|
| |||||||||||||
![]() » Special Report | Video archive | E-mail us: Your stories | How to help civilians Hezbollah rockets pound northern IsraelIsraeli airstrikes shake Lebanon as United Nations vote nears
![]() Rocket strikes in Haifa Sunday night killed at least three people, wounded at least 100 and trapped others. RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSHAIFA, Israel (CNN) -- Hezbollah militants Sunday fired more than 180 rockets into northern Israel, killing three civilians in Haifa and 12 Israeli reservists who had just been called up to fight in Lebanon, according to Israeli officials. A missile launcher that fired rockets into Haifa was later destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese town of Qana, the Israel Defense Forces said. The Israeli military also bombed Beirut's southern suburbs and other parts of Lebanon on Sunday, killing at least eight civilians in airstrikes that were reported by Lebanese security officials or Arabic-language TV networks. The airstrikes continued at daybreak Monday, with explosions heard in Beirut's southern suburbs and the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. The 12 Israeli soldiers died in an attack near Kfar Giladi, marking the deadliest single Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel since hostilities began last month. (Watch aftermath of attack that frustrates Israelis -- 2:24) Hours later, a barrage of rockets pounded Haifa after sunset, killing at least three people. One of the dead was a woman who died when a rocket struck her home in an Arab neighborhood, according to police and ambulance services. (Watch residents dig through fiery rubble -- 1:32) Medics said at least eight others were seriously wounded in the building collapse. It was one of six rockets that struck Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. (12 p.m. and 1 p.m. ET), police said. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav told CNN that Jews and Arabs have lived together in Haifa for more than a century, and "nothing can jeopardize the harmony." (Watch mayor talk about the Jewish-Arab bond -- 3:13) Israeli police said 100 others were injured, including those treated for shock. Police said the missiles that hit Haifa were Syrian 220mm rockets, with warheads weighing about 45 kilograms (99 pounds). Capt. Guy Spigelman, an IDF spokesman, defended the progress of the Israeli campaign, saying Hezbollah had amassed an arsenal of about 10,000 rockets over the past six years. About 3,000 of those have been fired at Israel so far, many of them from hiding places "in and around villages and suburbs and living rooms and garages of the people of Lebanon." "It's going to take time to get rid of all those missiles," he said. Since fighting began July 12, more than 95 Israelis have been killed, more than half of them soldiers, according to Israeli officials. In addition to Haifa and Kfar Giladi, rockets also struck Kiryat Shmona and open areas across Galilee in northern Israel, an Israeli police spokesman said. Israel pummels parts of southern LebanonLebanon's death toll exceeds 700, most of them civilians, and the number of wounded tops 2,700, Lebanese Internal Security Forces reported Sunday. An attack on the village of Ansar killed at least five civilians and wounded six others, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said. Another airstrike killed three people in Naqoura, Arab-language networks said. They reported other targeted cities as: Al Jabal Al Rafeea, Al-Jarmak, Mahmoudiya, Majra Al Letani, El-Qlaileh, Ras el Biyada, Mansouri, Milikiya, Shaitaye, Hosh and areas in Khiyam. In a rare daylight raid, Israel carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Israel Defense Forces said. Lebanese army sources said two of the strikes were in Haret Hreik, where Hezbollah's headquarters are located, and in Beer El-Abed. Israel struck Tyre early Sunday morning after peppering the streets with leaflets warning that Hezbollah positions would be targeted, Arabic-language network Al Jazeera reported. Spigelman said early Monday that several rocket launchers in Tyre were destroyed overnight. Also bombed were at least two camps of the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command in southeastern Lebanon, The Associated Press quoted Lebanese officials as saying. No casualties were reported in either raid. IDF: Captured militant was behind kidnappingsThe Israeli military said it has captured a Hezbollah militant responsible for kidnapping two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid last month. The July 12 kidnappings ignited the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The IDF said the detained militant confessed to his role during interrogation by the Israeli military. (Watch details on what's known about this captured militant -- 2:13) "We think they were captured on our land without any reason, and we don't feel that we have to compensate the Hezbollah because they took hostage two of our soldiers," he told CNN's "Late Edition." "But if then Lebanon would like to talk about exchange of prisoners, we are always ready to." Rice: Resolution will show 'who is for peace'U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she expects the United Nations will vote on a resolution "in the next day or two" that could bring a halt to the "large-scale violence." (More on diplomacy) Lebanon Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the draft was "not adequate," and House Speaker Nabih Berri, who has served as a diplomatic conduit for Hezbollah, rejected the draft resolution. The draft resolution, written by the United States and France, makes no mention of a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. Hezbollah says it will agree to a cease-fire only when all Israeli soldiers leave Lebanese land. (Watch Rice outline how "large-scale" violence could be halted -- 8:30) Other developmentsCNN's Ben Wedeman, John Vause, Karl Penhaul, John King, Richard Roth, Brent Sadler and Paula Hancocks contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
| ||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|