Israel evacuates town

2006-08-09 14:07

Kiryat Shmona, Israel - To the sound of sirens wailing, residents of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona were fleeing the daily barrage of rocket fire in the first evacuation of an entire town since the creation of the Jewish state.

Out of the town's 24 000 inhabitants, around 15 000 have already fled south away from the border with Lebanon, heading to hotels, kibbutzim or finding refuge with their families, mayor Haim Barvivai told AFP.

On Wednesday, most of the remaining 9 000 scrambled to be included in the evacuation plans as buses stood waiting to ferry the residents as Katyusha rockets continued to come crashing down in and around the town.

It was the first time since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948 that an entire Israeli town has had to be evacuated.

But Barvivai stressed that the evacuation was not compulsory and that any residents wishing to stay would be allowed to.

Kiryat Shmona lies about five kilometres from the Lebanese border, where Israeli troops have been involved in intense fighting with Hezbollah.

A total of 65 soldiers and 36 civilians have been killed since Israel launched its devastating military operation against Lebanon, to which Hezbollah responded with sustained rocket fire on northern Israeli towns.

Israel's land, sea and air offensive began on July 12 following the capture of two of its soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas in a deadly cross-border raid.

- AFP