Associated Press, 8/11/06
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is dissatisfied with the
emerging cease-fire deal and told his defense minister in a meeting
Friday to get ready for a wider ground offensive in Lebanon, a senior
Israeli official said.
Meanwhile,
Israeli airstrikes pounded south Beirut and border crossings to Syria,
killing at least 14 people across Lebanon as ground fighting picked up
intensity in the south.
The
official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized
to discuss the contents of the Olmert-Peretz meeting. It was not
immediately clear whether the Israeli threat was meant to pressure the
U.N. Security Council or whether Israel is determined to send troops
deeper into Lebanon.
Jets
struck twice at a busy bridge at the Abboudiyeh border crossing into
Syria, killing at least 12 people and wounding 18 others, hospital and
security officials said. The checkpoint is some 10 miles inland from
the Mediterranean coast, on Lebanon’s northern border.
Hezbollah
TV reported Friday that guerrillas destroyed an Israeli gunboat off the
coast of Tyre, killing or wounding the crew of 12.
The
Israeli army said it was not aware of a strike on any of its vessels,
which have been enforcing a blockade of the Lebanese coast since
fighting began 30 days ago. Larger craft have repeatedly fired shells
against Hezbollah positions and strongholds, including in south Beirut.
Israel
also struck an area close to the Lebanese border crossing at Masnaa in
the Bekaa Valley, about 30 miles southeast of Beirut, but there were no
reports of casualties. Masnaa is the main border crossing with Syria,
and has been closed after four previous strikes. It was the main escape
route for hundreds of foreigners and displaced Lebanese who fled the
country over land.
Only one other official border crossing, at the northern coastal town of Arida, is open.
Israeli
warplanes also struck three vehicles near the eastern city of Baalbek,
killing at least one person and wounding two others, security officials
said. Witnesses said the vehicles were directly hit and caught fire. It
was unclear whether they were cars or pickup trucks – a frequent target
of Israeli raids.
A drone
fired a missile at a motorbike on the southern coastal highway between
Sidon and Tyre, killing its driver, security officials said. Jets also
hit roads and residential areas near the southern market town of
Nabatiyeh, flattening a deserted house there, they said. It was unclear
if its owner, Zaino Yassin, was a Hezbollah activist, they said.
Israeli
warplanes struck roads and villages in mountainous areas in the
southeastern part of the Bekaa Valley as well, security officials said.
No casualties were reported.
At least
20 explosions rang out across the Lebanese capital as thick black smoke
rose from the southern suburbs. Hezbollah said it unleashed “a new
barrage of rockets on Haifa” in response. Later the group said it fired
at the Israeli towns of Kiryat Shemona, Nahariya, Avivim, Kfar Giladi,
Margelot and Metulla “in response to the continuing Zionist attacks on
Lebanese civilians.”
Warplanes
returned to the capital midday and sent missiles into Chiah, a south
Beirut neighborhood where at least 41 people were killed in a strike
Monday. Friday’s attack came a day after Israeli jets dropped leaflets
over Beirut, warning Chiah residents to leave. There were no immediate
reports of casualties.
In another
statement, Hezbollah said its fighters killed or wounded about 15
Israeli soldiers trying to advance toward the border village of Aita
al-Shaab. “The remaining soldiers retreated under the cover of
artillery shelling,” the statement said. Aita al-Shaab is one of
several Lebanese border towns where gunbattles have been raging for
weeks between Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas.
The group
later said it killed four Israeli soldiers in Qantara, about 5 miles
from the Israeli border. Hezbollah said its guerrillas inflicted
casualties on Israeli forces in the village of Rachaf as well, some 9
miles from the border.
“The
Islamic Resistance (Hezbollah) has since early morning been engaged in
fierce clashes (with Israeli troops) on the southwestern outskirts of
Rachaf. By 9:40 a.m., the (Israeli) enemy was trying to evacuate its
casualties from the battlefield,” Hezbollah said in a statement
broadcast on its Al-Manar television.
Fighting
also continued in Beit Yahoun, with Hezbollah saying it destroyed an
Israeli tank and bulldozer, killing or wounding their crews. The town
is about 7 miles from the Israeli border.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Hezbollah’s statements.
An
Associated Press reporter in the southern port city of Tyre heard a
huge sonic boom over the town early Friday, likely from Israeli jet
fighters breaking the sound barrier overhead.