HEZBOLLAH FIRES ROCKET BARRAGE AT ISRAEL
By ODED BALILTY, Associate Press Writer Sun Jul 16, 5:26 AM ET
HAIFA, Israel - Hezbollah
guerillas fired a barrage of rockets into Israel's
third-largest city Sunday, killing eight people and wounding seven in the worst attack on Israel since violence broke out
along the border with Lebanon last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert vowed there would be "far-reaching consequences" for the attack — the second against the northern city of Haifa in four days.
The attacks came hours after
Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs and bombed
a major power station south of the Lebanese capital.
The bombardment in Beirut stopped — then started again after the Haifa
attack. At least six airstrikes shook the Lebanese capital, briefly knocking the Hezbollah's television station off air, witnesses
said. A cloud of thick smoke rose from the targeted area. Witnesses said the area was Haret Hreik, which houses Hezbollah
headquarters and has been hit several times over the past three days.
"Nothing will deter us,"
Olmert said at his weekly Cabinet meeting. "There will be far-reaching consequences in our relations on the northern border
and in the area in general."
At least 20 rockets slammed
into Haifa. One of the them hit a section of the train depot
where crews perform maintenance on the trains, tearing a huge hole in the roof and killing eight people. One body was covered
in a white bag and placed on a stretcher on the ground.
Other rockets landed near
the city's major oil refinery, gas storage tanks and a major street during the busy morning rush hour, Israeli police and
emergency officials said. Sunday is a workday in Israel.
Police initially said nine people were killed and dozens were wounded, but later lowered both tolls.
Hours later, another onslaught
of rockets struck Haifa and other communities across northern Israel, causing more injuries, authorities said. The army asks residents north
of Tel Aviv to "increase awareness" and be alert for possible air raid sirens.
Hezbollah militants said
they hit Haifa with Raad-2 and Raad-3 rockets, which have a longer range than the hundreds
of Katyusha rockets they fired into Israel
in recent days.
Israeli security officials,
speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said at least four of the missile
were Iranian-made Fagr missiles, which carry a far larger warhead than those previously fired at Israel.
Hezbollah said on its Al-Manar
television station that it fired the rockets "after the enemy continued all night their destructive shelling of" Beirut's southern suburbs and other areas.
The group said it intentionally
avoided hitting petrochemical installations in Haifa. "But
the next time, (Hezbollah) will not spare anything in Haifa
and its surroundings," Hezbollah said.
Footage on Israel's Channel 10 showed smoke rising over Haifa
as air raid sirens wailed.
Israel deployed a Patriot missile battery in Haifa on Saturday to protect the city against surface-to-surface missiles. But the defense
system is useless against rocket fire.
Rockets fired by Lebanese
militants also hit Acco, Nahariya and several other northern towns, and residents were told to head to bomb shelters.
Hezbollah guerillas hit
Haifa with a rocket for the first time Thursday. Israel responded by stepping up its airstrikes in Lebanon, which it began after militants captured two soldiers and killed eight
others in a cross-border raid Wednesday.
The attack on Haifa raised Israel's
death toll from the fighting to at least 23 — 11 soldiers and 12 civilians. Israel's
airstrikes in Lebanon have killed 106
people, mostly civilians.
Olmert said Israel's offensive did not intend to harm Lebanese civilians.
"We want to live our lives
in peace and in good neighborly relations," he said. "Unfortunately, there are those who misinterpret our wishes for peace
in the wrong way. We have to no intention of bending in the face of these threats."
"Our enemies are trying
to disrupt the lifestyle in Israel. They
will fail," he said.
