'Hezbollah has missiles that can reach Israeli cities'

Israeli officials warned today that Hezbollah has missiles that could reach as far as 100-200kms, into the country, putting cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv at risk if the weapons are used.

A senior Israeli intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said that Hezbollah has 150 missiles that could reach a distance of 45kms, and another 20 with a range of 100-200kms.

“They may hit Tel Aviv,” the official said, adding that Israeli intelligence officials were not sure why Hezbollah has not used the missiles since it started firing rockets at Israel on Wednesday.

An army spokesman said that since Wednesday, more than 350 Katyusha rockets have been fired into Israel, including 40 on Saturday, and have killed four people and injured about 60.

On Saturday, rockets struck the resort city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, and residents there were ordered into bomb shelters. Israel radio reported that tourists were leaving the city after the attack. Israel’s Channel 2 television said that police with megaphones were going beach by beach urging bathers to seek shelter.

It was believed to be the first time since the 1973 Mideast War that the city was hit by a missile. It is 35kms south of the border with Lebanon.

A senior Israeli intelligence official said that Iranian troops helped Hezbollah fire the missile that damaged an Israeli warship off the Lebanese coast the night before.

The official said about 100 Iranian soldiers are in Lebanon and helped fire the Iranian-made, radar-guided C-102 at the ship that killed one and left three missing.

Initially, it was thought that Hezbollah used a drone to attack the ship. The Israeli intelligence official did say that Hezbollah does have drones and warned that they are more accurate than missiles.

“We can confirm that it was hit by an Iranian-made missile launched by Hezbollah. We see this as very profound fingerprint of Iranian involvement in Hezbollah,” Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan said.

Another Hezbollah missile also hit and sank a nearby civilian merchant ship at around the same time, Nehushtan said. He said that ship apparently was Egyptian, but he had no other information about it.

Nehushtan said the body of one of the four Israeli soldiers left missing by the attack on the warship was found aboard it, but other Israeli military officials said two bodies had been found.

Israel launched its offensive after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel has bombarded Lebanon’s airport and main roads in the most intensive offensive against the country in 24 years, while Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets into Israel.

The intense fighting has sent shock waves through a region already traumatised by Israel’s battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. With Israeli officials pointing fingers at Hezbollah’s close allies, Syria and Iran, the crisis could soon spread even further.

The damaged Israeli warship, which had been carrying several dozen sailors, was travelling back to the Israeli port of Haifa after a fire aboard it was put out.

Nine Israeli soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the fighting, and the loss of the three sailors threatened to drive the death toll higher. At least 73 Lebanese have died, most of the them civilians.