LEBANON: Israeli shelling continues to strike southern Lebanese town of Tyre as residents flee

Israeli shelling continued to target the southern Lebanon city of Tyre on Sunday (July 23) as families in the area fled to northern parts of the country. Hundreds more residents in the area are still waiting to leave. Israel's 12-day-old onslaught on Lebanon to cripple Hizbollah has claimed 358 lives, mostly civilians. Hizbollah attacks and rockets have killed 35 Israelis. An Israeli general said soldiers took control on Saturday (July 22) of Maroun al-Ras, a hilltop village overlooking both sides of the border, where six Israeli commandos have been killed in heavy fighting this week. Israel's Army Radio said more troops were expected to move into southern Lebanon on Sunday to widen the army's ground operations against Hizbollah just inside the border. The war started when Hizbollah captured two soldiers and killed eight in a July 12 raid into Israel, which had already launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip to try to recover another soldier seized by Palestinian militants on June 25.

ITN Source | July 23, 2006

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