Rockets hit Israel from Lebanon

Israel has launched shells into Lebanon in response to rockets fired into its territory. A military spokesman said Israel aimed "a pinpoint response at the source of fire" in Lebanon. An Israeli security source said Israel had fired five artillery shells. Four rockets fired from Lebanon hit the Israeli resort town of Nahariya and three other locations, wounding two people, police and medics said. It is believed the attack is linked to Israel's 13-day-old offensive against Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip. It is not clear whether Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas - against whom Israel fought a war in 2006 - or Palestinians fired the rockets. Israeli forces have been on high alert in the north fearing that Hezbollah could send rocket salvoes into northern Israel as they did in the 2006 conflict and lend support to Hamas and the Gaza Strip's 1.5 million inhabitants. Meanwhile, in Gaza City, relief workers found four starving children sitting next to their dead mothers and other corpses in a house bombed by Israel, the International Committee of the Red Cross has said. The ICRC said: "They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found alive, too weak to stand up. In all there were at least 12 corpses lying on mattresses." The body has accused Israel of delaying ambulance access to the hit area and demanded it grant safe access for Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances to return to evacuate more wounded. Pierre Wettach, ICRC chief for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, said: "This is a shocking incident. The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestinian Red Crescent to assist the wounded." In another house, the team found 15 survivors of Israeli shelling including several wounded, the ICRC said. Three corpses were found in another home. Israeli soldiers posted 80m away ordered the rescue team to leave the area, which they refused to do. An Israeli offensive launched in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on December 27 has drawn increasing international criticism over mounting civilian casualties. At least 700 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 200 children and 90 women. The number of wounded has risen to over 3,100 with nearly half women and children. Israeli warplanes have continued to bomb targets across the Gaza Strip and tanks advanced on Palestinian guerrillas. Residents in Gaza described the overnight bombardments to the east of the city as among the heaviest in the offensive. Talks to end the bloodshed are taking place later between Israelis, Palestinians and other Arab leaders in Egypt. Although Israel pressed on with the offensive, it said it accepted the "principles" of a European-Egyptian ceasefire proposal. On Thursday, Pope Benedict condemned the use of violence by Israel and Hamas a day after one of his senior aides angered Jews by calling the strip "a big concentration camp".

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ITN | January 8, 2009

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