Arab attack shocks Israeli resort city

TIBERIAS, Israel — A rain of rockets from Lebanon shattered the quiet Jewish Sabbath here on Saturday, sending holiday-makers fleeing for their lives and residents crowding into bomb shelters.

"Everybody was hysterical. Everybody was scared to death," said Batsheva Kakoun, 53, among hundreds in shelters in this resort city beside the Sea of Galilee.

It was the first Arab attack on Tiberias, a usually safe 20 miles from Lebanon, since the 1973 Mideast war. "I never thought, until the day that I die, that this would happen in Tiberias," said former Mayor Asher Yaish.

Twin barrages of dozens of Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets cleared the streets, driving thousands of tourists onto southbound roads to get out of range of rockets that have been falling on northern Israel since Wednesday. Only a few minor injuries were reported here.

The city's hotels had been packed with Israelis and foreign tourists looking forward to a weekend of sun, swimming and visits to ancient sites.

Then the rockets struck.

"I sat on a bench facing the Sea of Galilee with my grandson and son and heard two fall and a few seconds later we heard a great explosion and we understood that it had landed close by," Yaish told Israel's Channel 10.

Police with megaphones urged beachgoers to leave. By mid-afternoon Saturday, almost all the tourists had checked out of Tiberias' hotels.

"We couldn't believe this would happen to us. It was very scary. We're frightened and intend to escape with our children," Ayala Aloni told Israel's Ynet Web news site after the first rocket attacks.

Along the streets, some shops remained open but empty. "The few people who were here left after the Katyushas came down," said grocer Ilan Shimon.

Inside bomb shelters, some beds were stacked four-high, designed to accommodate as many people as possible. Others lacked air conditioning, but as the heat and humidity built up those inside refused to leave. Officials said they lacked the basic necessities because they had not been used in years.

"It's especially difficult for the kids," Kakoun said.