Jul 15, 2006 8:17 am US/Eastern
(CBS News) JERUSALEM A senior Israeli intelligence official said Saturday that Iranian troops helped Hezbollah fire the missile that damaged an Israeli warship off the Lebanese coast the night before.
One sailor was killed and three remain missing after the attack, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger in Jerusalem.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said about 100 Iranian soldiers are in Lebanon and helped fire the Iranian-made, radar-guided C-102 at the ship that killed one and left three missing.
Initially, it was thought that Hezbollah used a drone to attack the ship. The Israeli intelligence official did say that Hezbollah does have drones and warned that they are more accurate than missiles.
"We can confirm that it was hit by an Iranian-made missile launched by Hezbollah. We see this as very profound fingerprint of Iranian involvement in Hezbollah," Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Another Hezbollah missile also hit and sank a nearby civilian merchant ship at around the same time, Nehushtan said. He said that ship apparently was Egyptian, but he had no other information about it.
Nehushtan said the body of one of the four Israeli soldiers left missing by the attack on the warship was found aboard it, but other Israeli military officials said two bodies had been found.
Israeli officials warned Saturday that Hezbollah has missiles that could reach as far as 62-125 miles, into the country, putting cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv at risk if the weapons are used.
A senior Israeli intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said that Hezbollah has 150 missiles that could reach a distance of about 28 miles, and another 20 with a range of 100-200 kilometers.
"They may hit Tel Aviv," the official said, adding that Israeli intelligence officials were not sure why Hezbollah has not used the missiles since it started firing rockets at Israel on Wednesday.
An army spokesman said that since Wednesday, more than 350 Katyusha rockets have been fired into Israel, including 40 on Saturday, and have killed four people and injured about 60.
In other developments:
• At the G-8 conference in St. Petersburg, Russia Saturday, President Bush blamed Hezbollah alone for the escalating violence in the Middle East, putting himself at odds with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was more critical of Israel. "In my judgment, the best way to stop the violence is to understand why the violence occurred in the first place," Mr. Bush said. "And that's because Hezbollah has been launching rocket attacks out of Lebanon into Israel and because Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers."
• Arab foreign ministers have held an emergency summit in Cairo Saturday over the intensified fighting between Israel and Lebanon. Lebanon's foreign minister today presented his fellow Arab League members with a draft resolution condemning what it says is Israel's military offensive. The resolution also supports Lebanon's "right to resist occupation by all legitimate means."
• CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports on how the fighting has affected Lebanese-Americans in Dearborn, Mich., who have family members in Lebanon. "Everything is escalating so quickly it doesn't give you time to breathe to react to one thing before something else happens," Issam Abbas tells Bowers of the conflict (video).
• Hezbollah's leader said Friday that his group is ready for "open war" with Israel, and as his words were broadcast, guerrillas attacked an Israeli warship that had been firing missiles into southern Beirut. On Hezbollah's Al-Manar television less than an hour after missiles destroyed his headquarters and home, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah addressed himself to Israelis and said they must take responsibility for their actions. "You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war," he said. "We are ready for it."
Earlier, at least 27 people were killed in South Lebanon when several cars were hit in Israeli air strikes. In northern Israel, rockets fell on the city of Tiberias, reports Berger.
Israel radio reported that tourists were leaving the city after the attack. Israel's Channel 2 television said that police with megaphones were going beach by beach urging bathers to seek shelter.
It was believed to be the first time since the 1973 Mideast War that Tiberias was hit by a missile. It is 22 miles south of the border with Lebanon.
Israel launched its offensive after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel has bombarded Lebanon's airport and main roads in the most intensive offensive against the country in 24 years, while Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets into Israel.
The intense fighting has sent shock waves through a region already traumatized by Israel's battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. With Israeli officials pointing fingers at Hezbollah's close allies, Syria and Iran, the crisis could soon spread even further.
The damaged Israeli warship, which had been carrying several dozen sailors, was traveling back to the Israeli port of Haifa on Saturday after a fire aboard it was put out.
During the current campaign, Hezbollah has proved to be a tough foe. Despite numerous airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, including the headquarters of its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Israel has been unable to stop the rocket fire.
Nine Israeli soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the fighting, and the loss of the three sailors threatened to drive the death toll higher. At least 73 Lebanese have died, most of the them civilians.
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