Hezbollah guerillas have stepped up rocket attacks on Israel since early Wednesday, firing over 80 rockets onto northern Israel. One rocket hit the Israeli town of Beit She'an, about 70 km from the Israeli border with Lebanon. It is the furthest area intoIsrael that Hezbollah rockets have ever reached since the violence erupted on July 12.

At least six Israelis were also wounded in the salvos of rocket fire, including a woman who was in critical condition. Fifty-five Israelis including 19 civilians have been killed in the 22 days of fighting, which also claimed the lives of over 600 Lebanese, most of them civilians.