At least five civilians were killed in Israeli air raids in Lebanon yesterday, the fiercest attacks in the east of the country since Israel launched its offensive 10 days ago, police said.
More rockets were fired by Hezbollah militants at the port city of Haifa yesterday, the first time in nearly 24 hours that Israel's third-largest city was struck.
Four civilians were killed and 15 wounded in an intense Israeli bombardment of the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbeck in eastern Lebanon and another was killed near the southern port of Tyre.
PHOTO: AP
Israel had issued a new warning on Thursday to residents to flee southern Lebanon, which has been repeatedly bombarded, amid warnings that it could step up its offensive with a ground invasion.
Hezbollah also announced the death of one of its fighters, marking the ninth death for the Shiite Muslim militia in the Israeli offensive. Hezbollah also claimed it had arrested two "Israeli agents" in Lebanon who had been scouting bombing targets.
The raids, which lasted more than two hours, targeted homes, gasoline stations and Hezbollah sites in Baalbek, a town of about 100,000 famous for the ancient Roman temple ruins nearby.
PHOTO: AP
Among the sites hit were the Martyrs' Foundation, a Hezbollah-run charity group, as well as a school and recreation center linked to the guerrillas.
In the south, Israeli war planes also pounded villages near Tyre, killing at least one and wounding three in the village of Aita al-Shaab, police said.
The Israeli military said it had attacked more than 40 targets in Lebanon overnight, including five Hezbollah structures and headquarters and eight vehicles suspected of being used to transfer weaponry.
The Israeli military again urged civilians living south of the Litani River to leave their homes and flee north in messages relayed through Arabic-language media and local leaders.
"This is because of the terror activity that was launched from this area and to avoid civilian casualties," a spokeswoman said.
In Israel, the army said yesterday that it has called up more reserve troops to augment its current forces in the north, widening speculation that a major ground offensive against Lebanon has moved beyond the planning stage.
The army said the call-up was issued in the morning and that several hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers were being told gather at specific meeting points for deployment northward. The number of troops called up was not disclosed.
Air raid sirens in Haifa began wailing shortly after 1:10pm and the first of what were five rockets struck the city. A second volley struck the city just after 2:45pm. At least 11 rockets struck the city.
Rescue officials initially said that 10 people were injured seriously, but later lowered that figure to just three.
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