Hezbollah, Israel Exchange Fire

Shiite Muslim guerrillas fired a barrage of rockets at northern Israel on Tuesday, wounding 36 people. Israeli opposition leaders quickly seized on the attack as political ammunition seven weeks before general elections.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah group said the rocket attack was in retaliation for a land mine explosion that killed a Lebanese teenager Monday and wounded two boys, one of them seriously.

Israeli forces responded with air raids and artillery and tank fire against 17 Shiite Muslim villages near the Israeli-held zone in southern Lebanon. No casualties were reported in the bombardment.

Residents of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona, where most of the damage and injuries occurred, booed Internal Security Minister Moshe Shahal and burned tires when he toured the town after the attacks.

Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who canceled a planned visit to Kiryat Shemona because of the protests, suggested that Israel’s response would be restrained and said he would not be influenced by politics. “We will do what we have to--not out of emotions but out of calm consideration,” he said.