IDF: Hizbullah rockets strike UN observation post
(VIDEO) Barrage of HIzbullah-fired rockets aimed at northern Israel fell short of their targets, striking a UN observation post near Zarit, army spokesman says; adds it isn't immediately clear if UNIFIL post was occupied at time of incident or if anyone was injured. Hizbullah claims IDF fired at post
VIDEO - A barrage of HIzbullah-fired rockets aimed at northern Israel fell short of their targets and struck a United Nations observation post near Zarit, the Israeli army said Friday.
An army spokesman said it wasn't immediately clear if the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon post was occupied at the time of the incident or anyone was injured.
A call seeking comment from UNIFIL was not immediately returned.
Hizbullah, on its part, claimed that the IDF fired artillery shells at the UN post, the organization's al-Manar television network reported.
The mission of the force, currently at almost 2,000 military personnel and more than 300 civilians, is to patrol the border line, known as the Blue Line, drawn by the United Nations after Israel withdrew its troops from south Lebanon in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation.
Since its deployment in 1978 after an Israeli invasion, Palestinian guerrillas and later Lebanon's Hezbollah have ignored it. Israel invaded southern Lebanon and swept through to Beirut to occupy it, slicing unhindered through the peacekeepers' lines.
The force is made up of more than 1,990 troops from China, France, Ghana, Ireland, India, Italy, Poland and Ukraine.
4 soldiers killed, IDF strikes in Lebanon
Lebanese sources reported Friday morning that the Israel Air Force struck a Hizbullah target in the Baalbeck area in the northern Lebanon Valley. According to the report, three people were killed and about 12 were wounded in the strikes.
Earlier, residents reported that the Air Force distributed leaflets calling on residents to leave their homes due to the IDF's plan to strike in south Lebanon.
On Thursday night, the Air Force struck about 40 different targets across Lebanon, including Hizbullah buildings and headquarters and rocket launching devices.
(In addition, the army attacked dozens of access routes and bridges in order to disrupt the movement of Hizbullah activists in south Lebanon. These strikes were accompanied by an ongoing fire of artillery shells at rocket launching sites along the Israel-Lebanon border.
The IDF asked hundreds of residents in south Lebanon to immediately leave their homes. According to new agencies reports, forces were preparing for a ground invasion of the area. According to the report, senior IDF officials have concluded that only a ground invasion would guarantee the withdrawal of Hizbullah forces from the area.
The agencies also reported that senior Israeli government officials met Thursday night in order to determine the extent of the ground operation. After the meeting, officials said that Israel would not stop operating until Hizbullah withdraws 30 kilometers north of the borderline. The goal is to create a new buffer zone, the dimensions of which will be defined again, for the first time in 18 years.
Four IDF soldiers were killed Thursday evening in exchanges of fire in the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, near Avivim. Six soldiers were wounded in the incident, apparently after being hit by a mortar shell fired at the forces.
Attempts to rescue some of the injured were carried out under relentless fire. Meanwhile it has been reported that the IDF forces operating in the area struck at least six terror cells, containing dozens of terrorists. It is believed a number of additional terror cells took part in the fire exchange.
AP and Shmulik Hadad contributed to the report
