Hezbollah leader threatens Tel Aviv

These two satellite images provided by GeoEye show the same area of Beirut, Lebanon before and after Israeli bombardment. The image on the left was taken Wednesday July 12, 2006, and the image on the right was taken Monday July 31, 2006. (AP Photo/GeoEye)

August 4, 2006

By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer


JERUSALEM - A massive wave of guerrilla rockets pounded northern Israel in a matter of minutes Thursday, killing eight people hours before Hezbollah's leader offered to stop the attacks if Israel ends its airstrikes. With four soldiers killed in Lebanon, it was the deadliest day for Israel in its two-front war.

Israeli warplanes pounded south Beirut early Friday, launching 15 bombing runs in a half hour, local media reported.

Fighter jets flew over the Hezbollah stronghold of Ouzai after hitting the suburb of Dahieh. Israel said its targets were guerrilla facilities and an office of Hamas, the militant group which runs the Palestinian government. Israeli artillery shells earlier soared into the hills of southern Lebanon, sometimes as many as 15 per minute.

In the second front of its offensive against Islamic militants, Israel sent dozens of tanks into the Gaza Strip as aircraft fired at clusters of militants. The heavy clashes killed eight Palestinians, including an 8-year-old boy. Read more...

Update:

Hezbollah missiles land on Al Khadera, 20 km from Tel Aviv