| Hezbollah fires record number of rockets at Israel |
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| Written by simon | |
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The bombardment lifted the number of rockets fired into Israel over the 2,000 mark, as the fighting entered its fourth week. One missile fell near the Palestinian town of Jenin, leaving a 2-meter (6-foot) crater in a rural area of the West Bank. It caused no casualties, and Palestinians said the mistake would not change their support for Hezbollah. Rockets also landed near the town of Beit Shean, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the border - the deepest penetration so far. Hezbollah’s satellite TV network, Al Manar, reported the guerrilla group used its longer-range Khaibar-1 missiles, which Israel says were supplied by Iran. The Khaibar rocket debuted in the conflict last week when the town of Afula was targeted. Police said at least 210 rockets hit Israel by Wednesday evening. The highest previous daily total was 157, which came on Sunday just before a two-day lull. Nightfall ushered in the Jewish holy day of Tisha B’Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of the Biblical Temples. Only 16 men braved the rocket barrages to attend services at the little synagogue in the Amidar neighbourhood in Nahariya, about one quarter the size of the usual gathering. The air raid siren, which had been blaring all day, did not sound once during the service. The relative quiet of recent days brought civilians onto the streets and beaches of northern Israel for the first time in weeks. But it ended hours after helicopter-borne commandos snatched what Israel said were five guerrillas from the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek deep in eastern Lebanon. The rocket fire killed a 52-year-old Israeli American in Kibbutz Saar, a communal farm near the coastal resort of Nahariya. It brought the Israeli death toll in three weeks of fighting to 55, including 19 civilians. The attacks Wednesday also wounded 58 people. The American, whose name was not released, was killed as he rode his bicycle toward his home after a warning siren went off, said Yehuda Shavit, a local government official. Kibbutz residents said he was originally from the Boston area and had been living in Israel for 20 years. His wife and two daughters had moved to the south earlier in the fighting, Shavit said. More than half the kibbutz residents had fled to safer areas out of range, he said. Police sappers were trying to remove the remains of the rocket from the crater it bored into the ground, and an orange bulldozer was clearing away the rubble. Another American immigrant was among three Israeli soldiers killed in fighting in Lebanon earlier this week, the army said Wednesday. Michael Levine, 21, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, moved to Israel three years ago and enlisted in the paratroopers, Israeli media reported. Levine cut short a visit to his family four days ago and returned to join his unit. Rocket blasts ignited brush fires that sent white smoke spiralling in the air near the village of Beit Hillel, where Halutz, briefed reporters on what he said was the damage inflicted on Hezbollah’s capabilities. Halutz said hundreds of guerrillas were killed and their supplies of medium and long-range rockets were hit. Having significantly increased its ground operation with the Baalbek raid Tuesday, Halutz said the army also would consider renewing its air strikes deep in Lebanon.
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