BEIJING, July 18 -- In the Middle-east, Israeli warplanes have kept up their assault on Lebanon's infrastructure and population, killing at least seventeen people. On Monday a rocket fired by Hizbollah guerrillas landed next to a hospital in the northern Israeli town of Safed, injuring at least six people. An earlier round of rockets destroyed a three-story building and wounded three people in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
|
TV grab shows violence between Israel and Lebanon escalates, July 17, 2006. (CCTV Photo)
|
TV grab shows smokes rise from a building, July 17, 2006. (CCTV Photo) |
In the latest strike, Israeli planes again hit the Beirut-Damascus highway in the eastern Bekaa Valley, killing two.
Israeli missiles also blasted southern Beirut, causing three explosions that shook the city. The targets were not immediately clear, but Hezbollah has a host of offices, clinics, schools, social clubs and the homes of its leaders in the southern suburbs.
A small group of Israeli ground forces entered southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah strongholds in the border area. But they returned soon after concluding their military operations.
In Haifa, a multi-storey building collapsed on Monday after rocket attacks by Hezbollah.
Six people were wounded, one seriously. The number of casualties was expected to rise further as some people were feared to be still buried under the debris.
Meanwhile, Lebanese media claimed that an Israeli military plane went down near Beirut. Lebanese state-run TV station aired unclear footage of what was claimed to be an Israeli F-16 plane. Hezbollah's TV station said the aircraft was a helicopter gunship. But Israeli media reported that the object shown on Lebanese television was apparently a container of leaflets that fell from an Israeli military plane.
(Source: CCTV.com)
Related video:
