Israel says it killed senior Hezbollah figures in strike on Beirut

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from northern Israel

Scores of rockets flew into northern Israel today, with volley
after volley being intercepted over the towns of Safed and Rosh Pinna.

A simmering border conflict, already eleven months old, appears
to be intensifying.

But for all the sirens and the explosions, some Israelis here in
the firing line see this week as a welcome turning point.

“For the first time, after eleven months, we have hope that
people will be able to come back to their homes,” retired IDF intelligence
officer Sarit Zehavi told me this morning at the offices of Alma, a research
centre she runs close to the border.

“Because something is truly being done to damage the
capabilities of Hezbollah. This was not the case until now,” she says.

This week has seen Israel land one spectacular blow after
another on Hezbollah’s manpower and capability.

The group has shown that it’s still capable of hitting back, but
today’s rocket attacks were all easily dealt with and did little damage.

Israelis are realistic – they’re not declaring victory over
Hezbollah, which they’ve come to recognise, after decades, as a formidable
enemy.

But they all hope that the tide of the war has turned this week.