Earlier, it was released for publication that IDF troops had conquered the Lebanese side of Ghajar, a town split down the middle by the border. The IDF confirmed that it was operating inside the town but said that the operation was meant to create a barrier on the Lebanese side to prevent Hizbullah infiltrations into Israel.
An Israeli missile from a "Menatetz" battery is fired at a Lebanese target.
Photo: IDF
On Monday morning, IAF aircraft fired missiles at targets in all corners of Lebanon, killing 20 and wounding at least 53 after Hizbullah rockets slammed into new targets deep inside Israel. The IAF hit over 60 targets in Lebanon on Sunday night and into Monday morning, the army said. Targets included radar stations near the Tripoli port reportedly being used by Hizbullah to track Israeli aircraft.
Eight of the dead were Lebanese soldiers who were killed when aircraft attacked a small fishing port at Abdeh in northernmost Lebanon next to a highway leading to northern Syria, about six kilometers from the border. Witnesses and security officials said 12 others were wounded after the early Monday attack destroyed the position. The IDF said it was investigating the incidents.
"In principle the Israeli military does not target Lebanese soldiers," a spokesman said.
Lebanon's army has largely remained on the sidelines of the conflict between Hizbullah and Israel so far, and it was unclear why one of its positions at the far north of the country had been hit.
The road to Syria's northwest was temporarily closed to traffic as rescuers evacuated casualties and cleared the rubble.
An Israeli gunner covers his ears as a heavy artillery piece fires at a target in southern Lebanon, near Kiryat Shmona, on the Israeli border, Sunday.
Photo: AP
Fighter jets also struck the Beirut international airport early Monday, targeting a fuel storage tank that sent an orange flame billowing high into the night sky.
The facility has been closed since Thursday after Israeli missiles punched holes in its runways and set ablaze fuel storage tanks.
Gunboats apparently aiming at a relay station for Hizbullah's Al-Manar television missed their target and hit a house in the Kharroub region south of Beirut. Police said four villagers were killed and 10 wounded.
Warplanes staged successive air strikes, targeting neighborhoods in the eastern city of Baalbek where Hizbullah officials have residences. Police had no casualty count. Residents reported that the bombardment, up to 12 missiles in six air raids, was the heaviest on the city, which is famous for its Roman ruins. The missiles started several fires and kicked up black smoke.
