Israeli warplanes on Saturday hit TV and mobile phone transmission towers knocking the leading LBCI station off the air and cutting communication with some regions. Fighter bombers fired missiles at transmission stations in the central and northern Lebanese mountains, leaving antennas burning on the ground.
Three missiles hit an LBCI transmission station at Fatqa in Kesrouan, killing the chief employee there.
Another airstrike crippled a transmission tower at Terbol in northern Lebanon, where relay stations for LBCI, Future TV and Hizbullah's Al-Manar are placed. The three stations could no longer be seen in parts of the country although their satellite feed was unaffected.
The transmission of Radio Free Lebanon, a private station, was also disrupted when airstrikes hit a tower on a mountaintop in Sannine that was also used by the LBCI.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces kept up the pressure on southern Lebanese border towns, pounding them with artillery fire, air raids and making brief forays.
Israeli incursion into Maroun al-Ras came after it pummeled the area with bombs and artillery throughout the night. Lebanese security sources said that the Israeli army had made incursions of only a few hundred meters into Maroun al-Ras and the nearby Yaroun village.
The village is believed to be a launching point for rocket attacks on northern Israel.
Hizbullah on Saturday fired dozens of rockets on the northern Israelis towns of Karmiel, Kiriyat Shemona, Nahariya and smaller communities. Six rockets landed in open areas in Haifa. More than 10 Israelis were wounded, media reports indicated.
