Israelis wounded in retaliatory attack
Then fight back in southern Lebanon
April 9, 1996
Web posted at: 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 GMT)From Correspondent Jerrold Kessel
KIRYAT SHMONA, Israel (CNN) -- Rockets launched by Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon wounded about 30 residents in northern Israel Tuesday and ripped apart several buildings.
Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group backed by Iran, said the rockets were in retaliation for the death of a Lebanese teen-ager, who the guerrillas say was killed by a land mine planted by Israeli forces. Israel has denied involvement.
While Israeli Police Minister Moshe Shahal inspected the blown out region in northern Galilee, angry Israeli residents crowded around him, burning tires and demanding, "We want action."
The Israeli army did just that, pounding 17 Shiite Muslim villages in southern Lebanon with air raids as well as artillery and tank fire. No casualties were reported from the bombardment.
Tuesday's attacks have increased tensions in the area, the last active Arab-Israeli war front, as Middle East peace negotiations remain stalled.
The hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel may even influence the outcome of next month's elections in Israel.
Peres stays cool
Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres has described the attacks by Islamic fundamentalists as a deliberate Iranian-inspired strategy to undermine his peace initiatives before the election.
"We are considering in a very cool way what should be done and what shouldn't be done"
-- Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres
"There are many ways of fighting terrorism, but the first decision is to fight it. And I hope that decision is forthcoming"
-- Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party leader
The prime minister is trying to persuade Israelis that he can provide genuine security for the nation. Peres met with heads of border communities to try to soothe nerves. In the past, he has relied on the United States to de-escalate tensions.
Protesters, however, jeered Peres, telling him to "go home" as he arrived at a local army base. Peres chose not to go to the northern border town of Kiryat Shmona, where many of the Hezbollah rockets landed.
Because of that, Peres' opponents harshly criticized him.
"There are many ways of fighting terrorism, but the first decision is to fight it. And I hope that decision is forthcoming," said Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party leader.
Israel retaliates
Some of the rockets fired by Hezbollah guerrillas struck the Galilee panhandle around 7 a.m., officials said. Thousands of residents had spent the night in bomb shelters anticipating such attacks.
Israeli reports said many of the injured were suffering from shock, and that six people were hospitalized. A 16-year-old girl was listed in serious condition.
In retaliation for the attacks, Israel fighter-bombers fired rockets and artillery of its own.
Lebanese sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli artillery and tanks fired 200 howitzer and tank shells around 15 Shiite villages; rockets struck two other towns. No casualties were reported during the three-hour bombardment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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