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Hadera powewr plant
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Photo: Gil Eliyahu
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For first time: Hizbullah targets Hadera area

At approximately 9:15 p.m. siren heard in Hadera for first time since fighting in Lebanon erupted; three rockets land in area; no injuries reported; earlier rocket landings reported near Migdal Haemek; more than 200 rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon on Friday, three civilians killed

For the first time since the fighting in the north broke out Hizbullah fired long-range rockets toward the Hadera area, with Northern District Police saying they received reports of three landings; no injuries or damage were reported.  

 

A siren was heard from Haifa to the Hadera area at approximately 9:15 p.m.

 

The Orot-Rabin power plant is located in Hadera’s beachfront area.

 

'We immediately ran to a protected space'

 

Eight people suffering from shock after hearing the blasts were evacuated to the Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera.

 

Hadera Mayor Haim Avitan called on the residents to remain calm and follow instructions.

 

“In the past few weeks the local municipality has prepared for such an event,” he said. “The shelters were cleaned. Just a few days ago we conducted a drill; we are at war, we must deal with it.”

 

Amram Gutman was in the area at the time of the attack: “We heard a boom and saw a flash of fire. I was with my wife and we both saw it. We were not frightened; I understood what was going on, I have some experience in these matters. People around us left the area quickly.”

 

Hadera resident Yisrael Rachmaninov said, “The siren was activated at 9:16 p.m., and we immediately ran to a protected space in our apartment. My mother heard two blasts.

 

Ron of Binyamina told Ynet, “the blast rattled the windows in our house; the siren in Binyamina was not activated.”

 

Later on Friday the Israel Air Force struck an object suspected to be the launcher used to fire rockets at Hadera, south of the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

 

Several blasts occurred in the area after the strike.

 

More than 200 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon on Friday; three civilians were killed in the attacks.

 


Destruction in Carmiel (Photo: Ahiya Raved)  

 

At 7:15 p.m. Hizbullah resumed the rocket fire on northern Israel. A number of rockets landed in the Migdal Haemek area, and Magen David Adom security services said two people were lightly injured in the attack.

 

Earlier on Friday Manal Azzam, a 27-year-old mother of two from the village of Mghar was killed; a few hours later two Majdel Krum resident were also killed by rocket fire.

 

Eli Marchasin of Migdal Haemek told Ynet that 5 or 6 rocket landings were heard near the city. Sirens were activated in several northern communities in the Binyamina, Zichron Yaakova and Ada region. Rockets also landed on the Syrian side of the border.

 

'More than 14,000 Katyushas in all of Lebanon'

 

Majdel Krum residents told Ynet that the two men killed in the rocket attack on the village were relatives; they were apparently traveling in their car when the siren was activated and stepped out of it to seek shelter when they were struck and killed.

 

Dr. Ali Naama, director of a medical center outside Majdel Krum, said some 30 people injured in the attack on village were evacuated to the center.

 

“Six people sustained mostly light shrapnel-related injuries, while 24 others were treated for shock,” he said.

 

Two houses in the village of Mghar suffered direct hits at about 2:15 p.m., killing Manal Azzam as she was protecting her two children; two other residents were seriously injured, and 22 others were treated for shock.

 

Meanwhile, the IDF is continuing its attacks deep inside Lebanese territory.

 

“The attacks on Shiite neighborhoods in Beirut have resumed, along with the strikes on infrastructure in the Bekaa Valley and on bridges in west and east Beirut,” Brig. General Shuki Shihrur, head of IDF Northern Command Operations said.

 

“We also targeted roads used in Syrian and Iranian attempts to smuggle arms designated for Hizbullah use in Lebanon.”

 

Shihrur said “we do not have an interest in a confrontation with Syria, and we are not targeting equipment and weapons caches on its territory, despite the fact that in most cases we know where the weapons came from.”

 

The Brig. General said the IDF struck a third of Hizbullah’s 122-milimeter rocker arsenal, which have a range of 25 kilometers and ‘cover’ all of northern Israel.

 

“Hizbullah still possesses several thousand Katyusha rockets and their rocket-launching capabilities have not been completely foiled as of yet,” he said.

 

According to Shihrur, some 400 Hizbullah members have been killed in the fighting so far “but we can publish the names of only 230 of them.”

 

Asked why Hizbullah is still able to fire Katyusha rockets at Israel, Shihrur said “there are more than 14,000 Katyushas in all of Lebanon. Some are hidden in bunkers underground caches and in the homes of hundreds of south Lebanon residents. This is the reason we see dozens of cells that fire rockets quickly and immediately return to their hideouts. Sometimes they fire rockets with the use of a timer.”

 

Miri Chason contributed to the report 

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.04.06, 21:34
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