 10, "If the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years." According to the Washington Post: But retired Israeli army Col. Gal Luft, a former commander in the town of Ramallah, said, "Israel is attempting to create a rift between the Lebanese population and Hezbollah supporters by exacting a heavy price from the elite in Beirut. The message is: If you want your air conditioning to work and if you want to be able to fly to Paris for shopping, you must pull your head out of the sand and take action toward shutting down Hezbollah-land." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared the attack by Hezbollah's military wing an "act of war", and promised Lebanon a "very painful and far-reaching response." Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz also said that "the State of Israel sees itself free to use all measures that it finds it needs, and the Israeli Forces have been given orders in that direction." Israel said it held the Beirut government responsible for the attack, but Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denied any knowledge of the raid and stated that he did not condone it. An emergency