Israelis destroy Hezbollah outposts

ISRAEL said yesterday it had destroyed most of the military positions of Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas along its northern border in the heaviest fighting since it ended its 18-year occupation of Southern Lebanon.

Rocket and artillery exchanges killed two Hezbollah guerrillas and wounded two Israeli soldiers on Sunday.

An Israeli newspaper, meanwhile, reported that Iran has equipped Hezbollah with rockets capable of hitting all of Israel’s major cities, including Beer Sheva in the south. The Haaretz daily, citing intelligence sources, said the rockets have a range of about 125 miles, or double that of weapons previously in Hezbollah’s arsenal. Israeli commander Brigadier Gal Hirsch declined to comment on the report, but he said Iranian weapons in the hands of Hezbollah, including mortars and missiles, pose a real threat to Israel.