| IDF officer: Army to bomb Hezbollah HQ in Beirut | ||
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| The Israel Defense Forces is planning to bomb Hezbollah headquarters in a densely populated area of south Beirut on Friday, a senior General Staff official told Haaretz. | ||
He said any civilian who chooses to remain in the area is putting his life in danger.
Hezbollah head Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has his office and residence in south Beirut. Hezbollah's Shura Council, its decision-making body, and the TV station are also located in that area, a section heavily guarded by Hezbollah.
The IDF announcement came shortly after Israeli aircraft bombed the Beirut international airport for the second day in a row, as Hezbollah continued to
Hezbollah official Ghaleb Abu Zaineb reiterated Friday the militant group's commitment to attacking Haifa if Israel attacks Beirut.
"We are committed to what we say, but we will decide the manner and timing of our response," said Abu Zaineb, a member of the Hezbollah political bureau. "The enemy must expect an attack on Haifa at any time."
Israel is attempting to put pressure on the Lebanese government and force Hezbollah to free two Israeli soldiers the group captured Wednesday. Israel has already bombed Lebanon's airports and blockaded the country from the sea, bringing trade and tourism to a halt.
IAF bombs Beirut airport
Israel Air Force planes bombed Beirut's international airport Friday, a few hours after striking a Hezbollah stronghold, a bridge in the southern suburb of Beirut, and the fuel stores of the Jiyyeh power plant south of the city, witnesses and security sources said.
The Lebanese Army responded with anti-aircraft fire.
Three people were reported killed and 55 wounded in the Israeli strike early Friday. The death toll brought to 51 the number of Lebanese killed since Wednesday, when Israel began retaliating for the abduction. One of the fatalities was a Hezbollah militant and the remaining 50 killed were civilians.
IDF spokeswoman Miri Regev said Friday that the IDF has hit "dozens of rocket storehouses and stockpiles" belonging to Hezbollah. She also said the Hezbollah stronghold is "the place where the Hezbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, are located on a regular basis."
Friday's raids took place after Katyusha rockets slammed into the northern port city of Haifa on Thursday. Earlier that day, two Israelis were killed and 120 were wounded when scores of Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah guerillas rained down across northern Israel.
"We cannot tolerate a situation where a terrorist organization is operating from a sovereign country on our northern border and threatening well over half a million Israeli civilians," said army spokesman Capt. Jacob Dallal.
Also Friday, IAF jets bombed a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine base in eastern Lebanon, several kilometers west of the Syrian border, and struck the main highway linking Beirut to Damascus early Friday, security sources said.
The jets struck at least five separate times along different points of the international route, one of the sources said. Witnesses said the road was clear of traffic after earlier congestion as tourists fled Lebanon to neighboring Syria.
Israel has hit hundreds of targets in Lebanon since Wednesday night. GOC Northern Command Major General Udi Adam said Israel was targeting infrastructure in Lebanon that held rockets and other arsenals belong to Hezbollah.
Adam said the IDF was not ruling out sending ground troops into Lebanon, but was not planning a massive call up of reserves.
Israel struck the Beirut airport Thursday, blasting runways and setting fuel tanks ablaze to prevent the transport of weapons and the hostages from the area, an IDF spokesman said. The IAF also bombed the small military airport of Qulayaat in northern Lebanon on Thursday, cutting off Lebanon's civilian and military air access.
Tehran has denied reports that the hostages have been transferred to Iran.
--
Magal
Acesse: http://hebreu.blogspot.com
Hezbollah head Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has his office and residence in south Beirut. Hezbollah's Shura Council, its decision-making body, and the TV station are also located in that area, a section heavily guarded by Hezbollah.
The IDF announcement came shortly after Israeli aircraft bombed the Beirut international airport for the second day in a row, as Hezbollah continued to
Hezbollah official Ghaleb Abu Zaineb reiterated Friday the militant group's commitment to attacking Haifa if Israel attacks Beirut.
"We are committed to what we say, but we will decide the manner and timing of our response," said Abu Zaineb, a member of the Hezbollah political bureau. "The enemy must expect an attack on Haifa at any time."
Israel is attempting to put pressure on the Lebanese government and force Hezbollah to free two Israeli soldiers the group captured Wednesday. Israel has already bombed Lebanon's airports and blockaded the country from the sea, bringing trade and tourism to a halt.
IAF bombs Beirut airport
Israel Air Force planes bombed Beirut's international airport Friday, a few hours after striking a Hezbollah stronghold, a bridge in the southern suburb of Beirut, and the fuel stores of the Jiyyeh power plant south of the city, witnesses and security sources said.
The Lebanese Army responded with anti-aircraft fire.
Three people were reported killed and 55 wounded in the Israeli strike early Friday. The death toll brought to 51 the number of Lebanese killed since Wednesday, when Israel began retaliating for the abduction. One of the fatalities was a Hezbollah militant and the remaining 50 killed were civilians.
IDF spokeswoman Miri Regev said Friday that the IDF has hit "dozens of rocket storehouses and stockpiles" belonging to Hezbollah. She also said the Hezbollah stronghold is "the place where the Hezbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, are located on a regular basis."
Friday's raids took place after Katyusha rockets slammed into the northern port city of Haifa on Thursday. Earlier that day, two Israelis were killed and 120 were wounded when scores of Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah guerillas rained down across northern Israel.
"We cannot tolerate a situation where a terrorist organization is operating from a sovereign country on our northern border and threatening well over half a million Israeli civilians," said army spokesman Capt. Jacob Dallal.
Also Friday, IAF jets bombed a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine base in eastern Lebanon, several kilometers west of the Syrian border, and struck the main highway linking Beirut to Damascus early Friday, security sources said.
The jets struck at least five separate times along different points of the international route, one of the sources said. Witnesses said the road was clear of traffic after earlier congestion as tourists fled Lebanon to neighboring Syria.
Israel has hit hundreds of targets in Lebanon since Wednesday night. GOC Northern Command Major General Udi Adam said Israel was targeting infrastructure in Lebanon that held rockets and other arsenals belong to Hezbollah.
Adam said the IDF was not ruling out sending ground troops into Lebanon, but was not planning a massive call up of reserves.
Israel struck the Beirut airport Thursday, blasting runways and setting fuel tanks ablaze to prevent the transport of weapons and the hostages from the area, an IDF spokesman said. The IAF also bombed the small military airport of Qulayaat in northern Lebanon on Thursday, cutting off Lebanon's civilian and military air access.
Tehran has denied reports that the hostages have been transferred to Iran.
--
Magal
Acesse: http://hebreu.blogspot.com
--
Magal
Acesse: http://hebreu.blogspot.com
