Israeli warplanes renewed attacks on suspected Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon yesterday, killing at least one person and wounding four others, Lebanese security officials said.
Israeli jets fired missiles at a three-story building near the southern market town of Nabatiyeh at 8:30am, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to make statements to the media.
The building, which housed a construction company believed owned by a Hezbollah activist, was reduced to rubble, the officials said.
Hussam Abu Shamet, a Jordanian in a nearby house, was killed by missile shrapnel, they added.
Four children of Lebanese journalist Ali Dawoud, who also lives in a nearby building, were wounded by flying glass and taken to hospital, the officials said.
Earlier yesterday, Israeli jets destroyed a deserted four-story building near Nabatiyeh, the officials said.
They said the raid apparently targeted a flat belonging to Abbas Rahmeh who was not at home. It was not immediately known whether Rahmeh was a Hezbollah activist.
Israeli jets also staged four bombing runs early yesterday damaging roads in south eastern Lebanon, the officials said. No casualties were reported.
Israel launched its military blitz against Lebanon and Hezbollah guerrillas on July 12 in response to the guerrillas' capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack.
Since then, Israeli planes have targeted Hezbollah headquarters, officials and hideouts in south and east Lebanon, and the southern suburbs of Beirut -- a Hezbollah stronghold that has been badly hit by airstrikes.
Roads, bridges, seaports and runways at Beirut International Airport have also been targeted in an attempt to pressure the Lebanese government to rein in Hezbollah.
On Thursday, Lebanon's health minister estimated that as many as 600 civilians have been killed so far, though the official toll stood at 382.
A total of 33 Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting and 19 civilians were killed in Hezbollah's unyielding rocket attacks on Israel's northern towns, the Israeli army said.
Nine Israeli missiles hit in rapid succession within 15 minutes late on Thursday in the region of Meidoun, a Hezbollah controlled region that leads from eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley into southern Lebanon, security officials said. The area could not be reached to determine the target or casualties, they said.
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