OMEN
07-16-2006, 08:33 PM
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IN RUINS: A Lebanese civilian escapes southern Beirut after the Hizbollah stronghold was targeted by Israeli air strikes aimed at crippling the Shi'ite Muslim group
BEIRUT: Rockets fired by Hizbollah guerrillas killed eight people in the Israeli city of Haifa on Sunday and bombs shook Beirut as Israel pursued a five-day-old assault in Lebanon aimed at crippling the Shi'ite Muslim group.
It was Hizbollah's deadliest rocket strike on Israel in at least 10 years and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it would have "far-reaching" consequences for Lebanon.
Hizbollah said the attack was retaliation for Israel's killing of civilians and destruction of Lebanese infrastructure.
Medics said 20 people were wounded in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, which was hit by about 20 rockets, including one that struck a railway station causing most of the casualties. Blood was smeared on smashed train compartments.
Israel's campaign in Lebanon, launched after Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight on Wednesday, has drawn only a mild plea for restraint from the United States, which blames Hizbollah and its allies, Syria and Iran.
US President George W Bush, speaking at a G8 summit in Russia, characterised Israel's actions as self-defence and did not back Lebanon's pleas for an immediate ceasefire.
"Our message to Israel is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences, so we are urging restraint," said Bush.
Bombs crashed into Beirut's Shi'ite southern suburbs in raids which set fire to Hizbollah's al-Manar television complex and nearby buildings, witnesses said. The station's signal disappeared briefly several times before returning.
The United States earlier blocked any move by the UN Security Council to demand a ceasefire, saying the focus for diplomacy should be the G8 summit in St Petersburg.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had told Olmert her country was deeply concerned about civilian casualties in Lebanon and hoped Israel would exercise restraint.
But she said the ceasefire demanded by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora would not work unless it addressed the underlying cause of the problem, which Washington says is violence by Hizbollah guerrillas supported by Syria and Iran.
French President Jacques Chirac called for a ceasefire. British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed the US line. Syria promised what Information Minister Mohsen Bilal called a "harsh and direct" response to any attack by Israel.
European and Arab nations and the United States prepared to evacuate thousands of expatriates and tourists. Italian and Spanish-organised groups have already left, joining thousands of tourists travelling in cars, buses and taxis to Syria.
Israel says its onslaught, which has killed 111 people, all but four of them civilians, is meant to force Lebanon to dislodge Hizbollah from its southern border strongholds.
At least seven civilians were killed and 30 wounded in air strikes in south Lebanon on Sunday, security sources said.
Hundreds of Hizbollah rockets have killed a total of 12 people in Israel in the past five days. Thousands of Israelis have fled the north to escape the attacks.
Hizbollah said it had used "Raad (Thunder) 2 and Raad 3" rockets against Haifa. These are believed to be Iranian-made.
Israel raised the alert level in Tel Aviv, about 130km south of Lebanon, in what the army said was a precaution. Military chief of staff Dan Halutz has said Hizbollah has rockets with a range of 70km and possibly longer.
Israel's bombing campaign, which has laid waste Lebanon's vital installations, is its most destructive assault since its 1982 invasion to expel Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanon.
Israel has said Lebanon must implement a UN resolution demanding the disarming of Hizbollah, a Shi'ite group formed in 1982 to fight an Israeli occupation that lasted 22 years. But the Beirut government, led by an anti-Syrian coalition, lacks the unity and firepower to tackle Hizbollah.
The group has said it wants to swap the two captured Israeli soldiers for Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Israel's campaign in Lebanon followed the launch of an offensive in the Gaza Strip on June 28 to try to retrieve another captured soldier and halt Palestinian rocket fire.
Israel widened that assault on Sunday, killing a Palestinian civilian in southern Gaza and three militants in the north.
The operation has piled pressure on the Palestinian government led by the Islamist militant Hamas movement, which demands a prisoner swap for the Israeli corporal.
Three gunmen were killed in an Israeli air strike. At least 10 Palestinians were wounded in that and other air attacks.
Israel abandoned Gaza last year after a 38-year occupation.
Reuters
IN RUINS: A Lebanese civilian escapes southern Beirut after the Hizbollah stronghold was targeted by Israeli air strikes aimed at crippling the Shi'ite Muslim group
BEIRUT: Rockets fired by Hizbollah guerrillas killed eight people in the Israeli city of Haifa on Sunday and bombs shook Beirut as Israel pursued a five-day-old assault in Lebanon aimed at crippling the Shi'ite Muslim group.
It was Hizbollah's deadliest rocket strike on Israel in at least 10 years and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it would have "far-reaching" consequences for Lebanon.
Hizbollah said the attack was retaliation for Israel's killing of civilians and destruction of Lebanese infrastructure.
Medics said 20 people were wounded in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, which was hit by about 20 rockets, including one that struck a railway station causing most of the casualties. Blood was smeared on smashed train compartments.
Israel's campaign in Lebanon, launched after Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight on Wednesday, has drawn only a mild plea for restraint from the United States, which blames Hizbollah and its allies, Syria and Iran.
US President George W Bush, speaking at a G8 summit in Russia, characterised Israel's actions as self-defence and did not back Lebanon's pleas for an immediate ceasefire.
"Our message to Israel is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences, so we are urging restraint," said Bush.
Bombs crashed into Beirut's Shi'ite southern suburbs in raids which set fire to Hizbollah's al-Manar television complex and nearby buildings, witnesses said. The station's signal disappeared briefly several times before returning.
The United States earlier blocked any move by the UN Security Council to demand a ceasefire, saying the focus for diplomacy should be the G8 summit in St Petersburg.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had told Olmert her country was deeply concerned about civilian casualties in Lebanon and hoped Israel would exercise restraint.
But she said the ceasefire demanded by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora would not work unless it addressed the underlying cause of the problem, which Washington says is violence by Hizbollah guerrillas supported by Syria and Iran.
French President Jacques Chirac called for a ceasefire. British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed the US line. Syria promised what Information Minister Mohsen Bilal called a "harsh and direct" response to any attack by Israel.
European and Arab nations and the United States prepared to evacuate thousands of expatriates and tourists. Italian and Spanish-organised groups have already left, joining thousands of tourists travelling in cars, buses and taxis to Syria.
Israel says its onslaught, which has killed 111 people, all but four of them civilians, is meant to force Lebanon to dislodge Hizbollah from its southern border strongholds.
At least seven civilians were killed and 30 wounded in air strikes in south Lebanon on Sunday, security sources said.
Hundreds of Hizbollah rockets have killed a total of 12 people in Israel in the past five days. Thousands of Israelis have fled the north to escape the attacks.
Hizbollah said it had used "Raad (Thunder) 2 and Raad 3" rockets against Haifa. These are believed to be Iranian-made.
Israel raised the alert level in Tel Aviv, about 130km south of Lebanon, in what the army said was a precaution. Military chief of staff Dan Halutz has said Hizbollah has rockets with a range of 70km and possibly longer.
Israel's bombing campaign, which has laid waste Lebanon's vital installations, is its most destructive assault since its 1982 invasion to expel Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanon.
Israel has said Lebanon must implement a UN resolution demanding the disarming of Hizbollah, a Shi'ite group formed in 1982 to fight an Israeli occupation that lasted 22 years. But the Beirut government, led by an anti-Syrian coalition, lacks the unity and firepower to tackle Hizbollah.
The group has said it wants to swap the two captured Israeli soldiers for Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Israel's campaign in Lebanon followed the launch of an offensive in the Gaza Strip on June 28 to try to retrieve another captured soldier and halt Palestinian rocket fire.
Israel widened that assault on Sunday, killing a Palestinian civilian in southern Gaza and three militants in the north.
The operation has piled pressure on the Palestinian government led by the Islamist militant Hamas movement, which demands a prisoner swap for the Israeli corporal.
Three gunmen were killed in an Israeli air strike. At least 10 Palestinians were wounded in that and other air attacks.
Israel abandoned Gaza last year after a 38-year occupation.
Reuters