Death Toll In 2007 'Siege of Jerusalem' Much Higher Than Thought.
Posted: April 26th, 2008
ZWN Special Follow-Up From Tel Aviv, Israel
ZWN Military Reporter- Michael Kinsburgh

With the Cuban Crisis and consequently the Miami infestation gripping readers over the last few months, many have forgotten that the first "successful" military operation had taken place not in the warm water near the American coast, but the most fought-over territory in the world- Jerusalem.

But a new independent report released by a non-partisan BBC investigation, reveals that It came at a higher cost than officially recognized.

In April of this year, Jerusalem was under siege from the Undead. Military experts were terrified of the implications; the 'IDF' Israel Defense Force, one of the most highly trained armies in the world, seemed helpless. The Palestinians were also being slaughtered en masse. Then, within less than a week after the world seemed ready to let go of the Holy City and scurry off to our own bunkers, it was over. The undead were routed by the IDF in the Undead Siege of Jerusalem's final stage. Soon, the IDF resumed operations in Palestine. Within days, a deal was struck between the Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel to ensure security. A month later, both sides claimed victory in the undead struggle. These things are widely reported, but what has not been reported has been the death toll.

Casualties revealed
It was initially suggested that as many as 1000 undead descended on Jerusalem, a further 2-3000 citizens were infected during the melee. The BBC report, confirms that Israel lost 2,209 civilians during this time period, including the victims of the suicide bombings and the battles that followed. Another 819 IDF personnel were lost. In all, 3,028 Israeli people were killed, many were reanimated. however, Between 15,000-18,000 Palestinians were confirmed dead. 10,000 of those coming from the Fatah controlled Gaza Strip and the varying number from the West Bank. This figure is harder to calculate for various reasons. It is still unclear how many had actually risen.

"Those are large numbers considering such a short time period. The infection rate of the disease, as well as how devastating it is, is so high that all you need is a small number of Infected in an area to render a place usually deemed a safe area very, very dangerous. Both areas of the Palestinian Authority's territory could not have been less prepared to deal with the Infected." Said an IDF spokesman whos statement was contained within the report.

"Then, you have radical elements, terrorists, and extremists who herded the undead up and tried to actually channel them towards their enemy. In effect, to use as weapons. And effective they were. This just led to an even larger problem." The spokesman continues. Indeed, many experts believe that this tactic caused more deaths than any other, as refugees and the Undead became intermixed.

Resolve
So, with all of these problems, what turned the tide? "The fear and confusion in the early days gave in to the Israeli resolve to not lose their homeland." Analyst Jamie Marks says. It was in these areas that the first reports of "undeaders" being downed. In fact, it was these reports that started the CDC's investigation into combating the undead which resulted in the recent report that has given hope to militaries across the globe.

"After Jerusalem was saved, it was only a matter of time before Israel was cleared." Marks continued. A few more days of fighting as the IDF cleared out the remaining undead. With the success of the Jerusalem operation, Syrian and Lebanon military forces backed down from what had been a planned pre-emptive assault targeting the Undead in Israel. At the same time, Operation Olah continued in the Occupied Territories. They were encountering far different problems.

Confusion, fear and panic
Fatah and Hamas armed militias, local fighters, the undead, and the terrorists who first launched the suicide bombings made fighting difficult and fluid. "We would be told that our rear had been cut off and would go to punch a hole, only to find out that there were only a few undead. Panic and fear drove many of the poor decisions that were made." Colonel Yark-Ibin told a ZWN reporter immediately following the Operation.

At the time, many news outlets ran stories saying that the IDF had been 'decimated'. Many of these reports were based on Palestinian eye witness accounts, some of whom would later be dismissed as insurgents. Immediately after the siege was broken, reports still indicated that the majority of deaths and re killings were military and police.

"Completely false." Says Israeli General Nali Aval Kessbim. "The siege of Jerusalem was the least fatal battle to the IDF of all the battles involving the Undead."
The general reiterated that the ability of the IDF to evacuate most of the city and come up with an effective 'gun and run' strategy meant that while large portions of the city fell to the Undead at some point, it was all part of the overall strategy to give ground, isolate and destroy them.

"We lost less than one-hundred personnel." The majority of the city's dead were civilians who piled into poorly constructed safety shelters that were breached. By the time the IDF were able to rescue them, the shelters would be filled with the dead and explosives experts were called to demolish them.

Enemies become allies
After the success at Jerusalem, old enemies saw hope. "This is when Fatah and Hamas finally contacted us. They, yet again, denied their role, and appealed for our help. Their militias controlled very little area. Murder, looting and chaos were spreading. The undead were everywhere, and they all feared for their lives. At a cabinet meeting later, Operation Olah was supported by the Palestinians." The general says.

Indeed, it is during this second phase of Operation Olah that the terrorist group "The Palestinian Alliance for the March to the Sea" was found and eliminated. In all, documents show that the group contained 33 members. 12 of them were involved in suicide bombings in Israel, 9 others who were infected were traced to Palestine. The remainder were found and captured.

"We then tried to escort them back to Israel, but their convoy came under attack after encountering a rouge pocket of Undead. While no Israeli personnel were lost, all of the prisoners, due to their close proximity with each other, were infected and we had to destroy them. We had no other choice other than to burn their bodies." The general finishes. However, claims from the Red Cross that these prisoners were allowed to become infected so the IDF could execute them have been unsubstantiated.