BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) _ Israeli warplanes hit TV transmission towers on
Saturday in Lebanon, knocking the nation's leading private network off the
air and cutting phone links to some regions.
Fighter bombers fired missiles at transmission stations in the central and
northern Lebanese mountains, leaving antennas burning on the ground.
Three missiles hit a transmission station at Fatqa in the Keserwan
mountains, leaving antennas burning on the ground. Another airstrike crippled
a transmission tower at Terbol in northern Lebanon, where relay stations for
the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., Future TV and Hezbollah's Al-Manar are
located.
The three stations could no longer be seen in parts of the country
although their satellite feed was unaffected. The Lebanese Broadcasting Corp.
is the nation's leading private network.
Hezbollah TV has been targeted previously, during the hostilities that
erupted July 12. It went off the air for less than 10 minutes during the
pounding.
The transmission of Radio Free Lebanon, a private station, was also
disrupted when airstrikes hit a tower on a mountaintop in Sannine that was
also used by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp.
Israeli warplanes targeting a truck hit a Christian suburb of Beirut
earlier this week, but Saturday's attack was the first major airstrike in the
Christian heartland.
The 11-day-old Israeli bombardment has hammered mainly Shiite Muslim
regions in southern and eastern Lebanon as well as Beirut's southern suburbs.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces kept up the pressure on southern Lebanese border
towns, pounding them with artillery fire, making brief incursions, and
according to the Israeli military, taking control of one.
Israel's incursion into Maroun al-Ras came after it pounded the area with
bombs and artillery throughout the night.
Several Israeli soldiers, backed by artillery and tank fire, moved into
Maroun al-Ras, Israeli military officials said on condition of anonymity
citing the sensitivity of the information, and said it was under Israeli
control.
But Lebanese security sources, who also spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the information, said that the Israeli military
had made incursions of only a few hundred meters (yards) into Maroun al-Ras
and Yaroun villages.
The village is believed to be a launching point for rocket attacks on
northern Israel, including those on the Israeli city Nazareth.
Israeli air raids and artillery shelling also hit the southeast border
town of Khiam, Lebanese television and witnesses reported.
U.N. peace keepers and witnesses said the Israeli incursion briefly held
the border village of Marwaheen before pulling back.
One person was killed and five wounded in overnight airstrikes on the
southern town of Nabatiyeh, the Voice of Lebanon radio station said. The
report could not immediately be confirmed. Nabatiyeh, located some 12
kilometers north of the border, was heavily bombed a day earlier.
Lebanese television said that Israeli artillery also shelled zones near
the disputed Chebaa farms area.
No report of casualties were immediately available.
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