Hizbollah rocket barrage wounds 10 in Haifa

HAIFA, Israel, July 21 (Reuters) A barrage of Hizbollah rockets fired from Lebanon slammed into the northern Israeli city of Haifa today, wounding at least 10 people, medics said.

Rockets also hit several other northern towns.

One missile hit an apartment building in Haifa. Sirens sounded shortly before the rockets struck.

''I was walking down the street and all of sudden a boom occurred right in front of me on the sidewalk,'' said Dima Ostrovsky, 27, standing on shattered glass on the pavement. She was not hurt.

The fresh barrage came after the army said Hizbollah rocket attacks on Israel had dropped significantly.

A spokeswoman said around 50 rockets had struck northern areas from Lebanon yesterday, the lowest since the conflict erupted after the abduction of two Israeli soldiers on July 12. That compared to 140 the day before and a daily average of 110.

Hizbollah has fired more than 900 missiles in total at dozens of towns and villages, killing 15 Israeli civilians. Nineteen Israeli soldiers have also been killed during the Jewish state's offensive.

Israel has killed at least 312 people in Lebanon, the vast majority civilians, and displaced half a million.

REUTERS DKA KN1647