gelatik
07.04.02, 23:23
Six soldiers were wounded - two moderately and the rest lightly - in Hizbullah
attacks on several Israeli villages and army bases along the Lebanese border
that started about 5 p.m.
Residents of communities along the border had been ordered into bomb shelters
or sealed rooms earlier this evening, but were allowed out about an hour later.
The area has been quiet since about 7:30 p.m.
Hizbullah fired mortar shells and anti-tank missiles at IDF posts in the Har
Dov and Hermon areas, and rockets were fired at Israeli military posts in the
Golan Heights. Two male soldiers were wounded, one moderately, Israel Radio
reported.
A short time later, four female soldiers were wounded, one moderately to
seriously, after mortar shells were fired at an IDF post in the Upper Galilee's
Moshav Avivim.
Terrorists also aimed rifle fire at Kibbutz Manara, next to the border in the
Galilee panhandle on the border, a strip of Israeli territory bordering
Lebanon. No injuries were reported.
An explosive device was also found near the border fence, Israel's Channel One
television reported.
The army returned fire via tanks, planes, and helicopters, Israel Radio
reported.
The wounded soldiers were taken to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa and Rebecca
Sieff Hospital in Safed.
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz warned that Israel is prepared to
hit back at the centers of power in Lebanon. "When red lines are crossed, we
will know how to act," he said.
He said earlier today that attacks in the North are being carried out by both
Hizbullah and Palestinian groups under the direction of Iran and with Syrian
approval, The Jerusalem Post's Nina Gilbert reported.
Mofaz also said the escalation on the northern border is designed to divert
Israel's attentions from the war on Palestinian terror.
