Hezbollah continues to launch rockets at Israeli towns. Earlier today, ten Israelis were wounded in an attack on Haifa. One person sustained serious injuries. More than forty Katyusha rockets landed in several cities Thursday but no casualties were reported. Fifteen Israeli civilians have been killed by Hezbollah rockets since fighting began. Nineteen soldiers have lost their lives, including four on Thursday. Inside northern Israel, a United Nations observation post was badly damaged when it was struck by what officials said was an Israeli shell. At the United Nations, Secretary General Koffi Annan warned of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and appealed for a ceasefire.

• UN Secretary General Koffi Annan: “What is most urgently needed is an immediate cessation of hostilities for three vital reasons: first, prevent further loss of innocent life and the infliction of further suffering; second, to allow full humanitarian access to those in need; the third, give diplomacy the chance to work out a practical package of actions that would provide a lasting solution to the current crisis.”

Annan went on to say he deplored Hezbollah’s actions but also condemned what he called Israel’s “excessive use of force.” Israel and the United States continue to reject calls for a ceasefire.

• Israel’s ambassador to the UN Dan Gillermnan: “For the first thing that must be addressed is the cessation of terror, before we even talk about cessation of hostilities. We will continue to do what we are continuing in Lebanon, not just to protect Israel and not just to bring our boys home, but to make sure that this cancerous growth in the heart of Lebanon is excised.”

Meanwhile, Lebanese envoy Nouhad Mahmoud said Israel is attempting to destroy Lebanon.

• Lebanese envoy to the UN Nouhad Mahmoud: “It will take them very very long and they won’t achieve anything, except the destruction of Lebanon. And I think that’s what they aim for.”