Hezbollah rockets hit Israel
2006-07-22 20:55
Jerusalem - More than 40 rockets fired by the Lebanese Hezbollah group hit towns across northern Israel on Saturday.
The Israeli army said the rockets injured more than a dozen people, damaged two houses, and set cars ablaze.
Medics said a house in the town of Carmiel, about 15km from the Lebanese border, was directly hit. Two people were injured.
A second barrage of rockets fired hours later hit Carmiel again, seriously wounding one person, said Israeli rescue services.
Other rockets hit the towns of Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona and Rosh Pina, closer to the Lebanese border.
In Nahariya, firefighters battled to put out a large blaze sparked when two vehicles caught fire after a strike. One person was injured.
Israeli troops are massed on the border for a possible large-scale ground offensive against Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
Fifteen civilians have been killed in rocket attacks on the country in the past 11 days.
Small units of Israeli troops are already operating in the area, across the border, the Israeli military has said, although it has described the operations as "pinpoint" incursions rather than a full-scale assault.
Israeli forces have told villagers in southern Lebanon to leave ahead of what was expected to be an aerial bombardment of the area to destroy suspected Hezbollah bunkers and weapons stores.
At least 19 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting, which began after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
News agency AFP is reporting that Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters are engaged in street battles inside a border village in southern Lebanon.
- Reuters