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By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel warned Lebanese civilians to leave border villages on Friday and called up thousands of reserves in a possible prelude to a ground offensive that would expand its 10-day-old campaign against Hizbollah guerrillas.
Israel has so far failed to stop Hizbollah cross-border rocket attacks, despite relentless bombardment which has killed 343 people and destroyed much of Lebanon's infrastructure.
Three explosions were heard in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, a favored target for Hizbollah rocket crews, on Friday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israeli planes dropped leaflets over south Lebanon, warning civilians to leave border villages for their own safety.
The army called up several reserve battalions, which can each comprise up to 1,000 soldiers, a military source said.
"It's possible that in the coming days our ground operations will increase," Brigadier-General Alon Friedman said earlier.
Elite Israeli troops have been launching small-scale raids in Lebanon to try to stop Hizbollah rocket attacks on Israel.
But Israel has been wary of launching a full-scale invasion in south Lebanon, only six years after it ended a 22-year occupation that was resisted by Hizbollah guerrilla attacks.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel warned Lebanese civilians to leave border villages on Friday and called up thousands of reserves in a possible prelude to a ground offensive that would expand its 10-day-old campaign against Hizbollah guerrillas.
Israel has so far failed to stop Hizbollah cross-border rocket attacks, despite relentless bombardment which has killed 343 people and destroyed much of Lebanon's infrastructure.
Three explosions were heard in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, a favored target for Hizbollah rocket crews, on Friday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israeli planes dropped leaflets over south Lebanon, warning civilians to leave border villages for their own safety.
The army called up several reserve battalions, which can each comprise up to 1,000 soldiers, a military source said.
"It's possible that in the coming days our ground operations will increase," Brigadier-General Alon Friedman said earlier.
Elite Israeli troops have been launching small-scale raids in Lebanon to try to stop Hizbollah rocket attacks on Israel.
But Israel has been wary of launching a full-scale invasion in south Lebanon, only six years after it ended a 22-year occupation that was resisted by Hizbollah guerrilla attacks.
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