HEZBOLLAH PREPARING FOR NEXT ROUND OF WAR WITH ISRAEL

Hizbullah Preparing for the Next Round of War - Andrew Mills
Hizbullah forces have returned to the mountains north of the Litani River, beyond the jurisdiction of UN soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon, to build a new line of attack. "We know that they're here," says Hafez Kirwan, 42, leader of the Druze village of As-Srairi, 20 km. north of the Israeli border. During last summer's war between Israel and Hizbullah, its fighters used the thick underbrush of these mountainsides as cover to fire missiles into Israel. Locals say those fighters are back, in greater numbers, moving more frequently and, everyone suspects, stockpiling more weapons than ever before.

Hizbullah says it has spent the last seven months preparing for another major battle with Israel by regrouping and amassing some 33,000 missiles. "We are completing our preparedness for a greater and more dangerous stage," Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address last month. (Toronto Star)