#135 Postby Janice » Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:02 am
srael hits Lebanese army barracks, kills 9 soldiers
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli warplanes pounded Lebanese army barracks for a second straight day Tuesday, killing at least nine soldiers, army sources said.
The Jamhour army barracks east of Beirut were one of several targets hit by airstrikes early in the day, including sites in southern Beirut, as Israel's campaign against Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas entered a seventh day.
Six Lebanese soldiers died and 28 were wounded early Monday when Israel bombed an army post in Abdeh, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Beirut, the Lebanese military said.
The Israeli air force also hit two trucks during a pre-dawn bombing raid on the coastal town of Jbeil -- also known as Byblos -- about 20 miles north of Beirut, Lebanese police said. There are no immediate reports of casualties.
Hezbollah responded Tuesday by sending at least three rockets into the Haifa area. CNN's Paula Hancock reported hearing the blasts. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
One residential building partially collapsed in Haifa Monday when it was hit, wounding at least 11 people. Eight people died Sunday when a rocket hit a train station there.
Israel launched an extensive bombing campaign against Hezbollah on Wednesday after the Shiite Muslim militia abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid into northern Israel. Lebanon's government has demanded a cease-fire, but Israel insisted it would keep up the attacks until its kidnapped soldiers are freed.
"We dream of peace," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Knesset, Israel's parliament. "We do not seek war or a head-on confrontation. But, if necessary, we shall not flinch from them."
Hezbollah has responded by raining rockets across northern Israel. At least five Israelis were wounded in rocket attacks late Monday, one of which shattered the windows of a hospital in the town of Safed, the Israel Defense Forces said.
In Haifa, where a rocket attack killed eight people Sunday, new volleys of rockets sent residents into shelters. One residential building partially collapsed when it was hit, wounding at least 11 people. (Watch why new rockets pose much greater threat -- 1:36)
The latest reported death toll in Israel was 24 dead, including 12 civilians, the Israeli military said. Lebanese authorities Tuesday reported 180 dead, with no breakdown between civilians and military personnel.
The evacuation of Westerners from war-ravaged Lebanon picked up speed Tuesday as governments moved to get their citizens to safety by land, sea and air. (Full story)
IDF: Longer-range missiles taken out
The Israeli military said it conducted about 50 Israeli airstrikes on targets in Lebanon on Monday -- among them, a truck carrying missiles the IDF said were capable of reaching Tel Aviv. Other targets included Hezbollah's headquarters in south Beirut, a warehouse that Israel said was used to store weapons in southern Lebanon, and roads and bridges in the region.
Six Lebanese soldiers died and 28 were wounded early Monday when Israel bombed an army post in Abdeh, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Beirut, the Lebanese military said. And Israeli warplanes struck a Lebanese army barracks in Jumhour, about 20 km northeast of Beirut, early Tuesday, but there was no immediate report of casualties from that raid.
Hezbollah has demanded that Israel exchange Lebanese prisoners in its jails for the captured soldiers, but Israel has rejected calls for a prisoner exchange. But Nouhad Mahmoud, Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations, said Lebanese authorities might be able to persuade the Shiite militia, which holds seats in Lebanon's parliament and government, to release the men -- but could not force Hezbollah to free them.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis are unlikely to prove successful until Israel feels it has crippled Hezbollah or President George W. Bush pressures Israel to halt the offensive, Arab diplomats said Monday. (Full story)
'Buffer zone' in southern Lebanon?
Arab-language television networks reported an Israeli plane had gone down in Beirut, but the Israel Defense Forces said video said to show an aircraft falling from the sky actually showed a missile crashing. IDF said it had struck a truck carrying long-range missiles in Beirut, causing one to launch. That missile exploded in mid-air and crashed onto a Beirut beach, the Israeli military said.
IDF said the missiles had a range of 120 to 160 km (75 to 100 miles) and could easily have reached Tel Aviv, about 113 km (70 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border, if the truck had made it to southern Lebanon and launched its missiles from there.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Monday that Israel intends to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
"We intend to complete this operation. We have no intention of allowing anyone to stop us before we complete the creation of a buffer zone," Peretz said during a visit to northern Israel. But an Israeli military source denied reports that a Israeli ground operation had begun in Lebanon, saying that a small military unit destroyed "one or two" Hezbollah posts across the Lebanese border.
However, the source added that Israel would use "every measure, including ground forces, if necessary."
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