VARIOUS: Israeli casualties rise in Lebanon conflict as Prime Minister Olmert tours settlements under fire from Hizbollah rockets

An Israeli army officer was killed and three soldiers wounded in a Hizbollah attack on the southern Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras on Wednesday (July 26), military spokesmen said. The announcement brought to nine the day's Israeli death toll in the area. A Hizbollah ambush at dawn killed eight troops in the nearby stronghold of Bint Jbeil, the army said. Twenty-two soldiers were wounded in the latter attack. Al Jazeera television said the attack on Maroun al-Ras targeted "Israeli spies". Israeli security sources said the troops were probably a team of infantry or artillery spotters who were hit by a Hizbollah anti-tank rocket. Near the border, Israeli army Captain Doron Spielman said combat in southern Lebanese towns between Israeli soldiers and Hizbollah guerrilas was the most intense to date. "There's very intensive fighting right now - door to door fighting, window to window fighting with ammunitions flying overhead. There are vehicles moving in the area. There are snipers. This is some of the most intense fighting we have seen at this point, and many of our inured came from that intensive front-line fighting against Hizbollah. More than that, at this point, I cannot say," Doron, a military spokesman, told Reuters. Some of the wounded were air-lifted to a hospital in Haifa. Some of the soldiers were clearly suffering moderate to severe wounds. In the northern Israeli city of Safed, an area that's been a frequent target of rockets fired by Hizbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, Israeli Brigadier General Udi Adam said he expected Israel's military campaign to continue for some time to come. "I assume it's going to last a few more weeks, as we said. And in a few weeks, we could, in my opinion, finish this operation successfully," General Adam said. But the operation has not stopped Hizbollah rocket attacks. More than 125 missiles hit the port of Haifa and other parts of northern Israel on Wednesday, wounding dozens of people. One such rocket impact was captured on CCTV video. In a town outside Haifa, a car passing a truck loading dock suffered a direct impact from a Hizbollah fired rocket. In Jerusalem, UN Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland told reporters that in one week, the region might be engulfed in a total disaster, well beyond the troubles of the current situation. "So no we have a cross-roads. Do the peoples of this region want a further escalation on the grounds of the most ancient civilisations there is. Or do we say, 'enough," Egeland said. But for his part, Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert showed no indication that the campaign would end soon. Olmert travelled via helicopter to northern Israeli communities in the line of fire of Hizbollah rockets. He toured several communities in an attempt to rally support for the ongoing war effort. The conflict has killed at least 420 people in Lebanon and 50 Israelis. The Israeli military said Wednesday its forces have killed at least 130 Hizbollah men, countering the Lebanese guerrillas' lower figure.

ITN Source | July 28, 2006

Tags:. .lower. .border. .various. .opinion. .civilisations