Israel Matzav

140 rockets hit the north today

One hundred and forty rockets hit northern Israel today, with the brunt being borne by Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona and Akko (Acre). Eight people were wounded this morning, one moderately and seven lightly. Some 29 people suffered from shock.

This afternoon, one person was moderately wounded and four persons were lightly wounded in rocket barrages that landed in Kiryat Shmona. Two other persons suffered from shock.

In one barrage of at least 10 rockets, a house sustained a direct hit. Other damage was also reported, including several fires.

Magen David Adom reports that in total today, in 54 incident of rocket attacks in northern Israel (each 'incident' can have more than one rocket), 69 people have been injured: 4 moderately (including IDF soldiers), 18 lightly injured, and 47 people suffered from shock.

There were also alerts in Haifa and Tverya (Tiberias). Several rockets landed on the outskirts of Haifa; none hit Tverya today.

Deputy OC Northern Command Brig.-Gen. Alon Friedman said Saturday that the missiles fired at Afula on Friday were not Iranian-made Fajr-5s, as originally reported, but an older Syrian-made rocket. This was the first time missiles of this type have been fired at Israel by Hizbullah.

Police said that one of the missiles that landed near Afula contained 100 kg. (220 pounds) of explosives - an amount that could have caused extensive damage and casualties. No one was wounded in the attack, and the Home Front Command instructed Afula residents to remain indoors. The attack caused a fire, which was contained by firefighters with the help of a helicopter.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:41 PM