8 Cdns killed in air strikes in Lebanon: MacKay
Updated Sun. Jul. 16 2006 3:01 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Eight Lebanese-Canadians have been killed and six others are injured after an Israeli air strike in Lebanon, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.

"Pending further information and contact with their families all we can say is that there are eight confirmed casualties (and) six who have been critically injured, and we're actively pursuing as much information as quickly as possible," MacKay told CTV Newsnet.

According to The Associated Press, five of the dead are Lebanese-Canadians from a single family who were killed in an Israeli air strike while in their home in Aitaroun, on the border of Israel.

The family had travelled from Canada to spend the summer in Lebanon, according to local television stations.

The news came as the Canadian government sent commercial ships to the nation to evacuate Canadians. MacKay said 16,000 Canadians are registered in Lebanon, and the number of unregistered Canadians in the country could be double or triple that.

MacKay said the commercial ships will be arriving in the region soon.

"These ships have been secured, we'll be getting them to a coastal position off Lebanon. We're also working to secure the safe passage of these vessels, and that includes seeking assurance from all the parties there," MacKay said, noting that he has been in touch with both the Israeli and Lebanese foreign ministers.

MacKay said Foreign Affairs is also working with other countries, such as the U.K., U.S. and France, who "are facing the same logistical challenge," as they attempt to evacuate their citizens.

He advised Canadians who are currently in Lebanon to avoid open spaces, and to keep their documentation, such as passports, close at hand.

Israel retaliates after Haifa attacks

Israel launched blistering attacks on Lebanon Sunday, after eight people were killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks on the northern Israeli city of Haifa earlier in the day.

At least 20 rockets struck Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. In addition to the dead, at least seven others were wounded.

Hezbollah's attacks on Haifa came after Israel launched a fierce assault on Beirut, beginning around midnight Saturday.

Those attacks destroyed apartment buildings and knocked out power in many areas.

After Hezbollah retaliated, Israel again struck with at least six air strikes, hitting Hezbollah's headquarters in southern Beirut.

The death toll from the Haifa strike is the highest in Israel since a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv back in April killed 11 people.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned of "far-reaching consequences" for Lebanon resulting from the attack.

CTV's Murray Oliver, reporting from Haifa, said the Haifa attacks are a significant departure from previous offensives against Israel.

"This is psychologically a bit of a devastating attack on Israelis," Oliver told CTV Newsnet.

"Haifa is not some small outpost of people living on the fringes ... like the settlements might be. This is a major city, one of the three major cities in Israel, and it's a place that is near and dear to most Israelis."

Haifa is also a city where Jews and Arabs have historically lived side-by-side in peace, Oliver said.

The Haifa attack marks a sharp escalation in the violence that began Wednesday when Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, throwing the region into turmoil.

Israel can be expected to continue with a blistering response, Oliver said.

"The Israelis are furious and vowing that this attack, particularly on Haifa, will be met with a very vigorous response which usually means pretty tough measures from the Israelis on Hezbollah."

He said Israeli ships had vacated the Haifa harbour -- one of the nation's largest -- in fear of further rocket attacks.

Hezbollah took credit for the Sunday morning attacks on Haifa.

"After the Zionist enemy exceeded all limits killing and destroying ... the Islamic Resistance announces that it bombarded the city of Haifa with dozens of Raad 2 and Raad 3 rockets at 9 a.m. (2 a.m. EDT)," Hezbollah said in a statement.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Israeli attacks on Lebanon continued for a fifth day, targeting the southern Beirut suburbs that are home to Hezbollah.

Israeli air strikes and bombardments on Saturday killed at least 33 people.

U.S. officials were monitoring violence in Lebanon on an hourly basis on Sunday, considering plans to evacuate about 25,000 Americans from the country.

Lebanese PM calls for ceasefire

Lebanon's prime minister called Saturday for an immediate, United Nations-backed ceasefire in the escalating conflict with Israel, and asked for help from its "friends in the world."

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora described Lebanon as a disaster zone.

However, he also indicated that he might dispatch Lebanon's army to try and take control of southern Lebanon away from Hezbollah.

The UN and United States have repeatedly demanded that Lebanon do just that, but some say such an action could trigger a civil war to rival the one fought between 1975 and 1990.

Arab foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, passed a resolution asking the UN Security Council to act.

And in Jakarta, Indonesia, 5,000 members of a prominent Islamic political party rallied Sunday against Israel's actions in Lebanon and Gaza.

By late Saturday, however, the UN Security Council failed to agree on the language of a ceasefire agreement. Lebanon's diplomats pointed fingers at the United States.

U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, didn't back Lebanon's demands for an immediate ceasefire, maintaining his position that Hezbollah is to blame for the conflict.

"Our message to Israel is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences, so we are urging restraint," he said.

Israel has hinted it may well continue the current campaign until Hezbollah -- which is backed by Iran and Syria, and possesses an arsenal of 10,000 to 12,000 rockets -- can no longer fire into Israel. That could take months.

At least 130 Lebanese have died since the assaults began five days ago, including 33 who were killed in Saturday's offensive, and nine who were killed in air strikes on Sunday, according to the latest reports from the region.

Before Sunday's deaths in Haifa, at least 15 Israelis had been killed in the conflict, four of them civilians.

The Gaza conflict was triggered on June 25, when Palestinian militants attacked an Israeli outpost on June 25, kidnapping a young corporal.

With files from The Associated Press

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