Hizbullah rocket hits West Bank
Wednesday, 02 Aug 2006 19:49
Israel seizes Hizbullah militants in raid
Hizbullah militants have fired the highest number of rockets into Israeli territory since the conflict in Lebanon began, with one missile hitting the West Bank, the furthest its weapons have reached.
About 220 rockets were launched into Israel following the army's claim that it seized five Hizbullah guerrillas after fierce fighting at the stronghold of Baalbek. The Shia Muslim group, however, says that only civilians had been kidnapped.
One Israeli civilian died after Hizbullah's rocket attacks today, by far its biggest barrage since the conflict began more than three weeks ago, casting doubt on the Israeli prime minister's claim that the militants' infrastructure had been "entirely destroyed".
At least 750 Lebanese people have died due to army air strikes and artillery fire, the majority of them civilians, while 55 Israelis have lost their lives.
Despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire, Ehud Olmert has insisted that troops will only withdraw once an international force is in place in southern Lebanon.
"I said I would be ready to enter a ceasefire when the international forces, not will be ready, but will be deployed," the Israeli prime minister said.
Israeli troops are continuing to mass on the border, with local media claiming that as many as 10,000 soldiers are involved in ground operations.
The Jewish state says it killed 19 militants in today's operations alone, with over 100 people wounded as a result. The army is said to be concerned that Hizbullah's rockets are able to reach targets much further into Israeli territory than previously thought, amid rumours that the group is being supplied armaments by Iran.
Earlier in the day Israeli soldiers raided Baalbek in helicopters. A spokeswoman for the Israeli army told the Reuters news agency that those militants captured during the operation had been taken to Israel.
"During the night, [Israeli] forces operated in the town of Baalbek," the representative said.
"A number of terrorists were also arrested and taken to Israel."
But a Hizbullah spokesperson said: "Those who were taken prisoner are citizens. It will not be long before the [Israeli] enemy will discover that they are ordinary citizens."
Yesterday the Israeli cabinet agreed to extend the country's ground offensive in the south of the troubled country, with a government minister indicating that he expected such attacks to last "between ten days and two weeks".
Meanwhile, Hizbullah said in a statement that it had destroyed two Israeli tanks in an attack on an armoured unit that had crossed the border into Lebanon this morning. The clash occurred at the village of Adaisseh, which lies on the central sector of the frontier between Lebanon and Israel.
Fresh fighting in the region has quelled hopes of achieving an immediate ceasefire in the region, with EU foreign ministers watering down their demands for such a move following an emergency meeting in Brussels.
As a result of pressure from Britain and three other countries, EU diplomats agreed to a vaguer statement calling for an "immediate end to hostilities" in Lebanon, to be followed by a "sustainable ceasefire", although a UN security council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire is expected to be ironed out soon.