Israel renews airstrikes around Beirut

updated 9:47 p.m. ET Aug. 2, 2006

BOURJ AL-MULOUK, Lebanon - Israel renewed airstrikes against Hezbollah strongholds in the battered outskirts of the Lebanese capital in the early hours Thursday.

Witnesses said at least four explosions reverberated through Beirut as missiles hit Dahieh, a Shiite Muslim suburb that has been repeatedly shelled by Israel since fighting began three weeks ago.

Residents heard the impact of a large explosion about every five minutes starting at 2:30 a.m., as missiles apparently targeted areas close to Hezbollah's headquarters in Dahieh, a neighborhood to the south of the capital that has been partly flattened by air strikes in previous weeks.

It was the first air raid against the Lebanese capital's suburb in almost a week. The strikes came in the wake of Hezbollah's rocket attack on the Israeli town of Afulah, its deepest hit in Israel so far. Hezbollah fired a record number of 230 rockets into Israel on Wednesday, as fierce fighting raged on the border.

Hezbollah fired its biggest and deepest volley of rockets as Israel pursued the guerrillas with 8,000 soldiers on the ground and heavy bombing. With fighting in its fourth week and diplomatic efforts stalled, the region braced for a bitter and long war.

Heavy machinery carries off bodies
In eastern Lebanon, villagers wept as heavy machinery carried off the bodies of those killed in an overnight raid against a Hezbollah stronghold. Across northern Israel, forests and fields lay scorched from rocket fire that killed a Massachusetts native fleeing on his bicycle after a warning siren went off.

Hopes for a cease-fire dimmed despite a plea from Pope Benedict XVI for a quick solution. U.N. diplomats debated a draft resolution that would lay down the conditions for an international force to go in; they claimed they were making progress but acknowledged no immediate deal was in sight.

The prospect of a longer war has raised tensions across the Mideast, where anti-Israeli and anti-American hostility is now sharp. Arab leaders have warned repeatedly in recent days that the fighting has hampered, or killed outright, any hope for a long-term Israeli peace deal.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his country would stop its offensive only after a robust international peacekeeping force is in place in southern Lebanon — something likely to take weeks at minimum. He predicted the fighting would create "new momentum" for Israel's plan to separate from the Palestinians by pulling out of the West Bank.

Early Thursday, Israel renewed air strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's outskirts. Witnesses said at least four explosions reverberated after missiles hit Dahieh, a Shiite Muslim suburb that has been repeatedly shelled by Israel.

On Wednesday, the first full day of its massive ground push, Israeli military officials said Hezbollah was putting up resistance as troops went from village to village in south Lebanon to clear them of guerrillas.

Objective: Four miles deep into Lebanon
But the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said they were confident the resistance would not change their objective of reaching roughly four miles into Lebanon by Thursday. They said they could easily dash inland to the Litani River — their final objective about 18 miles from the border — but instead chose to move methodically so as not to leave pockets of resistance.

The Israeli forces were believed to be just two miles inside the Lebanese border in most spots.

The military said early Thursday that an Israeli soldier was killed and four others wounded in Ayt a-Shab, just across the border. Army Radio said the battle was still in progress early Thursday.

Hezbollah's retaliation was fierce — both on the ground and by air. It fired a record daily number of more than 230 rockets into Israel, pushing its three-week total over the 2,000 mark. The highest previous daily total was 166, on July 26.

One rocket on Wednesday hit near the town of Beit Shean, about 42 miles beyond the border, Hezbollah's deepest rocket strike into Israel so far. Another stray missile hit the West Bank for the first time.

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