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An Italian UN peacekeeper speaking on a wireless set near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon on Monday. (AP)
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Last update - 03:54 23/07/2007
Hezbollah chief: Our reach spans every point in Israel
By Yoav Stern and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents

Hezbollah claimed Sunday that it is able to strike at every part of Israel, and had the same capability during the Second Lebanon War last summer.

The leader of the Iranian and Syrian-backed organization, Hassan Nasrallah, made the comments to Qatari-based Al-Jazeera satellite television, in an interview to be aired in its entirety Monday.

"Even in the months of July and August 2006 there was not one place in occupied Palestine that we could not reach, every point and every corner," Nasrallah said. "I stress that we can do this today as well."
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The 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted following the July 12 abduction of two Israel Defense Forces soldiers by the militant group and the deaths of eight others.

Meanwhile, Israeli military sources say that Hezbollah has moved its short-range Katyusha rockets into built-up areas in southern Lebanon, mostly in Shi'ite villages, to hide them from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Since its reinforced deployment after the cease-fire last August, UNIFIL has carried out extensive searches in southern Lebanon's open brush areas, where Hezbollah built up extensive underground fortifications and set up launch pads for its rocket attacks against Israel.

In recent months, more than 90 percent of these areas have been searched, and UNIFIL patrols have found and destroyed Hezbollah arms, including Katyusha launchers, Katyusha rockets and explosives.

Details of the UN operations in southern Lebanon are in reports sent from UNIFIL to the organization's headquarters in New York.

During searches after the war, 33 such areas - which the IDF euphemistically terms "nature reserves" - were located.

These included bunkers and underground tunnels, some of which are sufficiently complex to include sub-systems, all built by Hezbollah south of the Litani River during the six years following the IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Most of the rockets fired against Israel during the war last year were launched from the "nature reserves."

Military Intelligence had information on the location of most of these areas, but not about the extent of the fortifications built by Hezbollah there.

Throughout the war the General Staff - and particularly Northern Command - restricted the offensive operations into these areas following the initial encounter July 19, 2006, during which two soldiers were killed in a confrontation with Hezbollah in the "nature reserve" code-named Shaked near the town of Maroun al-Ras.

The UNIFIL searches have revealed that the condition of the bunkers and fortifications in the "nature reserves" has deteriorated - suggesting that Hezbollah fighters have not tried to return to these permanently. However, it is also clear that some Hezbollah fighters do occasionally return to the area to maintain some of the fortifications.

As an alternative to the "nature reserves," Hezbollah is trying to transfer significant numbers of its rockets into built-up areas, mostly in the dozens of Shi'ite villages south of the Litani.

Most of the organization's long-range rockets are kept north of the river, but there is a continuous effort to smuggle missiles into southern Lebanon, controlled by UNIFIL.

Israel has recently issued a number of warnings to Lebanon that if in the future there is an outbreak of hostilities and Hezbollah launches rockets from built-up areas, the IDF will not hesitate to bomb - and even totally destroy - urban areas after it gives Lebanese civilians the chance to flee.

UNIFIL's efforts have touched a raw nerve with Hezbollah, and Israeli analysts have interpreted the recent attack against a UN armored vehicle, in which six soldiers of the Spanish battalion were killed, as being directly linked to the pressure the peacekeepers have put on the extremist Shi'ite organization.

Nasrallah's visit to Damascus on Thursday, where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was something Israeli intelligence was not aware of in advance
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  1.   Civilian warnings will hamper war efforts 03:36  |  bernard ross 22/07/07
  2.   Why lie? 03:48  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  3.   Good question "Hannah", why do you lie? 04:35  |  David 22/07/07
  4.   Just out of curiousity 04:39  |  Colin Wright 22/07/07
  5.   Why Hide The Rockets? 04:57  |  Eli 22/07/07
  6.   Lebanese Civilians and infrastructure 04:57  |  GK 22/07/07
  7.   Hannah #3 has difficulty reconciling with the truth 05:02  |  bbl 22/07/07
  8.   So The Three Goons Met In Damascus 05:04  |  Eli 22/07/07
  9.   What`s the big deal? 05:37  |  Yankel 22/07/07
  10.   Civilian warning 05:57  |  TWogunz 22/07/07
  11.   The so called hannah 06:01  |  Edifice 22/07/07
  12.   #7 Hannah 06:16  |  Abu Yusuf 22/07/07
  13.   Israel ignores 1701 while overseeing Hizbollah compliance 06:16  |  Natallie Durson 22/07/07
  14.   BURY YOUR HEAD IN SAND:THE KATYUSHAS ARE HIDDEN:LIVNI ALL SMILES) 06:17  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 22/07/07
  15.   Re: Warnings to civilians 06:18  |  Mike 22/07/07
  16.   WARN PEACEKEEPERS,ATTACK HIZBOLAH,RETAKE LEBANON,BEFORE TOO LATE! 06:19  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 22/07/07
  17.   #3, David 06:25  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  18.   #7, bbl 06:28  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  19.   #8, Eli 06:30  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  20.   Hann 06:43  |  Shai 22/07/07
  21.   Hannah and Israel`s boundaries 06:54  |  Dennis M Starkman 22/07/07
  22.   Hannah 06:54  |  Shai 22/07/07
  23.   So-Called Hannah 07:04  |  David 22/07/07
  24.   The Devil`s reach is far and devious 07:47  |  Esther 22/07/07
  25.   In the immortal words 07:56  |  Mark Lincoln 22/07/07
  26.   RE #9 What`s the big deal? 07:58  |  beiruti 22/07/07
  27.   SORRY-MY POST re ANTI SEMITE IS #!3 not 14 08:08  |  jon feigenbaum 22/07/07
  28.   TWO-bibi-GUNS 08:10  |  Westwell 22/07/07
  29.   nothing new under the sun 08:14  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 22/07/07
  30.   ISREAL ONLY NEEDS TO MAKE A CLEAR STATEMENT 08:15  |  JON FEIGENBAUM 22/07/07
  31.   #26, "why did someone need to state...." 08:21  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 22/07/07
  32.   #29 By wearing Isreali army uniforms AND shooting behind women .. 08:29  |  JON FEIGENBAUM 22/07/07
  33.   #17 Hannah 08:52  |  Michael 22/07/07
  34.   So start searching the villages 09:34  |  Tzfonit 22/07/07
  35.   Hannah, keep posting Hannele 09:38  |  David 22/07/07
  36.   #34 Michael 09:54  |  Atoo 22/07/07
  37.   WHAT ASUPRISE ! USE MINE DETECTORS IN THE VILLAGES 10:09  |  paul harris 22/07/07
  38.   Hanna, you are an occupier 10:27  |  Vadim 22/07/07
  39.   For Bernard Ross # 1 10:27  |  Clickfool 22/07/07
  40.   #37 Atoo 10:30  |  Michael 22/07/07
  41.   Thanks for the chuckle, Eli in Berkeley # 8 10:30  |  Clickfool 22/07/07
  42.   Out come the war criminals # 10 10:32  |  Clickfool 22/07/07
  43.   ? 11:04  |  funkyyaya 22/07/07
  44.   #3 David "The little club" 11:12  |  Dav 22/07/07
  45.   UNIFIL and hizbollah 11:41  |  KUTW 22/07/07
  46.   Israel should pay financial compensation 12:04  |  For the Lebanon war 22/07/07
  47.   How do we know it`s the truth 12:07  |  Samuel Smith 22/07/07
  48.   Clickfool #41 On Israel`s Dysfunctionality 12:08  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  49.   Hizbollah will also learn lessons 12:17  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/07/07
  50.   Hezbullah should pay Israel financial compensation 12:17  |  Lebanese people 22/07/07
  51.   #32 JON FEIGENBAUM 12:29  |  Samuel Smith 22/07/07
  52.   to clickfool 12:35  |  poondag 22/07/07
  53.   Olmert, Livni and the UNIFIL hoax 12:41  |  Jonathan S 22/07/07
  54.   inevitable... 12:43  |  ravi 22/07/07
  55.   FALSE HANNAH ALERT! #48 12:45  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  56.   eli #5 12:55  |  Horton 22/07/07
  57.   Marc Lincoln 13:00  |  Walid 22/07/07
  58.   FALSE HANNAH-who cares? 13:02  |  io 22/07/07
  59.   For Hannah # 48 13:10  |  Clickfool 22/07/07
  60.   #50 13:12  |  horton 22/07/07
  61.   to the so called hannah 13:13  |  scanadu 22/07/07
  62.   #50 13:15  |  horton 22/07/07
  63.   IDF is just the biggest heap of professional liars. 13:32  |  Andreas 22/07/07
  64.   False Hannah Alert 13:42  |  Lighter Side 22/07/07
  65.   Clickfool #59 13:48  |  Nothing New 22/07/07
  66.   Hiding something from a blind man... 14:27  |  Steven 22/07/07
  67.   For the real Hannah # 55 14:48  |  Clickfool 22/07/07
  68.   The Arabs have started killing UNIFIL.How long before UNIF leave? 14:48  |  PETER SM 22/07/07
  69.   For Clickfool #58 14:54  |  Even Steven 22/07/07
  70.   Thank you Hannah 15:03  |  Even Steven 22/07/07
  71.   Andreas 15:05  |  Albert Seligman 22/07/07
  72.   easy win 15:31  |  hashimi 22/07/07
  73.   Chris Linthwaite 15:50  |  rich 22/07/07
  74.   ONLY GUESS AS USUAL 16:09  |  indrajaya 22/07/07
  75.   ...to Hannah...we are out of virgins, join us 16:17  |  The 71... 22/07/07
  76.   Walid - don`t count on it a second time 16:33  |  Mark Lincoln 22/07/07
  77.   #73 Rich 16:33  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/07/07
  78.   Walid - the second part 16:36  |  Mark Lincoln 22/07/07
  79.   Indrajaya guessing??Plenty of Sunnis and Christians in Lebanon 16:47  |  PETER SM 22/07/07
  80.   clickfool - you should not laugh too loud 17:07  |  CK Tan 22/07/07