Region | Palestinian Territories
Israel attacks Lebanon
Israeli ground troops entered southern Lebanon on Wednesday to search for two soldiers captured earlier in the day by Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli government officials said.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 July 12, 2006
Beirut: Israeli ground troops entered southern Lebanon on Wednesday to search for two soldiers captured earlier in the day by Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli government officials said.
Reports from Al Jazeera television said seven Israeli soldiers were killed in heavy fighting across the border with Hezbollah, with Hezbollah firing dozens of rockets and Israel responding with tank and artillery fire and air strikes.
Lebanese security officials said two civilians were killed in an Israeli air raid against a bridge.
The Israeli army is trying to keep the soldiers' captors from moving them deeper into Lebanon, officials said.
Troops went into a south-western sector of Lebanon just over the border from where the soldiers were captured, Israeli security officials said.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called an emergency Cabinet meeting and said Lebanese guerrillas would pay a "heavy price" for the attacks.
Calling the attacks an "act of war", he said, "These are difficult days for the state of Israel and its citizens. There are people ... who are trying to test our resolve. They will fail and they will pay a heavy price for their actions."
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