Israeli warplanes raid Beirut's southern suburbs

Israeli warplanes repeatedly blasted Beirut’s southern suburbs today, causing a series of huge blasts, Hezbollah’s Al Manar television reported.

The TV’s correspondent said Israeli airstrikes targeted the Hezbollah stronghold of Haret Hreik, which has been attacked by Israeli jets for two days straight.

Two major explosions echoed from the Haret Hreik neighbourhood and reverberated across Beirut.

Israeli jets returned about 20 minutes later and struck the southern suburbs again, causing a big explosion that reverberated across the Lebanese capital, Al Manar reported.

There was no immediate word on casualties.

Israeli warplanes also staged four bombing runs on residential areas inside the eastern city of Baalbek, where senior Hezbollah officials have residence or offices, witnesses said. Heavy black smoke billowed from the area and ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.

Al-Jazeera television reported that a rocket hit the house of Sheik Mohammed Yazbek, a senior Hezbollah official. That report could not immediately be confirmed.

Israeli warplanes renewed attacks on Lebanon early today, targeting bridges, fuel storage tanks and gas stations in the east and south, security officials said.

Israel also bombarded the south Beirut suburbs Friday as well, destroying the headquarters and residence of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah was unharmed, Al Manar said.

The Haret Hreik neighbourhood houses Hezbollah’s security compound, a sealed-off bloc of buildings where Nasrallah has an office and residence, and where the Shura Council decision-making body is located.

Earlier today it was reported that at least 12 Lebanese villagers, including women and children, were killed in what appeared to be an Israeli airstrike on a convoy of vehicles fleeing a village near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon, a witness said.

The Lebanese convoy was leaving the border village of Marwaheen, when it was attacked. An Associated Press photographer said he counted 12 bodies in two cars that were destroyed by the attack shortly after midday (10am Irish time).

Several hours earlier, Israeli forces across the border told villagers by loudspeaker to leave the area or else the village would be destroyed. They did not give a reason for the ultimatum.

In other developments Israeli officials warned that Hezbollah has missiles that could reach as far as 100-200 kilometres (62-125 miles), 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 45 kilometres (about 28 miles), and another 20 with a range of 100-200 kilometres.

“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.

Today 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 35 kilometres (22 miles) 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.