“The HQ of these groups is the same as that of their parent group, the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is directed by Yassir Arafat. Our first target will be the seashore headquarters of Arafat and the PLO. This is in the form of a mission assigned by our governments and is not open to discussion.
“Beyond that point everything is open. It has been suggested that the strike come as soon as possible. I know that all of our organizations are used to working rapidly, and I suggest we do so now. We’ll start by opening the floor to methods for reducing this target.” He looked at a man halfway down the table, who stood. “Yes?”
“Sir, one way would be to use a Naval bombardment. We can use guided rounds with good accuracy. A Naval action would be without risk to manpower, could be done quickly and with massive destructive power.”
Another man stood. “Sir, we could drop twenty SAS men by parachutes onto the beach in a silent attack. Surround the HQ and on signal use grenades and explosives and take over the building in five minutes. Then we would clean up, use explosives on any remaining structures, and egress into the water for a small-boat pickup.”
“How big is this headquarters building?” someone asked.
“As I understand it from looking at intelligence photos,” said Ben-Ami, “it’s three stories in parts, two in others, with side structures as well. So it’s going to take a massive attack to knock down a building that size.”
Heads nodded around the table.
“Any comment on the Naval attack?” the colonel asked.
“Too much chance for error,” one Britisher said. “We want this to be a scalpel operation, with pinpoint accuracy, so we don’t kill any civilians or blow up their houses.”
Several men nodded and some said yes.
The SAS man stood again. “Sounds like it’s too big a target for us to destroy. We could take out the personnel, but not the whole building without a lot of extra charges.”
Murdock recognized the men from the Israeli Special Forces units. There were four of them at their end of the table. None showed any sign of rank. All were young and lean with short haircuts and intense faces.
“So how do we attack this seaside villa?” the colonel asked. “The PLO headquarters is well known. We’ve hit it before. This time our mission is to totally demolish it and to waste as many of the upper-echelon leaders as possible. Any more suggestions?”
“Yes,” a tall, slender man with blue Israeli Air Force tabs on his shirt said. “I’d suggest an attack by four aircraft using laser-aimed air-to-ground missiles. That should do the job.”
“As a good start,” Murdock said. “Within two minutes after the missile strike there should be a landing party moving into what’s left of the building eliminating any surviving or wounded personnel, setting charges to reduce the structures to a three-foot level, then egress to sea for pickup by boat well out of range of shore fire.”
“How could the timing be kept down to two minutes?” the Air Force man asked.
“Position sixteen SEALs fifty yards off shore in underwater rebreathing gear,” Murdock said. “When the first missiles hit, the sixteen swim hard for shore, drop their rebreathers, and charge into the HQ within two minutes after the last missile explodes.”
“Yes,” another Israeli said. “Our underwater units can do the same thing. It’s a good plan.”
“A thirty-two-man attack force including the Israelis would make it easier,” Murdock said. “Some for security in a perimeter, some to do the blasting and cleanup.”
“We have the rebreathers?” the leader asked.
“Yes, Colonel, we use them all the time,” the Israeli UDT man said.
“One complication,” a British SAS man said. “We understand this is not a one-structure HQ. There are at least six smaller buildings mixed in with the civilian population residences within two blocks of the main unit. We have them pinpointed and identified beyond all doubt. Mossad has confirmed the units.”
“So, we have a wider target,” the colonel said. “Any suggestions on these units?”
There was a moment of silence. The SAS man spoke again.
“Colonel, if the attack comes at night, we could have a low-profile insertion boat a quarter of a mile offshore. When we know the jets are making their firing run, we charge at full throttle into the beach and put thirty men on the sand within three or four minutes after the missiles hit. We then split into six teams and charge to the targets, putting five men on each building. We blast in the front doors and clear the building of all terrorists, then set charges and leave incendiaries to go off after the blast. This turns the rest of the rubble into ashes.”
The colonel nodded. “And what of PLO personnel found in the six organization buildings?”
“They would be eliminated,” the SAS man said.
The colonel looked around the table. “The plan sounds good. It takes a minimum of synchronized work dependent on another unit. It puts the manpower where it can best be used. Now, any other ideas how to get at the HQ building?”
“We could send teams of sappers in through the surf after dark,” one of the Israelis said. “Take out the sentries and blow up the place. We wouldn’t have enough personnel to clear the building.”
“We could drive a remote-controlled truck filled with explosives against the side of the GHQ,” Jaybird said. “But then that would take a week to set up, and get the explosives on site and the radio control for the truck. Forget it.”
The colonel looked over the group again. “I think we have a good plan with the Israeli jets and their missiles. They may need more than four; we’ll let their planners figure that out. Then the SEALs and the SAS hit the beach. Egress will be by the same SAS boat if it can maintain its position, and the SEALs would be picked up offshore after a swim. Now timing.
“I can get the Air Force to make this hit with four hours notice. SEALs, what kind of lead time do you need?”
“We’ll need to arrange with the Israeli Navy for a boat to carry sixteen SEALs to within a quarter of a mile of the target. Navy?”
“Our regular patrol boats can do the job. It’s now about 1100. They patrol near Gaza every three or four hours. It’s routine and would bring no alarm. We have units at Ashdod south of here, which is only twenty miles from Gaza City. They can do twenty knots, so it’s a little over two hours from Ashdod to the insertion area. We can also move the SAS men via the same patrol boats.”
“Both the SEALs and SAS men can be flown by chopper from here to Ashdod,” the Israeli Air Force man said.
Colonel Ben-Ami smiled for the first time. “Yes, it’s coming together. What time should the attack come?”
“0200,” one of the SAS men said. “Their people will be asleep, their guards will be getting tired, and it gives us plenty of darkness to get into position.”
Colonel Ben-Ami looked at Murdock. “SEALs?”
“Fine. All we need is more ammo and charges and the Air Force to get us down the coast.”
“SAS?” the colonel asked.
“Plenty of time, sir. We like to move quickly. We will want extra ordnance if it can be supplied.”
“Ordnance is no problem,” one of the Israeli Special Forces men said. “Both of you see me as soon as we’re done here.”
“Good,” Colonel Ben-Ami said. “I’ll make the contact with the Air Force and get clearance for the attack and the choppers for transport. Moshe, you handle the Navy. Be sure those patrol boats are big enough to haul the needed men. We’ll meet back here at 1400 to see that all of the details have been worked out. The choppers will be here by then to fly the forty-six men to Ashdod. That’s all, gentlemen.” The colonel stood, and the men around the table jolted to attention while he walked out.