WEDDING UNDER ROCKETS

A rabbi conducts a wedding ceremony for Israeli couple Shlomi Bouskila, 30, right, and Maya Lougasi, 28, second left, inside a bomb shelter where they’ve been living for over a week, in the town of Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, Thursday, July 20, 2006. All residents of northern Israel have been ordered by the army’s Home Front Command to stay nearby shelters until further notice.





Thursday July 20, 2006 HAIFA - A fresh Hizbollah rocket barrage across a
swathe of northern Israel killed one person and
wounded at least 14 others, medics said. A man in the town of Nahariya was killed just after
he had helped some of his family into a bomb
shelter and was returning for others when a
Katyusha hit him, Israeli media said. Eli Bein, director of the Magen David Adom
ambulance service, said the sight was reminiscent
of the scenes of suicide bombings as the rocket hit
the man directly. “It is a terrible sight,” he told
Army Radio. Rockets hit at least 12 towns and villages,
including four in Haifa and at least two in
Tiberias. Also hit were Safed, Acre, Kiryat
Shemona, and Gush Halav region near Safed. Israeli military officials say more than 700
Hizbollah rockets have now landed in Israel since
the crisis began, killing 13 Israelis. Israelis, stunned by Hizbollah rocket attacks, have
told pollsters they want their Army to smash the
guerrillas. “We are killing those we need to kill,”
said civilian Hanna Dehan, speaking near Haifa. But in a sign that life goes on even under extreme
pressure, the booms of Hizbollah rockets in Haifa
have not distracted one couple preparing for their
nuptials. Dressed in their full wedding regalia,
Imad Mousa and his fiancee Anita Mishal smiled
sweetly as their wedding photos were taken
overlooking Haifa’s crystal bay. “I am a bridegroom under fire,” Mousa said. “The
noise bothers us, but what is more important than
getting married?” They plan to get married on Saturday in Mousa’s
village of Kfar Yasif in the northern Galilee,
which has also come under attack from the Lebanese
guerrillas. Mishal comes from Haifa and wanted
wedding pictures from her home town. The couple, Arab citizens of Israel, bemoaned the
bloodshed. “War is bad for everyone,” said Mousa. - REUTERS