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Israel Defense Forces troops clashed with Hizbullah terrorists Wednesday afternoon. (AP file)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners July 19, 2006 |
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Israel Defense Forces troops clashed Wednesday afternoon with Hizbullah terrorists across the border with Lebanon near the Avivim community.
Helicopter gunships, tanks and ambulances have been called to the area, the army said. A terrorist was killed and another fled the scene after fierce clashes.
A number of IDF ground troops crossed into southern Lebanon earlier Wednesday to carry out "pinpoint" attacks on Hezbollah outposts.
"These are restricted, pinpoint attacks," an IDF spokesman said. "This is nothing out of the ordinary. This has been happening close to the border."
Troops have crossed into southern Lebanon several times in recent days to destroy Hezbollah posts, returning soon afterwards. The army has not ruled out the possibility of a major land offensive at some stage.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, stressed Wednesday that the incursion was not large scale and would not last long.
"This is an operation which is very measured, very local," Gillerman told CNN. "This is no way an invasion of Lebanon. This is no way the beginning of any kind of occupation of Lebanon."
Military sources estimate that 10-14 more days are necessary in order to meet the military aims of the operation in Lebanon.
At least 50 civilians and a Hezbollah militant were killed when Israel Air Force aircraft bombed targets in Lebanon on Wednesday, witnesses said.
At least 12 people, including several children, were killed and 30 wounded in the strike that destroyed several houses in the southern village of Srifa, residents said.
They said more people were feared buried under the rubble of about 10 houses flattened by the strike on the village.
At least 34 other civilians were killed Wednesday in air strikes on other parts of south and east Lebanon, security sources said. Hezbollah said one of its fighters was killed in the strikes.
Katyusha rockets continued to rain down Wednesday on northern Israeli cities, towns and villages.
A resident of Nahariya was lightly wounded and evacuated to hospital, while a resident of a Haifa suburb was suffering from shock after Haifa, Tiberias, Karmiel, and Acre, as well as a number of communities in the Galilee, were pounded by a salvo of rockets.
Direct hits were reported in Karmiel and Haifa, but no one was wounded, as a more than 80 rockets were fired in the span of one hour.
A rocket also hit a public building in a community in the North. No one was wounded.
Earlier Wednesday, two people were lightly wounded by shrapnel and others were suffering from shock after a Katyusha rocket struck a Haifa residence. The house was undergoing renovation and was therefore empty, Army Radio reported.
Israel Air Force missiles continued hitting towns to the east and south of Lebanon's capital, as five big explosions reverberated over Beirut early Wednesday. At least 11 other people were killed in overnight air strikes on these areas, security sources said.
IDF estimates hold that some 60,000 Lebanese civilians have fled the south while many others have taken refuge in mosques in villages that Israel has said it would not attack.
The explosions appeared to be from hits in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold badly devastated since Israel launched its military blitz against Lebanon last week.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz told senior IDF officers Tuesday that attacks against Hezbollah would continue "without letup and time limit."
Officers said that the army aims at weakening Hizbullah by dealing a blow to his military capability.
"Hizbullah is amazed by the amount of information Israel has, which has led to great destruction of his capabilities," an officer said.
The Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and YNetNews.com contributed to this report.
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