Hezbollah Fires Record Rocket Attacks
In response to the first full day of Israel's massive new ground attack in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, in which they said they seized five Hezbollah fighters, Hezbollah retaliated with its deepest missile strikes yet, firing a record number of rockets into Israel as the conflict escalated.
A Boston-born man was killed while fleeing on his bicycle toward shelter as air raid sirens blared across the country's north.
The massive barrage, which followed a two-day lull, came despite the Israeli army chief's claim that the three-week offensive in south Lebanon had eroded Hezbollah's firepower. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz also threatened to resume air raids against the Lebanese capital.
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 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 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 Sunday just before a two-day lull.
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.
In other developments:
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 21 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 spiraling 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.
"We will need to evaluate the air strikes in the depth of Lebanon, especially in Beirut," Halutz said. "I assume, the matter will come up for authorization in the next day or two." am-rn
In the West Bank, the misfired rockets landed near the town of Jenin, between the villages of Fakua and Jalboun, leaving 6-foot crater but causing no casualties.
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have staged daily support marches for Hezbollah, cheering the group's apparent success in fighting the Israelis. "We know that they did not intend to strike Palestinian territory. They intended to strike Israel," said Fahmi Zarer, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party. "It was only a technical problem that made this rocket land here in the Palestinian territories."
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli commandos stormed a Hezbollah-run hospital in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, where Israel said it killed 10 guerrillas and captured five. Israeli military officials said their troops were going from village to village in south Lebanon to clear them of Hezbollah guerrillas.
Hezbollah was putting up resistance, but the officials said they were confident that would not change their objective of reaching four miles into Lebanon by Thursday. They said they could easily dash inland to the Litani River their final objective about 18 miles from the border but that they were moving methodically so as not to leave behind pockets of resistance.