News Brief – Sunday August 6, 2006
Hezbollah has fired an sustained barrage of rockets at towns across northern Israel, killing at least ten people and wounding 20 others, rescue services said.
One rocket landed near the entrance of the communal farm of Kfar Giladi on the border, killing all 10 victims. Channel Two television reported that nine reserve soldiers were among the dead, and television footage showed a soldier holding his head in grief.
"It was a direct hit on a crowd of people," said Dan Ronen, the chief of the northern police command Ronen told Army Radio the Katyusha barrage was the most intense in 23 days of fighting with Hezbollah.
"The scene is very difficult. It can be described as a battlefield," said Shimon Abutbul, a rescue worker who was one of the first to arrive in the area. "There was a lot of blood."
"We saw difficult scenes in the days of this fighting. This is the worst I have seen," he said, adding that the rockets also hit cars.
Israeli Army Radio reported that a synagogue was also hit and there were fatalities in the barrage. "There are several wounded, many of them in very serious condition," Eli Bean, director of the Magen David Adom rescue service, told Israel's Channel Two.
Witnesses reported the barrage was going on more than 15 minutes after it had begun. One rescue service reported at least two rockets directly hit homes.
Last updated 08/08/2006
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