Explosions rock Israel, Beirut

JERUSALEM, July 17 (UPI) -- Hezbollah militants fired Katyusha rockets into Israel Monday night and early Tuesday as violence blazed uncontrolled on the Lebanese front.

Immediately afterwards, the Israelis launched more air strikes on southern Beirut.

Earlier Monday, Israeli military official said ground forces had advanced a half-mile into Lebanon to flush out missile-firing Hezbollah militants.

IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told a Knesset committee Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has been in an underground bunker since the start of Israeli air strikes in Beirut six days ago, Ha'aretz reported.

Meanwhile, helicopters evacuated U.S. Embassy staff out of Beirut as Israel and Hezbollah militants maintained a steady cross-border barrage.

The escalation came after a Hezbollah rocket struck a railroad yard in Haifa Sunday and killed eight workers. Israel responded with air strikes late Sunday that killed at least 28 people in Lebanon, including eight Canadians.

At least 13 people also were killed in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanese television reported Monday.

Over the same time, 24 Israelis were killed, half of them soldiers, in attacks by the militant Shiite Muslim fighters, The Los Angeles Times said.

The Lebanese conflict began earlier this month when a Hezbollah border raid killed eight Israeli soldiers and two others were taken prisoner.