Diary of the April 1996 Aggression: April 15

Day Five of the April 1996 Aggression
Local Editor

Day five of the 1996 April Aggression was momentous due to the heavy bombing of the cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh in South Lebanon in an "Israeli" bid to force the civilians who had remained in those areas to migrate north.

Some four hundred 155 and 175 mm caliber bombs of were fired on Nabatiyeh that day.

Military analysts in "Israeli" Haaretz daily revealed at the time that the "Israeli" army failed to force the migration of the people of Tyre, saying, "It's not that easy that people leave this city".

In an escalation of aggressions, the "Israeli" army broadcasted a statement via the enemy agents' radio station ["Israel's" collaborating army, the then Lahd army, had a radio station at the time which used to broadcast the "Israeli" army's threats to Lebanon's citizens], saying that they considered the expanding their assaults, including the evacuation of Zahraneh area, as well as the southern city of Saida.

In the afternoon, the Zionist artillery fired villages in the western Bekaa as "Israeli" warplanes executed nine raids with more than forty 500,000-pound bombs, in addition to vacuum missiles.

Three citizens were killed and scores were wounded in the raids.

Warplanes repeatedly targeted vital civilian facilities and buildings. A partial blackout occurred after abolishing the Bsalim electricity plant which provides electricity to Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa.

"Israeli" raids also hit a two-story house in Mrayjeh in Beirut's southern suburb, wounding eight. In addition, night raids took place on Soghbin in western Bekaa, abolishing a house and killing one civilian and wounded his wife and children.