Bodies of Israeli sailors found
2006-07-16 14:01
Jerusalem - The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had recovered the remains of three more sailors reported missing after a naval warship was hit by Hizbollah fire off the coast of Lebanon last week.
Israel had reported four seamen missing after the Lebanese guerrilla group fired an Iranian-made missile at the vessel, stationed off the coast of Beirut, on Friday.
The fourth body was recovered on Saturday.
The confirmed deaths raised to 12 the number of Israeli troops killed since Hizbollah launched a cross-border raid on Israel and captured two Israeli troops last Wednesday.
In the wake of that attack, Israel has launched sustained air strikes against Lebanese infrastructure and the offices of Hizbollah. It has also imposed a siege on Lebanese ports.
Israel's bombardments have killed 104 Lebanese, all but a handful of them civilians, said authorities in Lebanon.
Israel has vowed to crush Hizbollah, whose fighters have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel in recent days.
One attack killed eight people in northern Israel on Sunday.
The violence is the fiercest since 1996, when Israel launched a 17-day blitz on Hizbollah strongholds in the south.