Israeli attack hits power station in Beirut
Hezbollah militants retaliate
April 14, 1996
Web posted at: 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT)TYRE, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded southern Lebanon Sunday as its military offensive against Hezbollah militants entered its fourth straight day.
The militants, meanwhile, rocketed northern Israel with attacks of their own.
Israeli forces bombarded targets in Beirut and surrounding suburbs. Six casualties were reported. One attack ripped through an electrical power station, causing power shortages in several Beirut districts.
Gen. Amnon Shahak, the Israeli army chief of staff, said the operation could last as long as two weeks.
Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat condemned Israel's military aggression Sunday, saying it will disrupt the Mideast peace process.
Israeli forces shelled the house of a Hezbollah official with four rockets Sunday, and helicopter gunships fired at suspected guerrilla strongholds near the market town of Nabatiyeh, security sources said.
Israel has ordered residents of southern Lebanon in an area up to 20 miles north of the Israeli border to leave their homes by 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT).
Similar evacuation orders were given last night, forcing thousands of panic-stricken residents to flee the southwestern port city of Tyre. A flood of refugees have fled to Beirut where some are being housed in temporary shelters. Others overflowed onto sidewalks as shells exploded around the city.
Hezbollah counters with attacks
As Israel continued its offensive against the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group, at least six salvos of Hezbollah rockets rained down in northern Israel Sunday morning. No casualties were reported.
The United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirms to CNN that a Katyusha rocket hit their headquarters in Naquora near the border with Israel. There were no casualties, UNIFIL said. The rocket hit a workshop, which was empty at the time. UNIFIL believes it was not a target and that the rocket fell short of its target.
On Saturday, seven Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah landed in the Galilee panhandle, causing no damage or injuries.
"We believe there should be no immunity and no impunity for these kind of terrorists who dare to shoot Katyushas into quiet civilian populations inside Israel," said Ehud Barak, Israel foreign minister.
And despite Israel's repeated messages of more attacks, Hezbollah guerrillas don't appear to be backing down. A Hezbollah spokesman told Reuters news service that life will soon be "hell" for Israelis.
"The northern settlements will be hit continuously and heavily, and we will transform northern Israel into hell," the spokesman said.
The Israeli offensive has killed at least 21 people, mainly civilians. In a Saturday attack, an Israeli helicopter warship fired at an ambulance in Tyre killing six people, including three children ages 3, 6 and 7.
Israel defended the attack, saying a Hezbollah guerrilla was in the ambulance.
Israel's attacks follow weeks of growing tensions between both sides. On Tuesday, at least 30 Israelis were injured when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel.
The U.N. Security Council is to convene Monday to discuss Lebanon's formal protest against Israeli attacks, a foreign ministry official said on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Israel: Offensive stops when Hezbollah stops - April 13, 1996
- U.S. withholds criticism of Israel's attack - April 13, 1996
- Six civilians die in Israeli rocket attack - April 13, 1996
- Israel pledges continued attacks on Lebanon - April 12, 1996
- Israel repeats strikes on Beirut - April 12, 1996
- Transcript of interview with Prime Minister Rafic Al-Hariri of Lebanon about recent bombings - April 12, 1996
- Cycle of retaliation, counter-retaliation heats up in Mideast - April 12, 1996
- Israel's war against Hezbollah moves to Beirut - April 11, 1996
- Israeli forces strike Beirut - April 11, 1996
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