http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1830632,00.html
Dissent grows in Israel over Lebanon
Ian Black in Jerusalem
Wednesday July 26, 2006
The Guardian
Olmert is coming in for increasing criticism of his handling of the war in Lebanon. Photograph: Guy Assayag/EPA
The government of the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, is facing a barrage of criticism over its handling of the war in Lebanon, with questions being raised about the decision to attack Hizbullah, mounting military losses, continuing missile strikes on northern Israel, and disquiet about Lebanese civilian casualties.
Israel has yet to confirm reports of 12 soldiers killed in heavy fighting around the south Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, but analysts in Jerusalem said fatalities on that scale are likely to bring pressure from the army and the public for a significant change of tack.
Two weeks into the fighting, growing unease about a wide range of war-related issues has burst into the open with a series of anxious comments by politicians, former officers and leading experts and pundits.
Few Israelis are protesting against the war, as they did in their hundreds of thousands after the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Apart from small demonstrations by Israeli Arabs and Jewish leftwingers, there is broad support for hitting back at the Shia guerrillas after their border raid and abduction of two Israeli soldiers. But what is becoming clear is the deep concern about the conduct and progress of the campaign.
Moshe Arens, a hawkish former Likud defence minister, issued a stark warning that Hizbullah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, could emerge from the conflict undefeated. "This will be a disaster for Israel," he told the Ha'aretz newspaper. "Nasrallah will be seen as someone who fired thousands of katyushas at Israeli communities for weeks and came out unscathed."
Experts say Israel's much-vaunted intelligence services have underestimated Hizbullah capabilities, especially in not knowing it had an Iranian-made missile capable of hitting an Israeli naval vessel off Beirut.
The air force has also come under scrutiny after the loss of three US-built Apache helicopters and an F16 jet, with one helicopter reportedly downed by friendly fire. Five Israeli soldiers have also been killed by friendly fire.
Wall-to-wall TV and radio talk shows have wheeled out reserve or former officers highlighting the shortcomings of those running the show, bringing defensive responses from the IDF general staff and even charges of disloyalty in wartime.
But Ze'ev Schiff, the highly respected doyen of Israeli military commentators, and author of the definitive history of the 1982 war, put it bluntly: "Israel is far from a decisive victory and its main objectives have not been achieved."
Another veteran correspondent, Eitan Haber, wrote in the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot: "This is neither the time nor the place in the middle of serious fighting, but when this is all over the IDF is going to have take a good look at itself."
The main worry is that Hizbullah can still launch 80-100 rockets a day despite thousands of Israeli sorties over Lebanon. Haifa, Carmiel and other northern areas were hit again on today. Israeli ground operations have inflicted losses on the guerrillas in Maroun al-Ras and Bint Jbeil, but none have been mounted in the Tyre area further west from where missiles are being launched at Haifa. Hizbullah has been damaged but is far from crippled. Supplies from Iran and Syria are getting through despite a blockade.
The subtext of much criticism is that Mr Olmert and his defence minister, the Labour party leader, Amir Peretz, have little military experience and none of the stature of the former prime minister, Ariel Sharon. Many of their closest advisers are untried novices - "raw recruits" in the words of one pundit.
Commentators are also questioning whether key government decisions were thought through in the context of an overall strategy. These include the immediate response to the July 12 attack, the bombing of Beirut international airport despite warnings this would trigger retaliation against Haifa, and the destruction of Hizbullah HQ in southern Beirut. They say the government's response has been to shift its goals and lower public expectations.
The original objective of "breaking Hizbullah" has been quietly watered down to "weakening Hizbullah". Mr Olmert's sudden agreement to the deployment of a multinational force on the border reflects reluctant recognition that Israel cannot itself disarm the Lebanese militia and needs a foreign buffer.
International focus on civilian deaths in Lebanon - roughly 10 times the number suffered by Israel - has badly undermined Israel's case abroad, despite the unwavering support of the US. Its own propaganda efforts have been poor and uncoordinated.
"Even before we know who will win this campaign we can state with certainty that Israel has suffered a terrible propaganda defeat in Lebanon and the Arab world," wrote the Ma'ariv columnist Jacky Hugi. "One country cannot destroy another without explaining to the neighbour the logic behind its actions. From being our silent allies the Lebanese have become the victims of our blind pounding."
On top of all that there are bitter complaints about poor conditions in air raid shelters in the north, the failure to compensate those whose property has been damaged by enemy action and the confusion caused by a plethora of officials giving out conflicting messages. Some want a single "war spokesman" to be responsible for all government information, a concept which worked well in the 1991 Gulf war, when Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israel.
Nahum Barnea, the country's leading political commentator, warned earlier this week that the Israeli public had exaggerated expectations of what might emerge from this crisis. "Israel is like the guy who promised to jump off the big top at the circus but freezes the moment he gets up there. 'Why isn't he jumping,' the spectators ask. 'No question of jumping,' the guy replies. 'The only question is how I can get down'."
Full Version: What's Up in the Middle East
Common Ground Common Sense > Issues that Affect Our Lives > Foreign Policy and National Defense > Foreign Policy & National Defense Issues Archive
http://www.antiwar.com/jamail/?articleid=9417
July 27, 2006
Hezbollah Could Be
Gaining Strength
by Dahr Jamail
BEIRUT - The continuing Israeli bombing of south Lebanon and south Beirut might just have strengthened the Hezbollah.
The bombings appear particularly to have strengthened the hand of Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the charismatic Hezbollah leader.
Hezbollah has over the years gained a strong following in Lebanon primarily on the back of its engagement in social services, taking on infrastructure projects, and looking after its followers. The Israeli assault is giving Hezbollah scope to gain more such power.
Hezbollah now controls, for example, more than half of about 100 schools in Beirut that have been converted into refugee shelters.
"These attacks show the true force of Israel," a young man told IPS at a refugee camp in a city park. "I was with Hezbollah before, but now I want to join them so I can fight the Israelis, who only want our land, and want to attack Islam."
A Hezbollah member in charge of a group of fighters in southern Beirut claimed that support for Hezbollah has increased dramatically since the Israeli attacks began two weeks ago.
"People are afraid, and in need, and we are protecting them and helping care for the refugees created by this Zionist aggression," he told IPS. "The longer this fight continues, the more support we will have. We are prepared to fight to the very end."
Support for the Hezbollah appears to be stronger among younger people. And some Christians too are speaking in support of Hezbollah. Ramzi Semaan, a 21-year-old Christian told IPS that "Hezbollah was defending this country, and the Israeli response was being planned months in advance. So Hezbollah is helping to defend Lebanon from the Zionists."
But most of the Christian population seem to blame Hezbollah. Of the 3.8 million people in Lebanon, about 60 percent are Muslims, mostly Shia, and most of the remaining 40 percent Christian.
Views on the Hezbollah fall largely, though not entirely, along religious lines. Most of the large Shia population obediently follow every word of Nasrallah.
Many who have their doubts about Hezbollah still speak of their need for Hezbollah protection against Israeli aggression. And most agree that Hezbollah is a strong political force, and will have to be negotiated with. It is clear that there can be no peace in the region without including Hezbollah in any process toward cease-fire and further, any lasting solution.
The widespread destruction of infrastructure has been decisive in turning popular anger against Israel, rather than Hezbollah.
"Israel is protecting itself because Hezbollah made their operation against her soldiers," said Fouad Rashed, a 33-year-old Christian owner of an electronics store in the capital. "Their reaction is too strong though, because now they are destroying our country."
A 50-year-old Christian, Nassan Hanin, said "Hezbollah was wrong to carry out their operation, and Israel is wrong in their extreme reaction. I'm happy that Hezbollah was hit for what they did, but this has been at too great a cost for us now."
Many who lived through the worst of the civil war in the eighties blame both.
"We can barely believe there is war here again," a 52-year-old waiter in the Hamra district of Beirut told IPS. "We thought we were finished with it 1990. I believe it was wrong for Hezbollah to kidnap the Israeli soldiers, but this level of reaction from the Israelis, of destroying all of Lebanon, is completely unjustified. It is insane."
(Inter Press Service)
July 27, 2006
Hezbollah Could Be
Gaining Strength
by Dahr Jamail
BEIRUT - The continuing Israeli bombing of south Lebanon and south Beirut might just have strengthened the Hezbollah.
The bombings appear particularly to have strengthened the hand of Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the charismatic Hezbollah leader.
Hezbollah has over the years gained a strong following in Lebanon primarily on the back of its engagement in social services, taking on infrastructure projects, and looking after its followers. The Israeli assault is giving Hezbollah scope to gain more such power.
Hezbollah now controls, for example, more than half of about 100 schools in Beirut that have been converted into refugee shelters.
"These attacks show the true force of Israel," a young man told IPS at a refugee camp in a city park. "I was with Hezbollah before, but now I want to join them so I can fight the Israelis, who only want our land, and want to attack Islam."
A Hezbollah member in charge of a group of fighters in southern Beirut claimed that support for Hezbollah has increased dramatically since the Israeli attacks began two weeks ago.
"People are afraid, and in need, and we are protecting them and helping care for the refugees created by this Zionist aggression," he told IPS. "The longer this fight continues, the more support we will have. We are prepared to fight to the very end."
Support for the Hezbollah appears to be stronger among younger people. And some Christians too are speaking in support of Hezbollah. Ramzi Semaan, a 21-year-old Christian told IPS that "Hezbollah was defending this country, and the Israeli response was being planned months in advance. So Hezbollah is helping to defend Lebanon from the Zionists."
But most of the Christian population seem to blame Hezbollah. Of the 3.8 million people in Lebanon, about 60 percent are Muslims, mostly Shia, and most of the remaining 40 percent Christian.
Views on the Hezbollah fall largely, though not entirely, along religious lines. Most of the large Shia population obediently follow every word of Nasrallah.
Many who have their doubts about Hezbollah still speak of their need for Hezbollah protection against Israeli aggression. And most agree that Hezbollah is a strong political force, and will have to be negotiated with. It is clear that there can be no peace in the region without including Hezbollah in any process toward cease-fire and further, any lasting solution.
The widespread destruction of infrastructure has been decisive in turning popular anger against Israel, rather than Hezbollah.
"Israel is protecting itself because Hezbollah made their operation against her soldiers," said Fouad Rashed, a 33-year-old Christian owner of an electronics store in the capital. "Their reaction is too strong though, because now they are destroying our country."
A 50-year-old Christian, Nassan Hanin, said "Hezbollah was wrong to carry out their operation, and Israel is wrong in their extreme reaction. I'm happy that Hezbollah was hit for what they did, but this has been at too great a cost for us now."
Many who lived through the worst of the civil war in the eighties blame both.
"We can barely believe there is war here again," a 52-year-old waiter in the Hamra district of Beirut told IPS. "We thought we were finished with it 1990. I believe it was wrong for Hezbollah to kidnap the Israeli soldiers, but this level of reaction from the Israelis, of destroying all of Lebanon, is completely unjustified. It is insane."
(Inter Press Service)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...refer=worldwide
Hezbollah's Bigger, Better Arsenal Draws Israel Into Ground War
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Hezbollah's expanded arsenal of guided missiles and rockets is drawing Israeli forces into an increasingly deadly ground war in southern Lebanon as they attempt to locate and destroy the hidden weapons.
The Shiite Muslim group has added about 10,000 Katyusha rockets to its armory in the six years since Israel withdrew its ground forces from Lebanon, military experts say. Israel can't rely solely on air strikes to tackle the threat from rockets with improved range and accuracy that may be able to strike Tel Aviv: Eight Israeli soldiers were killed and 22 wounded in one gun battle in south Lebanon yesterday, the army's heaviest casualties since the conflict began 15 days ago.
``It's like Vietnam,'' Penrose Albright, a former U.S. assistant secretary of homeland security, said in a telephone interview from Washington. ``The enemy has an endless supply of cheap weapons and can strike at you from any direction.''
Hezbollah's new capabilities, with 12,000 missiles across southern Lebanon, threaten such strategic targets in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, as the state-owned oil refineries and one of the country's biggest chemical plants. The ``Party of God'' has also surprised Israel by adding smarter missiles to the unguided World War II-vintage Katyusha warheads.
``Hezbollah has come a long way,'' said Superintendent Michael Cardash, deputy head of the Israeli Police bomb disposal unit, holding a twisted shard recovered from a Syrian-made 220- millimeter rocket that ripped through the roof of a Haifa rail yard July 16 and killed eight workers. ``Their rockets are causing us significant damage.''
Guided Missile
Hezbollah displayed a technological leap in mid-July off the coast of Lebanon, when its forces used a guided missile to kill four commandos on an Israeli ship.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's 46-year-old general secretary, has promised more ``military surprises'' for the Israelis. Those include the Iranian-made C802 Noor guided missile that hit the Israeli ship and the long-range Zelzal-2 rocket, which can travel 120 miles (200 kilometers), said Yaakov Amidror, a retired major general who ran Israel's National Defense College.
Hezbollah, founded in 1982, has claimed credit or been linked to scores of attacks on Israelis and Americans, including rocket attacks on Israeli towns, the 1983 bombing that killed 241 U.S. and 58 French soldiers in Beirut and the 1994 attack that killed 95 at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Leaders of the group say its fight with Israel will boost its prestige and popularity in Lebanon and throughout the Muslim world, and that it is in no rush to end the fighting.
The group's strategy is ``not to reveal all its cards, to impose its own pace in fighting the war and to prepare for a long war,'' Ali Fayyad, a member of Hezbollah's Central Council, said in an interview in Beirut.
Advance Planning
Nasrallah started planning for the next big conflict when Israel left Lebanon six years ago, said Eitan Azani, a researcher at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism, part of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
``He has been preparing artillery, military actions and intelligence just for this particular moment in time,'' Azani said. ``It shows he's the one in charge in South Lebanon.''
The Israeli army says 1,436 Hezbollah missiles have landed in Israeli territory since the conflict erupted July 12, when it raided Israel and captured two Israeli soldiers. Fifty Israelis have died and about 1,000 have been injured in the fighting. Israeli air strikes in Lebanon have left about 370 people dead and thousands wounded.
`Commodities'
It probably wasn't too difficult for Nasrallah to expand his arsenal, said Albright, who led a U.S.-Israeli study 10 years ago on defense against short-range rockets. ``Katyushas have become like commodities on the international arms market, and you can get them from almost anyone,'' he said. ``They're not an existential threat, but they can certainly disrupt daily life and hurt Israel economically.''
Hezbollah's arsenal also contains Iranian-made Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 missiles, which have a range of 55 miles, and Iran's Mirsad-1 drone airplanes, according to the ``Middle East Military Balance,'' an annual survey published by Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.
While considered ``dumb bombs,'' even the Katyushas are more sophisticated than the homemade Qassam rockets that Palestinians have been firing during the past year at Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip, police say.
Tunnels and Trenches
Hezbollah's superior knowledge of the terrain in south Lebanon, which has been mined and dug full of tunnels and trenches since the Israeli withdrawal in May 2000, gives them significant advantages in the current conflict, said Michael Kerr, a Lebanon expert at the London School of Economics.
The Hezbollah fighters ``arrive with an open-roofed truck, fire the rockets and then disappear so anyone retaliating is fighting a ghost army,'' Kerr said in an interview.
``Lebanon is a mountainous country with lots of forestation so it's perfectly suited to storing weapons,'' he said. ``Israel is looking for a needle in a haystack and sometimes it might hit the haystack instead of a needle.''
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he won't stop fighting until Hezbollah is driven back to a distance north of the Lebanese border from which they can no longer threaten Israel.
Amidror, the former head of the National Defense College, said Israel's campaign fits into a wider need by the U.S. and its allies to neutralize Iran and prevent it from terrorizing Israel and destabilizing the Middle East. ``Israel must carry out its current military operation against Hezbollah until it is fully neutralized, isolated, disarmed and unable to serve as Iran's long arm,'' he said.
``There's no way to stop Hezbollah's Katyushas except by going in there on the ground and destroying their weapons,'' said Albright. ``Unfortunately that's going to be a long, drawn- out and bloody process.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonathan Ferziger in Tel Aviv at jferziger@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 26, 2006 21:10 EDT
Hezbollah's Bigger, Better Arsenal Draws Israel Into Ground War
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Hezbollah's expanded arsenal of guided missiles and rockets is drawing Israeli forces into an increasingly deadly ground war in southern Lebanon as they attempt to locate and destroy the hidden weapons.
The Shiite Muslim group has added about 10,000 Katyusha rockets to its armory in the six years since Israel withdrew its ground forces from Lebanon, military experts say. Israel can't rely solely on air strikes to tackle the threat from rockets with improved range and accuracy that may be able to strike Tel Aviv: Eight Israeli soldiers were killed and 22 wounded in one gun battle in south Lebanon yesterday, the army's heaviest casualties since the conflict began 15 days ago.
``It's like Vietnam,'' Penrose Albright, a former U.S. assistant secretary of homeland security, said in a telephone interview from Washington. ``The enemy has an endless supply of cheap weapons and can strike at you from any direction.''
Hezbollah's new capabilities, with 12,000 missiles across southern Lebanon, threaten such strategic targets in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, as the state-owned oil refineries and one of the country's biggest chemical plants. The ``Party of God'' has also surprised Israel by adding smarter missiles to the unguided World War II-vintage Katyusha warheads.
``Hezbollah has come a long way,'' said Superintendent Michael Cardash, deputy head of the Israeli Police bomb disposal unit, holding a twisted shard recovered from a Syrian-made 220- millimeter rocket that ripped through the roof of a Haifa rail yard July 16 and killed eight workers. ``Their rockets are causing us significant damage.''
Guided Missile
Hezbollah displayed a technological leap in mid-July off the coast of Lebanon, when its forces used a guided missile to kill four commandos on an Israeli ship.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's 46-year-old general secretary, has promised more ``military surprises'' for the Israelis. Those include the Iranian-made C802 Noor guided missile that hit the Israeli ship and the long-range Zelzal-2 rocket, which can travel 120 miles (200 kilometers), said Yaakov Amidror, a retired major general who ran Israel's National Defense College.
Hezbollah, founded in 1982, has claimed credit or been linked to scores of attacks on Israelis and Americans, including rocket attacks on Israeli towns, the 1983 bombing that killed 241 U.S. and 58 French soldiers in Beirut and the 1994 attack that killed 95 at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Leaders of the group say its fight with Israel will boost its prestige and popularity in Lebanon and throughout the Muslim world, and that it is in no rush to end the fighting.
The group's strategy is ``not to reveal all its cards, to impose its own pace in fighting the war and to prepare for a long war,'' Ali Fayyad, a member of Hezbollah's Central Council, said in an interview in Beirut.
Advance Planning
Nasrallah started planning for the next big conflict when Israel left Lebanon six years ago, said Eitan Azani, a researcher at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism, part of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
``He has been preparing artillery, military actions and intelligence just for this particular moment in time,'' Azani said. ``It shows he's the one in charge in South Lebanon.''
The Israeli army says 1,436 Hezbollah missiles have landed in Israeli territory since the conflict erupted July 12, when it raided Israel and captured two Israeli soldiers. Fifty Israelis have died and about 1,000 have been injured in the fighting. Israeli air strikes in Lebanon have left about 370 people dead and thousands wounded.
`Commodities'
It probably wasn't too difficult for Nasrallah to expand his arsenal, said Albright, who led a U.S.-Israeli study 10 years ago on defense against short-range rockets. ``Katyushas have become like commodities on the international arms market, and you can get them from almost anyone,'' he said. ``They're not an existential threat, but they can certainly disrupt daily life and hurt Israel economically.''
Hezbollah's arsenal also contains Iranian-made Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 missiles, which have a range of 55 miles, and Iran's Mirsad-1 drone airplanes, according to the ``Middle East Military Balance,'' an annual survey published by Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.
While considered ``dumb bombs,'' even the Katyushas are more sophisticated than the homemade Qassam rockets that Palestinians have been firing during the past year at Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip, police say.
Tunnels and Trenches
Hezbollah's superior knowledge of the terrain in south Lebanon, which has been mined and dug full of tunnels and trenches since the Israeli withdrawal in May 2000, gives them significant advantages in the current conflict, said Michael Kerr, a Lebanon expert at the London School of Economics.
The Hezbollah fighters ``arrive with an open-roofed truck, fire the rockets and then disappear so anyone retaliating is fighting a ghost army,'' Kerr said in an interview.
``Lebanon is a mountainous country with lots of forestation so it's perfectly suited to storing weapons,'' he said. ``Israel is looking for a needle in a haystack and sometimes it might hit the haystack instead of a needle.''
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he won't stop fighting until Hezbollah is driven back to a distance north of the Lebanese border from which they can no longer threaten Israel.
Amidror, the former head of the National Defense College, said Israel's campaign fits into a wider need by the U.S. and its allies to neutralize Iran and prevent it from terrorizing Israel and destabilizing the Middle East. ``Israel must carry out its current military operation against Hezbollah until it is fully neutralized, isolated, disarmed and unable to serve as Iran's long arm,'' he said.
``There's no way to stop Hezbollah's Katyushas except by going in there on the ground and destroying their weapons,'' said Albright. ``Unfortunately that's going to be a long, drawn- out and bloody process.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonathan Ferziger in Tel Aviv at jferziger@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 26, 2006 21:10 EDT
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/hirschberg.php?articleid=9422
July 27, 2006
Despite Olmert's Offensive, Israelis Running From Rockets
by Peter Hirschberg
JERUSALEM - Avner Pomeranetz does not sound particularly concerned by the barrage of 26 Katyusha rockets that slammed into his home town of Kiryat Shmona on Israel's northern border over the weekend. Nor by the fact that he has to remain in town by order of the army, and cannot travel south out of range of the rockets, because as a pharmacist he is considered to be providing an essential service.
"This is nothing new," he told IPS, pointing out that ever since he arrived in the border town after immigrating from Argentina to Israel in the mid-1970s, it has been a target of rockets from Lebanon. But most residents of northern Israel are far less sanguine than the 73-year-old Pomeranetz. Unlike this Katyusha veteran, residents in places like Haifa, Safed, Carmiel, Acre, and Tiberias are experiencing life under Hezbollah rockets for the first time. Tens of thousands have traveled south, out of rocket range, to family, friends, and hotels.
The Israeli military estimates that between a third and a half of the residents in northern Israel have left their homes and their work.
Those who have remained in Haifa and other towns in northern Israel have spent much of the last two weeks in bomb shelters and security rooms, or in close proximity to them, ears peeled for the sirens that warn of incoming rockets. But not everyone has found shelter in time from the rockets: a 15-year-old Arab girl was killed Tuesday when a rocket fired by Hezbollah directly struck a home in a Muslim section of the village of Maghar in northern Israel.
In Israel's third-largest city of Haifa, a man was killed Sunday when his car was mangled by a rocket as he drove along a main road in the northern port city. The same day, another man was killed when a rocket slammed into the factory where he was working in a Haifa suburb.
So far, 17 Israelis have been killed – eight in the single most deadly attack, in Haifa last week – and hundreds injured in the rocket attacks.
Along with the human cost, the economic damage is also mounting. Already the rockets have snuffed out the tourism industry in the north, which was hoping for another profitable season after six years of relative security calm following Israel's mid-2000 withdrawal from south Lebanon.
Farmers are incurring damage as orchards stand empty with workers unable to harvest the fruit. The many bed and breakfast outlets across northern Israel are empty, and small businesses are shut.
"People aren't leaving their homes, everything is dead," Shiri Gelbart, owner of a small business in Haifa told Channel 10 television. "At the end of the day, the cash register is empty."
More than half of the factories in northern Israel have either been shuttered or are operating on only partial capacity. The estimated damage to industry in northern Israel since the fighting erupted two weeks ago is said to be in the region of 2 billion shekels ($450 million).
Despite the cost, the broad domestic and political support for Israel's military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon is still strong.
"Olmert's response was correct," says Avner. "We had no choice. We withdrew to the last centimeter. South Lebanon is no longer occupied territory. It's a pity this type of response did not come earlier," he says, referring to the fact that during the six years since Israel left Lebanon, Hezbollah has built up an arsenal of some 12,000 short and medium-range missiles that it deployed in the south of the country facing Israel.
Asked about the devastation in Lebanon and the ever rising number of civilian casualties as a result of Israel's aerial raids, Avner's wife Chani says it is "very painful" to watch, but that Hezbollah's missiles are a "direct threat" to Israel and could not be ignored.
"We are trying our best not to harm civilians," adds Avner. "But Hezbollah places its rocket launchers amongst the [Lebanese] civilian population. And unlike us, they shoot directly at civilians."
Like a growing number of ex-military staff, who have been vocally expressing their views on radio and television, Chani believes that Israel cannot subdue Hezbollah by means of an aerial assault alone. But some commentators have warned against a ground incursion, saying Hezbollah wants to lure Israel into south Lebanon where it believes the conventional Israeli military will be vulnerable.
Chani says there is no choice but to carry out ground operations in order to "clear the area near the border" of Hezbollah fighters. And she fully comprehends the price of a ground operation: her son was killed four years ago when the elite unit of which he was a member was involved in a military operation in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Opinion polls show over 80 percent of Israelis support Olmert's decision to launch a military offensive after Hezbollah militants attacked an Israeli border patrol on July 12, killed three soldiers and snatched two others that they are holding captive.
But that support for Olmert could change if the military operation ends and Olmert does not achieve the goals he has outlined: the release of the captured soldiers, the deployment of the Lebanese army or an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, and the removal of Hezbollah far from the border area.
"Hezbollah cannot be wiped out," says Avner. "It is an integral part of Lebanon. But it has to be kept far from the border, and the soldiers have to be released."
Israel's leaders believe the war will not be decided on the battlefield alone, but that the outcome will also depend on the ability of the civilian rear to endure the rocket attacks and the mounting military casualties – 12 soldiers have been killed since Israel launched its offensive.
This is one reason why the military views the battle being waged around the town of Bint Jbail, a Hezbollah stronghold in south Lebanon, as particularly significant. After Israel withdrew from Lebanon six years ago, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made a triumphant speech in the village, declaring that Israeli society was as weak as a "spider's web."
Avner thinks the Israeli response has sent a very different message to Nasrallah. "Hezbollah didn't expect these two civilians to react the way they did," he said, referring to Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, neither of whom rose up through the ranks of the military before entering political office, like many former Israeli leaders.
"They thought that Israel would fire a few missiles and then begin negotiations over the release of the soldiers. Now Nasrallah is finding out that things aren't quite as he thought."
(Inter Press Service)
July 27, 2006
Despite Olmert's Offensive, Israelis Running From Rockets
by Peter Hirschberg
JERUSALEM - Avner Pomeranetz does not sound particularly concerned by the barrage of 26 Katyusha rockets that slammed into his home town of Kiryat Shmona on Israel's northern border over the weekend. Nor by the fact that he has to remain in town by order of the army, and cannot travel south out of range of the rockets, because as a pharmacist he is considered to be providing an essential service.
"This is nothing new," he told IPS, pointing out that ever since he arrived in the border town after immigrating from Argentina to Israel in the mid-1970s, it has been a target of rockets from Lebanon. But most residents of northern Israel are far less sanguine than the 73-year-old Pomeranetz. Unlike this Katyusha veteran, residents in places like Haifa, Safed, Carmiel, Acre, and Tiberias are experiencing life under Hezbollah rockets for the first time. Tens of thousands have traveled south, out of rocket range, to family, friends, and hotels.
The Israeli military estimates that between a third and a half of the residents in northern Israel have left their homes and their work.
Those who have remained in Haifa and other towns in northern Israel have spent much of the last two weeks in bomb shelters and security rooms, or in close proximity to them, ears peeled for the sirens that warn of incoming rockets. But not everyone has found shelter in time from the rockets: a 15-year-old Arab girl was killed Tuesday when a rocket fired by Hezbollah directly struck a home in a Muslim section of the village of Maghar in northern Israel.
In Israel's third-largest city of Haifa, a man was killed Sunday when his car was mangled by a rocket as he drove along a main road in the northern port city. The same day, another man was killed when a rocket slammed into the factory where he was working in a Haifa suburb.
So far, 17 Israelis have been killed – eight in the single most deadly attack, in Haifa last week – and hundreds injured in the rocket attacks.
Along with the human cost, the economic damage is also mounting. Already the rockets have snuffed out the tourism industry in the north, which was hoping for another profitable season after six years of relative security calm following Israel's mid-2000 withdrawal from south Lebanon.
Farmers are incurring damage as orchards stand empty with workers unable to harvest the fruit. The many bed and breakfast outlets across northern Israel are empty, and small businesses are shut.
"People aren't leaving their homes, everything is dead," Shiri Gelbart, owner of a small business in Haifa told Channel 10 television. "At the end of the day, the cash register is empty."
More than half of the factories in northern Israel have either been shuttered or are operating on only partial capacity. The estimated damage to industry in northern Israel since the fighting erupted two weeks ago is said to be in the region of 2 billion shekels ($450 million).
Despite the cost, the broad domestic and political support for Israel's military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon is still strong.
"Olmert's response was correct," says Avner. "We had no choice. We withdrew to the last centimeter. South Lebanon is no longer occupied territory. It's a pity this type of response did not come earlier," he says, referring to the fact that during the six years since Israel left Lebanon, Hezbollah has built up an arsenal of some 12,000 short and medium-range missiles that it deployed in the south of the country facing Israel.
Asked about the devastation in Lebanon and the ever rising number of civilian casualties as a result of Israel's aerial raids, Avner's wife Chani says it is "very painful" to watch, but that Hezbollah's missiles are a "direct threat" to Israel and could not be ignored.
"We are trying our best not to harm civilians," adds Avner. "But Hezbollah places its rocket launchers amongst the [Lebanese] civilian population. And unlike us, they shoot directly at civilians."
Like a growing number of ex-military staff, who have been vocally expressing their views on radio and television, Chani believes that Israel cannot subdue Hezbollah by means of an aerial assault alone. But some commentators have warned against a ground incursion, saying Hezbollah wants to lure Israel into south Lebanon where it believes the conventional Israeli military will be vulnerable.
Chani says there is no choice but to carry out ground operations in order to "clear the area near the border" of Hezbollah fighters. And she fully comprehends the price of a ground operation: her son was killed four years ago when the elite unit of which he was a member was involved in a military operation in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Opinion polls show over 80 percent of Israelis support Olmert's decision to launch a military offensive after Hezbollah militants attacked an Israeli border patrol on July 12, killed three soldiers and snatched two others that they are holding captive.
But that support for Olmert could change if the military operation ends and Olmert does not achieve the goals he has outlined: the release of the captured soldiers, the deployment of the Lebanese army or an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, and the removal of Hezbollah far from the border area.
"Hezbollah cannot be wiped out," says Avner. "It is an integral part of Lebanon. But it has to be kept far from the border, and the soldiers have to be released."
Israel's leaders believe the war will not be decided on the battlefield alone, but that the outcome will also depend on the ability of the civilian rear to endure the rocket attacks and the mounting military casualties – 12 soldiers have been killed since Israel launched its offensive.
This is one reason why the military views the battle being waged around the town of Bint Jbail, a Hezbollah stronghold in south Lebanon, as particularly significant. After Israel withdrew from Lebanon six years ago, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made a triumphant speech in the village, declaring that Israeli society was as weak as a "spider's web."
Avner thinks the Israeli response has sent a very different message to Nasrallah. "Hezbollah didn't expect these two civilians to react the way they did," he said, referring to Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, neither of whom rose up through the ranks of the military before entering political office, like many former Israeli leaders.
"They thought that Israel would fire a few missiles and then begin negotiations over the release of the soldiers. Now Nasrallah is finding out that things aren't quite as he thought."
(Inter Press Service)
Thursday, 27th July 2006
Latest News
Lebanon to sue Israel for "barbaric destruction"
ROME (Reuters) - Lebanon will sue Israel and demand compensation for the "barbaric destruction" suffered by its people, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Wednesday.
"Israel cannot go on indefinitely disregarding international law," the Lebanese leader told world diplomats at an international meeting on Lebanon in Rome.
"It must be made to pay and we shall commence legal proceedings and spare no avenue to make Israel compensate the Lebanese people for the barbaric destruction it has inflicted and continues to inflict upon us," he said.
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1086762006
Latest News
Lebanon to sue Israel for "barbaric destruction"
ROME (Reuters) - Lebanon will sue Israel and demand compensation for the "barbaric destruction" suffered by its people, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Wednesday.
"Israel cannot go on indefinitely disregarding international law," the Lebanese leader told world diplomats at an international meeting on Lebanon in Rome.
"It must be made to pay and we shall commence legal proceedings and spare no avenue to make Israel compensate the Lebanese people for the barbaric destruction it has inflicted and continues to inflict upon us," he said.
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1086762006
Deadliest Day for Israel in Lebanon
By Jonathan Finer and Edward Cody
AVIVIM, Israel, July 27 -- More than 100 Hezbollah fighters staged a fierce ambush on Israeli ground forces entering the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil before dawn Wednesday, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding 22 with gunfire, mortars and antitank missiles.
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By Jonathan Finer and Edward Cody
AVIVIM, Israel, July 27 -- More than 100 Hezbollah fighters staged a fierce ambush on Israeli ground forces entering the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil before dawn Wednesday, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding 22 with gunfire, mortars and antitank missiles.
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24 Killed As Israel Moves Into N. Gaza
By John Ward Anderson
JERUSALEM, July Israeli troops pushed into the northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, sparking intense street clashes with local fighters that left 24 Palestinians dead and at least 57 wounded, Palestinian security and hospital officials said. They said most of the victims were struck by Israeli tank...
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By John Ward Anderson
JERUSALEM, July Israeli troops pushed into the northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, sparking intense street clashes with local fighters that left 24 Palestinians dead and at least 57 wounded, Palestinian security and hospital officials said. They said most of the victims were struck by Israeli tank...
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Israel says world backs offensive BBC News
Israel says the decision by a summit of world powers not to call for a halt to its Lebanon offensive has given it the green light to continue.
Foreign ministers attending emergency talks on the crisis in Rome on Wednesday did not call for an immediate ceasefire, vowing instead to work with the "utmost urgency" for a sustainable truce.
Speaking on Israeli army radio, Mr Ramon - a close confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - said "everyone understands that a victory for Hezbollah is a victory for world terror". He said that in order to prevent casualties among Israeli soldiers battling Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, villages should be flattened by the Israeli air force before ground troops moved in. He added that Israel had given the civilians of southern Lebanon ample time to quit the area and therefore anyone still remaining there could be considered a Hezbollah supporter. "All those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah," Mr Ramon said. At its meeting later, the Israeli cabinet decided not to broaden its military offensive, Israel Radio reported.
But ministers also decided to call up thousands of additional reservists to boost the military campaign, the radio said. The chief of Israel's northern command, Maj Gen Udi Adam, has warned that he expects the fighting to "continue for several more weeks". The head of political programmes at Hezbollah's TV station, al-Manar, Ibrahim Moussawi, says the organisation is determined to continue fighting. "Israel is a mighty army. You're talking about a regional superpower with hi-tech weaponry," Mr Moussawi said. "But when you talk about resistance and determination and resolve to face and to confront this, yes, Hezbollah has the will and the determination to do it." "The Israelis have tried this before since 1982, which culminated in the year 2000 with the defeat of the Israelis and their withdrawal from south Lebanon," he added.
Hezbollah weapons
An Israeli military official told the BBC that Israel had destroyed 50% of Hezbollah's weapons arsenal. But the group's ability to inflict damage appears undiminished - on Wednesday they fired some 150 rockets into Israel, more than on any other day of the conflict. Pursuing Mr Olmert's plan of pushing Hezbollah back from border areas, in order to prevent them continuing to fire rockets into Israeli territory, and establishing a "security zone" in the south will take many weeks, our correspondent adds. Meanwhile, Israel's attacks on Lebanon have continued with air strikes on a Lebanese army base and a radio relay station north of Beirut.
Israel says the decision by a summit of world powers not to call for a halt to its Lebanon offensive has given it the green light to continue.
The people of Tyre no longer feel they are in a safe haven
"We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world... to continue the operation," Justice Minister Haim Ramon said. His comments came before Israeli cabinet ministers decided not to launch a large-scale ground offensive. Israel has launched fresh air raids, amid ongoing fighting in south Lebanon. At least 423 Lebanese and 51 Israelis have died in the violence since Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July. In other developments:- Following the deaths of four UN observers in an Israeli air strike, Australia has withdrawn 12 UN peacekeepers, describing the prospect of sending an international force to Lebanon right now as a "suicide mission"
- UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres says 500,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon by the fighting
- A poll of Israelis published by Israel's Maariv daily newspaper suggests 82% back the continuing offensive and 95% say Israel's action is justified
Foreign ministers attending emergency talks on the crisis in Rome on Wednesday did not call for an immediate ceasefire, vowing instead to work with the "utmost urgency" for a sustainable truce.
- Three airports bombed
- 62 bridges destroyed
- Three dams and ports hit
- 5,000 homesdamaged
- Damage in maps
- Economy reels
Israel suffered its worst losses in an ambush in Bint Jbeil
The BBC Jim Muir in Tyre, in southern Lebanon, says that the progress of Israeli ground troops has not been as fast as expected as they battle through the difficult terrain of southern Lebanon. They still have not managed to capture the Hezbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil, where they have suffered their worst losses. The bombing of areas near Tyre, combined with last night's raid on flats near the city centre, has also sparked a civilian exodus from the city.Hezbollah weapons
An Israeli military official told the BBC that Israel had destroyed 50% of Hezbollah's weapons arsenal. But the group's ability to inflict damage appears undiminished - on Wednesday they fired some 150 rockets into Israel, more than on any other day of the conflict. Pursuing Mr Olmert's plan of pushing Hezbollah back from border areas, in order to prevent them continuing to fire rockets into Israeli territory, and establishing a "security zone" in the south will take many weeks, our correspondent adds. Meanwhile, Israel's attacks on Lebanon have continued with air strikes on a Lebanese army base and a radio relay station north of Beirut.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/world/eu...artner=homepage
Israel Debates Strategy Shift After Truce Talks Fail
By GREG MYRE and JOHN O’NEIL
Published: July 27, 2006
JERUSALEM, July 27 — Israel’s security cabinet today decided against expanding its ground offensive in Lebanon, a day after the heaviest fighting in the two-week-old conflict killed 9 Israeli soldiers and dozens of Hezbollah fighters.
Before the meeting, Israeli officials said they regarded the failure of an international conference to reach agreement on a cease-fire plan as clearing the way for further assaults on Hezbollah.
“We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world,’’ Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Israeli radio, “to continue this operation, this war, until Hezbollah won’t be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed.’’
Mr. Ramon also raised the possibility of an expanded air assault, saying “all those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah.’’
The fierce fighting in southern Lebanon and rising Israeli casualties led a number of politicians to call today for an expansion of the ground assault. But after meeting this afternoon, the cabinet decided to stick with the limited campaign already underway, officials said.
On the diplomatic front, France’s foreign minister, Phillipe Douste-Blazy, today proposed a United Nations resolution for a settlement, Reuters reported. It called for the release of two soldiers seized by Hezbollah, the disarmament of the militant group and the creation of a buffer zone along the border, the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, the deployment of the Lebanese army in the buffer zone and guarantees of respect for Lebanese sovereignty.
Arriving today in Kuala Lumpur for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended her resistance during the Rome conference to the push for a quick cease-fire. She said she was “willing and ready to go back to the Middle East at any time’’ for talks on a “sustainable’’ peace plan, The Associated Press reported, but warned against expecting any rapid solution.
Arab governments and newspapers expressed disappointment at the outcome of the Rome conference. Egypt’s foreign minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, said the meeting had “failed to meet Arab demands’’ for a cease-fire, Agence France-Presse reported. The Saudi daily Okaz criticized the “major powers’’ for delaying a cease-fire by insisting on “conditions that will allow the aggression to continue,’’ according to Reuters.
Also today, Ayman al-Zawarhiri, al Qaeda’s second-in-command, vowed in a videotape released today that the group “will not stay silent with regard to what is happening to Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon.”
"What is happening to Muslims is a Crusader and Zionist war," Mr. Zawarhiri said, promising “we will attack everywhere’’ in response.
Meanwhile, Israeli air assaults continued today, destroying radio towers north of Beirut and targets in south Lebanon, Reuters reported. It quoted Lebanese security officials who said that Israeli warplanes struck a convoy carrying food and medical supplies from Syria, killing two truck drivers. Agence France-Presse said that nine people were killed in new air strikes, including a gendarme and a Nigerian domestic worker hit by an Israeli missile while riding his motorbike near the southern city of Tyre.
Reuters quoted Israeli security officials who said that a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck a chemical factory in a northern town, but there was no immediate information on casualties.
In Gaza, three Palestinians were killed today, Reuters reported. At least 23 Palestinians had died in fighting there on Wednesday.
A trickle of relief aid continued to make its way into Lebanon, as a second airlift of medical supplies landed in Beirut, news services said. On Wednesday, relief aid reached the southern city of Tyre,, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. In an update on its Web site it painted a grim picture of conditions in villages near the fighting. In one village, it said, “about 700 people, among them 300 children, had taken shelter in a mosque. In other isolated villages, the streets remained empty. As people were afraid to go out, fearing bombardments, dead bodies had not been removed from the streets and others were still buried under rubble.’’
Hezbollah on Thursday kept up its sustained fire on northern Israel, with 130 rockets hitting the region, wounding more than 10 Israelis.
The death toll has been at least 433 in Lebanon and 51 in Israel, according to Reuters.
The death toll on Wednesday was Israel’s highest since fighting began on July 12 after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during a raid into Israel.
The most intense ground combat came around the hilltop town of Bint Jbail, a Hezbollah stronghold just a few miles from the Israeli border.
During the meeting in Rome, while the other nations pressed for an immediate cease-fire, the United States argued for a “sustainable cease-fire,” with the Lebanese government regaining sovereignty over southern Lebanon, and militias like Hezbollah being disbanded.
The lack of action prompted Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon to lash out with a cry of despair.
“Is the value of human life less in Lebanon than that of citizens elsewhere?” he asked. “Are we children of a lesser god? Is an Israeli teardrop worth more than a drop of Lebanese blood?”
Accusing Israel of “barbaric destruction,” he vowed to seek justice, announcing that Lebanon would begin legal proceedings for war reparations.
European and Arab governments, as well as Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, and Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, lined up behind him and pushed hard for an immediate cessation of hostilities or even a truce on humanitarian grounds, several participants said.
But in a tense, sometimes stormy debate that went on for nearly an hour, Ms. Rice dug in, and prevailed.
Later, she defended the United States’ refusal to call for an immediate cease-fire, saying: “It doesn’t do anyone any good to raise false hopes about something that’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen. I did say to the group, ‘When will we learn?’ The fields of the Middle East are littered with broken cease-fires.”
She said she expected that the issue would end up being resolved by the United Nations Security Council.
In a news conference after the talks, the normally placid Mr. Annan made no effort to control his rage at Israel for what he had called an “apparently deliberate targeting” of a United Nations observer post in southern Lebanon by Israel on Tuesday. Four observers were killed.
“Mr. Olmert definitely believes it was a mistake,” said Mr. Annan, referring to Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert. But despite at least 10 calls from United Nations personnel to Israel that their positions were being shelled, Mr. Annan added, “The shelling of the U.N. positions began early in the morning and carried on all day.”
He pledged a formal investigation.
Ms. Rice and Mr. Annan disagreed at the news conference on whether Syria and Iran should be brought into the effort to end the violence. Mr. Annan called for working “with the countries of the region to find a solution,” naming Iran and Syria as players; Ms. Rice, by contrast, said she was concerned about Iran’s role and calling on Syria to live up to its responsibilities, a reference to previous United Nations resolutions.
While the world has focused on the fighting in Lebanon, Israel has continued to shell Gaza. Most of those killed in Gaza on Wednesday were militants, but a mother and her two young daughters died when an artillery shell hit their home, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. A third young girl was also killed, and dozens of Palestinians were wounded.
In its campaign, which began as an effort to halt rocket attacks and intensified after Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier last month, Israel has hit homes in residential areas where it believes weapons are stored, causing civilian casualties in some cases.
Israel says it has dropped leaflets, and even made phone calls to families in the area, warning them that they should leave because militants are operating in the area and that the Israeli military could carry out operations.
In southern Lebanon, Israel’s initial talk of breaking Hezbollah’s back has slowly given way to more limited goals as Israeli ground troops have bogged down just a few miles into the country. The latest talk is of creating a buffer zone just two kilometers, or about 1.2 miles, wide, which Israel said it could police from its side of the border.
“You can create a buffer zone, not only by being there, but by going in and out,” said Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz, who is in charge the Israeli military’s ground forces.
Prime Minister Olmert briefed an Israeli parliamentary committee Wednesday on plans for the zone, according to participants in the closed session.
A senior Israeli official who spoke about the plan Tuesday said ground troops would be used in the zone. But Mr. Olmert suggested that Israel would try to keep order from its side of the border with artillery and airstrikes.
The plan is already coming under criticism, as has the slow military progress on the ground. Yuval Steinitz, a member of the committee on defense and foreign affairs, which met with Mr. Olmert, described the government’s plan as half-baked.
“If we want to achieve something with this operation, then we need to conduct massive ground operations and clear out all of southern Lebanon,” he said.
Two days ago, Israeli military officials on the border confidently announced that first the village of Marun al-Ras and then the larger town of Bint Jbail had been subdued. But renewed fighting erupted in the region around daybreak Wednesday, and by afternoon military officers were being more circumspect about their progress.
In the village of Marun al-Ras, one Israeli soldier was killed and three more were wounded Wednesday, the Israeli military said. Hezbollah fighters fired an anti-tank rocket that hit the soldiers in a building, it said.
When asked what the Israeli military had achieved after two weeks of fighting, General Gantz replied: “I would suggest asking what Hezbollah has achieved. They came as defenders of Lebanon but basically have destroyed the country.”
General Gantz, a lean, graying man who is famous for having been the last Israeli to leave southern Lebanon in the pullout six years ago after the country’s 18-year presence there, insisted that the fight, though long, would ultimately go Israel’s way. Yet he showed glimmers of frustration with the political pressures that are shaping the battle plan.
When asked if he thought Israel’s response to the initial Hezbollah raid was disproportionate, as many critics have charged, he minced no words. “I don’t think it was disproportionate,” he said. “It should have been much stronger, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
He added, “We have a long way to go and a lot to achieve,” though he would not talk about how many villages needed to be cleared of Hezbollah fighters. Israeli Army officers are saying that it is probably unrealistic to expect that the military can wipe out Hezbollah’s well-hidden and widespread arsenal, which was believed to have contained more than 10,000 missiles when the fighting began.
General Gantz conceded that it would be difficult to stop the rockets that have menaced northern Israel with purely military means, noting that the launchers are mobile and easily hidden and can be fired remotely or with timers.
Another officer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press, noted that even if Israel managed to destroy 50 or 60 percent of those rockets, there would still be enough left to keep up the current pace of roughly 100 rockets a day for weeks.
“All Hezbollah has to do to win, is not lose,” another officer said.
Israel Debates Strategy Shift After Truce Talks Fail
By GREG MYRE and JOHN O’NEIL
Published: July 27, 2006
JERUSALEM, July 27 — Israel’s security cabinet today decided against expanding its ground offensive in Lebanon, a day after the heaviest fighting in the two-week-old conflict killed 9 Israeli soldiers and dozens of Hezbollah fighters.
Before the meeting, Israeli officials said they regarded the failure of an international conference to reach agreement on a cease-fire plan as clearing the way for further assaults on Hezbollah.
“We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world,’’ Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Israeli radio, “to continue this operation, this war, until Hezbollah won’t be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed.’’
Mr. Ramon also raised the possibility of an expanded air assault, saying “all those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah.’’
The fierce fighting in southern Lebanon and rising Israeli casualties led a number of politicians to call today for an expansion of the ground assault. But after meeting this afternoon, the cabinet decided to stick with the limited campaign already underway, officials said.
On the diplomatic front, France’s foreign minister, Phillipe Douste-Blazy, today proposed a United Nations resolution for a settlement, Reuters reported. It called for the release of two soldiers seized by Hezbollah, the disarmament of the militant group and the creation of a buffer zone along the border, the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, the deployment of the Lebanese army in the buffer zone and guarantees of respect for Lebanese sovereignty.
Arriving today in Kuala Lumpur for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended her resistance during the Rome conference to the push for a quick cease-fire. She said she was “willing and ready to go back to the Middle East at any time’’ for talks on a “sustainable’’ peace plan, The Associated Press reported, but warned against expecting any rapid solution.
Arab governments and newspapers expressed disappointment at the outcome of the Rome conference. Egypt’s foreign minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, said the meeting had “failed to meet Arab demands’’ for a cease-fire, Agence France-Presse reported. The Saudi daily Okaz criticized the “major powers’’ for delaying a cease-fire by insisting on “conditions that will allow the aggression to continue,’’ according to Reuters.
Also today, Ayman al-Zawarhiri, al Qaeda’s second-in-command, vowed in a videotape released today that the group “will not stay silent with regard to what is happening to Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon.”
"What is happening to Muslims is a Crusader and Zionist war," Mr. Zawarhiri said, promising “we will attack everywhere’’ in response.
Meanwhile, Israeli air assaults continued today, destroying radio towers north of Beirut and targets in south Lebanon, Reuters reported. It quoted Lebanese security officials who said that Israeli warplanes struck a convoy carrying food and medical supplies from Syria, killing two truck drivers. Agence France-Presse said that nine people were killed in new air strikes, including a gendarme and a Nigerian domestic worker hit by an Israeli missile while riding his motorbike near the southern city of Tyre.
Reuters quoted Israeli security officials who said that a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck a chemical factory in a northern town, but there was no immediate information on casualties.
In Gaza, three Palestinians were killed today, Reuters reported. At least 23 Palestinians had died in fighting there on Wednesday.
A trickle of relief aid continued to make its way into Lebanon, as a second airlift of medical supplies landed in Beirut, news services said. On Wednesday, relief aid reached the southern city of Tyre,, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. In an update on its Web site it painted a grim picture of conditions in villages near the fighting. In one village, it said, “about 700 people, among them 300 children, had taken shelter in a mosque. In other isolated villages, the streets remained empty. As people were afraid to go out, fearing bombardments, dead bodies had not been removed from the streets and others were still buried under rubble.’’
Hezbollah on Thursday kept up its sustained fire on northern Israel, with 130 rockets hitting the region, wounding more than 10 Israelis.
The death toll has been at least 433 in Lebanon and 51 in Israel, according to Reuters.
The death toll on Wednesday was Israel’s highest since fighting began on July 12 after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during a raid into Israel.
The most intense ground combat came around the hilltop town of Bint Jbail, a Hezbollah stronghold just a few miles from the Israeli border.
During the meeting in Rome, while the other nations pressed for an immediate cease-fire, the United States argued for a “sustainable cease-fire,” with the Lebanese government regaining sovereignty over southern Lebanon, and militias like Hezbollah being disbanded.
The lack of action prompted Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon to lash out with a cry of despair.
“Is the value of human life less in Lebanon than that of citizens elsewhere?” he asked. “Are we children of a lesser god? Is an Israeli teardrop worth more than a drop of Lebanese blood?”
Accusing Israel of “barbaric destruction,” he vowed to seek justice, announcing that Lebanon would begin legal proceedings for war reparations.
European and Arab governments, as well as Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, and Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, lined up behind him and pushed hard for an immediate cessation of hostilities or even a truce on humanitarian grounds, several participants said.
But in a tense, sometimes stormy debate that went on for nearly an hour, Ms. Rice dug in, and prevailed.
Later, she defended the United States’ refusal to call for an immediate cease-fire, saying: “It doesn’t do anyone any good to raise false hopes about something that’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen. I did say to the group, ‘When will we learn?’ The fields of the Middle East are littered with broken cease-fires.”
She said she expected that the issue would end up being resolved by the United Nations Security Council.
In a news conference after the talks, the normally placid Mr. Annan made no effort to control his rage at Israel for what he had called an “apparently deliberate targeting” of a United Nations observer post in southern Lebanon by Israel on Tuesday. Four observers were killed.
“Mr. Olmert definitely believes it was a mistake,” said Mr. Annan, referring to Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert. But despite at least 10 calls from United Nations personnel to Israel that their positions were being shelled, Mr. Annan added, “The shelling of the U.N. positions began early in the morning and carried on all day.”
He pledged a formal investigation.
Ms. Rice and Mr. Annan disagreed at the news conference on whether Syria and Iran should be brought into the effort to end the violence. Mr. Annan called for working “with the countries of the region to find a solution,” naming Iran and Syria as players; Ms. Rice, by contrast, said she was concerned about Iran’s role and calling on Syria to live up to its responsibilities, a reference to previous United Nations resolutions.
While the world has focused on the fighting in Lebanon, Israel has continued to shell Gaza. Most of those killed in Gaza on Wednesday were militants, but a mother and her two young daughters died when an artillery shell hit their home, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. A third young girl was also killed, and dozens of Palestinians were wounded.
In its campaign, which began as an effort to halt rocket attacks and intensified after Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier last month, Israel has hit homes in residential areas where it believes weapons are stored, causing civilian casualties in some cases.
Israel says it has dropped leaflets, and even made phone calls to families in the area, warning them that they should leave because militants are operating in the area and that the Israeli military could carry out operations.
In southern Lebanon, Israel’s initial talk of breaking Hezbollah’s back has slowly given way to more limited goals as Israeli ground troops have bogged down just a few miles into the country. The latest talk is of creating a buffer zone just two kilometers, or about 1.2 miles, wide, which Israel said it could police from its side of the border.
“You can create a buffer zone, not only by being there, but by going in and out,” said Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz, who is in charge the Israeli military’s ground forces.
Prime Minister Olmert briefed an Israeli parliamentary committee Wednesday on plans for the zone, according to participants in the closed session.
A senior Israeli official who spoke about the plan Tuesday said ground troops would be used in the zone. But Mr. Olmert suggested that Israel would try to keep order from its side of the border with artillery and airstrikes.
The plan is already coming under criticism, as has the slow military progress on the ground. Yuval Steinitz, a member of the committee on defense and foreign affairs, which met with Mr. Olmert, described the government’s plan as half-baked.
“If we want to achieve something with this operation, then we need to conduct massive ground operations and clear out all of southern Lebanon,” he said.
Two days ago, Israeli military officials on the border confidently announced that first the village of Marun al-Ras and then the larger town of Bint Jbail had been subdued. But renewed fighting erupted in the region around daybreak Wednesday, and by afternoon military officers were being more circumspect about their progress.
In the village of Marun al-Ras, one Israeli soldier was killed and three more were wounded Wednesday, the Israeli military said. Hezbollah fighters fired an anti-tank rocket that hit the soldiers in a building, it said.
When asked what the Israeli military had achieved after two weeks of fighting, General Gantz replied: “I would suggest asking what Hezbollah has achieved. They came as defenders of Lebanon but basically have destroyed the country.”
General Gantz, a lean, graying man who is famous for having been the last Israeli to leave southern Lebanon in the pullout six years ago after the country’s 18-year presence there, insisted that the fight, though long, would ultimately go Israel’s way. Yet he showed glimmers of frustration with the political pressures that are shaping the battle plan.
When asked if he thought Israel’s response to the initial Hezbollah raid was disproportionate, as many critics have charged, he minced no words. “I don’t think it was disproportionate,” he said. “It should have been much stronger, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
He added, “We have a long way to go and a lot to achieve,” though he would not talk about how many villages needed to be cleared of Hezbollah fighters. Israeli Army officers are saying that it is probably unrealistic to expect that the military can wipe out Hezbollah’s well-hidden and widespread arsenal, which was believed to have contained more than 10,000 missiles when the fighting began.
General Gantz conceded that it would be difficult to stop the rockets that have menaced northern Israel with purely military means, noting that the launchers are mobile and easily hidden and can be fired remotely or with timers.
Another officer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press, noted that even if Israel managed to destroy 50 or 60 percent of those rockets, there would still be enough left to keep up the current pace of roughly 100 rockets a day for weeks.
“All Hezbollah has to do to win, is not lose,” another officer said.
Release of Israeli soldier could be 'imminent,' Abbas suggests CBC North
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he believes there may be an "imminent solution" for the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas militants.
Death toll climbs in Gaza Jurnalo
Abbas: Release of Shalit 'imminent' Jerusalem Post
People's Daily Online - Naharnet - Daily Telegraph - Reuters AlertNet - all 272 related »
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he believes there may be an "imminent solution" for the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas militants.
Cpl. Gilad Shalit, shown in an undated photo, was captured June 25 by Hamas militants. (Associated Press)
But a Hamas military spokesman is denying the report. "Nothing has changed in the case of the Israeli soldier," Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, told Reuters. "The file remains in the hands of the resistance factions and not in the hands of any politician even if that politician is Abu Mazen," Ubaida said, using Abbas's nickname. Cpl. Gilad Shalit was captured June 25 when Palestinian militants crawled through a tunnel leading from the Gaza Strip to southern Israel. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack. His capture triggered a military offensive in the Gaza Strip. "With regards to the issue of the abducted Israeli soldier, I have reiterated that there are ongoing efforts that lead us to believe in an imminent solution," Abbas said, speaking through a translator. Abbas spoke at a news conference after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. The Hamas-led Palestinian government has repeatedly called for a prisoner swap, saying it wants women and youths under 18 currently imprisoned in Israel released in exchange for the soldier. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected those calls.Death toll climbs in Gaza Jurnalo
Abbas: Release of Shalit 'imminent' Jerusalem Post
People's Daily Online - Naharnet - Daily Telegraph - Reuters AlertNet - all 272 related »
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=...rticleid=278953
Arabs write off Rome meeting, blame US
Jonathan Wright. Nidal al-Mughrabi, Nadim Ladki | Cairo, Egypt
27 July 2006 01:12
Arabs on Thursday wrote off the Rome meeting on Lebanon as a disappointment and accused Washington of subverting the will of the world for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the guerrilla group Hezbollah.
But some saw hope in signs that Washington was isolated and might have to change its position if its Israeli allies fail to make progress in their military campaign in south Lebanon.
The Rome conference of 15 governments, excluding Israel, Syria and Iran, did not call for an immediate ceasefire, as the major Arab countries had wanted. Instead participants promised to immediately start work to try to stop the fighting.
Diplomats say the United States wants to give Israel more time to hit Hezbollah militarily so that the movement is more likely to accept US and Israeli terms for a settlement.
But Arab governments say the cost in civilian lives is too high and talks on a settlement should follow the ceasefire.
"The whole world is being held hostage by just one country -- the United States," said one Arab diplomat, who asked not to be named. "The only ones who could really put pressure are the Europeans, and they take things lying down these days."
"I see that there is a general trend now to isolate America in one way or another because there was a strong consensus on a ceasefire," said Mohamed Habib, the deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement.
"It was clear that the US administration was on one side and the international community was on the other side, which shows that there is a split and it may widen," he added.
An Arab diplomat who took part in the meetings said that in fact the US had support from Britain and Canada, diluting the extent of its isolation.
"The Canadians took a very strong position condemning Hezbollah and not saying a word about Israel. The others were concerned about humanitarian problems," he added.
Cart before the horse
Papers across the Arab world described the Rome meeting as a failure and many blamed Washington for the outcome.
Washington's position in Rome reinforced the widespread Arab view that the United States will support Israeli military actions under most circumstances.
"The Rome conference was never going to succeed as long as the major powers insist on putting the cart before the horse with conditions that will allow the aggression to continue," said the Saudi daily Okaz.
Awad al-Zufairi, Kuwaiti politician and deputy head of the Gulf country's unofficial Umma Party, said: "Our reaction is clear. It is the continuous policy of America to support Israel. We think that America is wrong to support Israel.
"Israel is an aggressive nation that kills innocent people including children and women. What's going on in Gaza and Lebanon is a clear evidence of that."
Ali Ahmad al-Baghli, a former Kuwaiti oil minister, said Kuwaitis were very sorry to hear the result of the Rome talks.
"Lebanese people were expecting something to be done towards the Israeli atrocities ... towards civilian targets," he said.
George Ishak, coordinator of the opposition Kefaya movement in Egypt, was worried by the proposal to send European forces to south Lebanon, saying: "We are warning our people that the Iraq scenario will be repeated."
Habib said the US position would change if Israel suffered high losses, saying: "If fate turns against the Zionist entity ... then America will be the first to ask for a ceasefire".
Israeli attacks kill 3 in Gaza
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks killed three people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a day after fighting that left 24 Palestinians dead, Palestinian medical workers said.
Those who died on Thursday included a 75-year-old woman, whose house was hit by a missile or shell. The identity of the other dead, aged 16 and 23, was not immediately clear. Medical workers said the two were killed in an air strike.
The army was checking the reports.
At least 148 Palestinians have been killed in the assault. Wednesday's death toll was the highest since Israeli troops returned to the territory in late June, less than a year after they had withdrawn following a 38-year occupation.
Tanks and troops pushed into north-eastern Gaza, a stronghold of militants firing rockets into Israel, early on Wednesday and have remained. At least 12 of those killed on Wednesday were militants.
Militants have kept up attacks with homemade rockets despite the Israeli offensive.
Israel has rejected demands for a prisoner exchange by the gunmen who captured Corporal Gilad Shalit in a border raid on June 25. Some of the gunmen came from the armed wing of the governing Hamas Islamist group.
The offensive has put pressure on the Hamas-led government, which was already struggling under a crippling US-led aid embargo, designed to force the group to recognise Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past peace deals.
Israeli troops also surrounded a house in the West Bank city of Jenin. Residents said they opened fire at stone throwers, slightly wounding two.
Heavier air strikes
Israel pummelled south Lebanon with bombs and shells on Thursday and Israeli media said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet favoured heavier air strikes against Hezbollah rather than a big ground offensive.
Israeli forces have been trying to push Hezbollah back from the border and end rocket attacks, but the army is wary of getting bogged down in guerrilla battles in southern Lebanon.
Israel launched its latest bombardment of the south a day after nine soldiers were killed in the heaviest 24-hour toll it has suffered in its 16-day-old conflict against Hezbollah.
"Ministers want to step up air strikes and limit ground operations," Israeli media reported after Olmert's inner security Cabinet met to consider a response to the losses.
At least 433 people in Lebanon and 51 Israelis have already been killed in the conflict.
Israeli warplanes destroyed radio masts north of Beirut on Thursday and attacked three trucks carrying medical and food supplies to the east, security sources said. They said two truck drivers were killed. Israel accuses Lebanon's eastern neighbour Syria of supplying Hezbollah with arms. Syria denies the charge.
Other Israeli aircraft blasted targets in and around several villages and towns in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim south, and artillery batteries opened up from Israel's side of the border.
Several Hezbollah rockets landed in northern Israel but caused no casualties, Israeli emergency services said.
Hezbollah guerrillas killed nine Israeli soldiers in pitched battles in a border town and a nearby village on Wednesday.
An opinion poll conducted before Wednesday's fighting showed 95% of Israelis still believed the offensive in Lebanon was justified, though the minority supporting a halt to the war for negotiations rose to 12% from 8%. - Reuters
Related articles
Special report: Israel and the Middle East
The neocon resurgence
The summit fails. War rages
No ceasefire in sight as Lebanon burns
The lethal mistakes of George Bush
Fierce fighting in Lebanon
Iran: Ignore us at your peril
Israel allows for aid as it pursues war
Forces close in on Hezbollah stronghold
Pretoria's shadow-boxing
Blasted by a missile on the road to safety
War for a puppet regime
Arabs write off Rome meeting, blame US
Jonathan Wright. Nidal al-Mughrabi, Nadim Ladki | Cairo, Egypt
27 July 2006 01:12
Arabs on Thursday wrote off the Rome meeting on Lebanon as a disappointment and accused Washington of subverting the will of the world for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the guerrilla group Hezbollah.
But some saw hope in signs that Washington was isolated and might have to change its position if its Israeli allies fail to make progress in their military campaign in south Lebanon.
The Rome conference of 15 governments, excluding Israel, Syria and Iran, did not call for an immediate ceasefire, as the major Arab countries had wanted. Instead participants promised to immediately start work to try to stop the fighting.
Diplomats say the United States wants to give Israel more time to hit Hezbollah militarily so that the movement is more likely to accept US and Israeli terms for a settlement.
But Arab governments say the cost in civilian lives is too high and talks on a settlement should follow the ceasefire.
"The whole world is being held hostage by just one country -- the United States," said one Arab diplomat, who asked not to be named. "The only ones who could really put pressure are the Europeans, and they take things lying down these days."
"I see that there is a general trend now to isolate America in one way or another because there was a strong consensus on a ceasefire," said Mohamed Habib, the deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement.
"It was clear that the US administration was on one side and the international community was on the other side, which shows that there is a split and it may widen," he added.
An Arab diplomat who took part in the meetings said that in fact the US had support from Britain and Canada, diluting the extent of its isolation.
"The Canadians took a very strong position condemning Hezbollah and not saying a word about Israel. The others were concerned about humanitarian problems," he added.
Cart before the horse
Papers across the Arab world described the Rome meeting as a failure and many blamed Washington for the outcome.
Washington's position in Rome reinforced the widespread Arab view that the United States will support Israeli military actions under most circumstances.
"The Rome conference was never going to succeed as long as the major powers insist on putting the cart before the horse with conditions that will allow the aggression to continue," said the Saudi daily Okaz.
Awad al-Zufairi, Kuwaiti politician and deputy head of the Gulf country's unofficial Umma Party, said: "Our reaction is clear. It is the continuous policy of America to support Israel. We think that America is wrong to support Israel.
"Israel is an aggressive nation that kills innocent people including children and women. What's going on in Gaza and Lebanon is a clear evidence of that."
Ali Ahmad al-Baghli, a former Kuwaiti oil minister, said Kuwaitis were very sorry to hear the result of the Rome talks.
"Lebanese people were expecting something to be done towards the Israeli atrocities ... towards civilian targets," he said.
George Ishak, coordinator of the opposition Kefaya movement in Egypt, was worried by the proposal to send European forces to south Lebanon, saying: "We are warning our people that the Iraq scenario will be repeated."
Habib said the US position would change if Israel suffered high losses, saying: "If fate turns against the Zionist entity ... then America will be the first to ask for a ceasefire".
Israeli attacks kill 3 in Gaza
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks killed three people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a day after fighting that left 24 Palestinians dead, Palestinian medical workers said.
Those who died on Thursday included a 75-year-old woman, whose house was hit by a missile or shell. The identity of the other dead, aged 16 and 23, was not immediately clear. Medical workers said the two were killed in an air strike.
The army was checking the reports.
At least 148 Palestinians have been killed in the assault. Wednesday's death toll was the highest since Israeli troops returned to the territory in late June, less than a year after they had withdrawn following a 38-year occupation.
Tanks and troops pushed into north-eastern Gaza, a stronghold of militants firing rockets into Israel, early on Wednesday and have remained. At least 12 of those killed on Wednesday were militants.
Militants have kept up attacks with homemade rockets despite the Israeli offensive.
Israel has rejected demands for a prisoner exchange by the gunmen who captured Corporal Gilad Shalit in a border raid on June 25. Some of the gunmen came from the armed wing of the governing Hamas Islamist group.
The offensive has put pressure on the Hamas-led government, which was already struggling under a crippling US-led aid embargo, designed to force the group to recognise Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past peace deals.
Israeli troops also surrounded a house in the West Bank city of Jenin. Residents said they opened fire at stone throwers, slightly wounding two.
Heavier air strikes
Israel pummelled south Lebanon with bombs and shells on Thursday and Israeli media said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet favoured heavier air strikes against Hezbollah rather than a big ground offensive.
Israeli forces have been trying to push Hezbollah back from the border and end rocket attacks, but the army is wary of getting bogged down in guerrilla battles in southern Lebanon.
Israel launched its latest bombardment of the south a day after nine soldiers were killed in the heaviest 24-hour toll it has suffered in its 16-day-old conflict against Hezbollah.
"Ministers want to step up air strikes and limit ground operations," Israeli media reported after Olmert's inner security Cabinet met to consider a response to the losses.
At least 433 people in Lebanon and 51 Israelis have already been killed in the conflict.
Israeli warplanes destroyed radio masts north of Beirut on Thursday and attacked three trucks carrying medical and food supplies to the east, security sources said. They said two truck drivers were killed. Israel accuses Lebanon's eastern neighbour Syria of supplying Hezbollah with arms. Syria denies the charge.
Other Israeli aircraft blasted targets in and around several villages and towns in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim south, and artillery batteries opened up from Israel's side of the border.
Several Hezbollah rockets landed in northern Israel but caused no casualties, Israeli emergency services said.
Hezbollah guerrillas killed nine Israeli soldiers in pitched battles in a border town and a nearby village on Wednesday.
An opinion poll conducted before Wednesday's fighting showed 95% of Israelis still believed the offensive in Lebanon was justified, though the minority supporting a halt to the war for negotiations rose to 12% from 8%. - Reuters
Related articles
Special report: Israel and the Middle East
The neocon resurgence
The summit fails. War rages
No ceasefire in sight as Lebanon burns
The lethal mistakes of George Bush
Fierce fighting in Lebanon
Iran: Ignore us at your peril
Israel allows for aid as it pursues war
Forces close in on Hezbollah stronghold
Pretoria's shadow-boxing
Blasted by a missile on the road to safety
War for a puppet regime
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/07/27/...st_Fighting.php
Israel extends its air campaign
The Associated Press
Published: July 27, 2006
BEIRUT Israeli jets pounded across Lebanon on Thursday, extending their air campaign a day after suffering its highest one-day casualty toll in fighting with Hezbollah, with nine soldiers killed. Al-Qaida threatened new attacks in response to Israel's assault on Lebanon, its first comment on the fighting now in its third week.
The Israeli government met Thursday to decide whether to broaden the Lebanon offensive. An Israeli Cabinet minister said world powers' lack of agreement on a cease-fire this week gave Israel a green light to press deeper to wipe out Hezbollah guerrillas.
The al-Qaida threat, in a videotape by Osama bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, was the first sign the terror network aimed to exploit Israel's two pronged offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas-linked militants in Gaza Strip to rally Islamic militants and expand the fight.
"We cannot just watch these shells as they burn our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon and stand by idly, humiliated," al-Zawahri said, adding that "all the world is a battlefield open in front of us."
"The war with Israel does not depend on cease-fires. ... It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq," he said. "We will attack everywhere."
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza after Palestinian Hamas-linked militants there snatched an Israeli soldier on June 25. As that conflict raged, Hezbollah grabbed two soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid, sparking a massive Israel assault on Lebanon.
So far, 16 days of bombardment and intense ground fighting in recent days have been unable to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks. On Wednesday, the guerrillas unleashed their biggest volley yet - 151 rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli military warned Lebanese in the south on Thursday that their villages would be "totally destroyed" if missiles are fired from them.
On Wednesday, a high-level conference of key Mideast players in Rome ended in disagreement, with most European leaders urging an immediate cease-fire, but the U.S. willing to give Israel more time to punish Hezbollah and ensure an international force can move into south Lebanon to keep the peace.
With cease-fire efforts stalemated, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that she was prepared to make a second tour of the Middle East to try to hammer out a resolution, but she did not specify when.
"I am more than happy to go back," Rice said, if her efforts can "move toward a sustainable cease-fire that would end the violence." She spoke in Malaysia after attending the Rome conference. Rice held talks in Beirut and Jerusalem earlier in the week.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel interprets the lack of consensus at Rome as a green light to continue its offensive.
"We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world .... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won't be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed," he told Israel Army Radio. "Everyone understands that a victory for Hezbollah is a victory for world terror."
Ramon also said the Israeli air force must bomb villages before ground forces enter, suggesting that this would help prevent Israeli casualties in the future.
Asked whether entire villages should be flattened, he said: "These places are not villages. They are military bases in which Hezbollah people are hiding and from which they are operating."
Thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped in villages across the border region in southern Lebanon, according to humanitarian officials who have toured the region. Americans who escaped a village near the epicenter of the ground fighting said Wednesday many U.S. citizens were still there.
On Thursday, the Israeli military's radio in south Lebanon warned that the army "will totally destroy any village from which missiles are fired toward Israel."
The statement, aired on Al-Mashriq radio, also told Lebanese not to use the road from Qleileh - which is near the Mediterranean coast - to Houlah in eastern Lebanon across the border from Israel's Kiryat Shmona.
Israeli airstrikes on Thursday pounded roads and suspected Hezbollah residences in the south and east, as well as a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes barraged the immediate border region where ground fighting continued.
The call for greater firepower came after Israel suffered its heaviest casualty toll in a single battle on Wednesday, with nine soldiers killed and 25 wounded in house-to-house fighting in Bint Jbail, a border town that Israeli troops have been trying for five days to wrest from Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli army commanders have said troops would seize additional towns and villages in south Lebanon to force out Hezbollah gunmen.
In the first apparent ramification of the killing of four U.N. observers by an Israeli airstrike earlier this week, Australia decided to withdraw 12 unarmed logistics specialists who had been sent to southern Lebanon to help with evacuation efforts.
It also said it would not support a new international force in southern Lebanon unless it had the strength and will to disarm Hezbollah, Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday.
Earlier this month, Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson backed participation of Australian troops in a new U.N. Middle East peacekeeping mission, but on Thursday, he seemed to rule out any major contribution.
"I would be surprised if Australia were to be committing a significant number of troops to this area," Nelson said. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally in the war on terror, has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as East Timor and the Solomon Islands.
Across the south, Israeli warplanes struck roads and houses, many believed to belong to Hezbollah activists. The houses were mostly deserted, but such strikes have often caused casualties among nearby residents. A Lebanese policeman, Mohammed Abu Hamdan, was killed when an Israeli missile struck his car as he drove in the eastern city of Zahle, security officials said.
Jets carried out more than 30 bombing runs in the highland, apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah, striking empty houses of alleged Hezbollah activists. The strikes caused a number of casualties, but ambulances and civil defense crews were unable to reach the targeted areas because of intense bombardment, security officials and witnesses said.
Other strikes hit the nearby southern market town of Nabatiyeh, wounding at least three people, officials said. A hit on a road in Rayak, a few kilometers (miles) from the Lebanese-Syrian border, wounded two soldiers and a civilian, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make statements to the media.
At least 423 other people have been killed in Lebanon - including 376 civilians reported by the Health Ministry and security officials. The deaths of the soldiers on Wednesday brought to 51 the number of Israelis killed in the campaign, according to the military.
And a missile a four-story building belonging to the Shiite Muslim Amal Movement in the southern port city of Tyre, a day after a strike in the city devastated an empty seven-story building where Hezbollah's top commander in the south has offices.
The strike on Wednesday wounded 13 people, including six children, nearby. But a Hezbollah official in Tyre denied Israeli reports that the commander, Sheik Nabil Kaouk, was killed.
The privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. TV station said Israeli jets struck the army base at Aamchit, 50 kilometers (30 miles) along the Beirut-Tripoli highway north of the Lebanese capital near the coast and knocked down a relay tower in an adjacent field of antennas belonging to the state-run Radio Liban.
Israeli military officials said the target of the airstrike was a radar station used by Hezbollah for attacks like the one on the Israeli missile boat on July 14. Four Israeli soldiers died in that incident.
Israel said Wednesday that it intends to damage Hezbollah and establish a "security zone" that would be free of the guerrillas and extend 1.2 miles into Lebanon from the Israeli border. Such a zone would prevent Hezbollah from carrying out cross-border raids such as the one two weeks ago which triggered the Israeli military response.
Israel said it would maintain such a zone, with firepower or other means, until the arrival of an international force with muscle to be deployed in a wider swath of southern Lebanon - as opposed to the U.N. force already there that has failed to prevent the violence.
___
AP correspondents Kathy Gannon in Tyre, Hamza Hendawi in Sidon, Laurie Copans in Jerusalem, Jocelyn Gecker in Kuala Lumpur and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this story.
(pvs-krg/lk)
BEIRUT Israeli jets pounded across Lebanon on Thursday, extending their air campaign a day after suffering its highest one-day casualty toll in fighting with Hezbollah, with nine soldiers killed. Al-Qaida threatened new attacks in response to Israel's assault on Lebanon, its first comment on the fighting now in its third week.
The Israeli government met Thursday to decide whether to broaden the Lebanon offensive. An Israeli Cabinet minister said world powers' lack of agreement on a cease-fire this week gave Israel a green light to press deeper to wipe out Hezbollah guerrillas.
The al-Qaida threat, in a videotape by Osama bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, was the first sign the terror network aimed to exploit Israel's two pronged offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas-linked militants in Gaza Strip to rally Islamic militants and expand the fight.
"We cannot just watch these shells as they burn our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon and stand by idly, humiliated," al-Zawahri said, adding that "all the world is a battlefield open in front of us."
"The war with Israel does not depend on cease-fires. ... It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq," he said. "We will attack everywhere."
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza after Palestinian Hamas-linked militants there snatched an Israeli soldier on June 25. As that conflict raged, Hezbollah grabbed two soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid, sparking a massive Israel assault on Lebanon.
So far, 16 days of bombardment and intense ground fighting in recent days have been unable to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks. On Wednesday, the guerrillas unleashed their biggest volley yet - 151 rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli military warned Lebanese in the south on Thursday that their villages would be "totally destroyed" if missiles are fired from them.
On Wednesday, a high-level conference of key Mideast players in Rome ended in disagreement, with most European leaders urging an immediate cease-fire, but the U.S. willing to give Israel more time to punish Hezbollah and ensure an international force can move into south Lebanon to keep the peace.
With cease-fire efforts stalemated, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that she was prepared to make a second tour of the Middle East to try to hammer out a resolution, but she did not specify when.
"I am more than happy to go back," Rice said, if her efforts can "move toward a sustainable cease-fire that would end the violence." She spoke in Malaysia after attending the Rome conference. Rice held talks in Beirut and Jerusalem earlier in the week.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel interprets the lack of consensus at Rome as a green light to continue its offensive.
"We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world .... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won't be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed," he told Israel Army Radio. "Everyone understands that a victory for Hezbollah is a victory for world terror."
Ramon also said the Israeli air force must bomb villages before ground forces enter, suggesting that this would help prevent Israeli casualties in the future.
Asked whether entire villages should be flattened, he said: "These places are not villages. They are military bases in which Hezbollah people are hiding and from which they are operating."
Thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped in villages across the border region in southern Lebanon, according to humanitarian officials who have toured the region. Americans who escaped a village near the epicenter of the ground fighting said Wednesday many U.S. citizens were still there.
On Thursday, the Israeli military's radio in south Lebanon warned that the army "will totally destroy any village from which missiles are fired toward Israel."
The statement, aired on Al-Mashriq radio, also told Lebanese not to use the road from Qleileh - which is near the Mediterranean coast - to Houlah in eastern Lebanon across the border from Israel's Kiryat Shmona.
Israeli airstrikes on Thursday pounded roads and suspected Hezbollah residences in the south and east, as well as a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes barraged the immediate border region where ground fighting continued.
The call for greater firepower came after Israel suffered its heaviest casualty toll in a single battle on Wednesday, with nine soldiers killed and 25 wounded in house-to-house fighting in Bint Jbail, a border town that Israeli troops have been trying for five days to wrest from Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli army commanders have said troops would seize additional towns and villages in south Lebanon to force out Hezbollah gunmen.
In the first apparent ramification of the killing of four U.N. observers by an Israeli airstrike earlier this week, Australia decided to withdraw 12 unarmed logistics specialists who had been sent to southern Lebanon to help with evacuation efforts.
It also said it would not support a new international force in southern Lebanon unless it had the strength and will to disarm Hezbollah, Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday.
Earlier this month, Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson backed participation of Australian troops in a new U.N. Middle East peacekeeping mission, but on Thursday, he seemed to rule out any major contribution.
"I would be surprised if Australia were to be committing a significant number of troops to this area," Nelson said. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally in the war on terror, has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as East Timor and the Solomon Islands.
Across the south, Israeli warplanes struck roads and houses, many believed to belong to Hezbollah activists. The houses were mostly deserted, but such strikes have often caused casualties among nearby residents. A Lebanese policeman, Mohammed Abu Hamdan, was killed when an Israeli missile struck his car as he drove in the eastern city of Zahle, security officials said.
Jets carried out more than 30 bombing runs in the highland, apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah, striking empty houses of alleged Hezbollah activists. The strikes caused a number of casualties, but ambulances and civil defense crews were unable to reach the targeted areas because of intense bombardment, security officials and witnesses said.
Other strikes hit the nearby southern market town of Nabatiyeh, wounding at least three people, officials said. A hit on a road in Rayak, a few kilometers (miles) from the Lebanese-Syrian border, wounded two soldiers and a civilian, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make statements to the media.
At least 423 other people have been killed in Lebanon - including 376 civilians reported by the Health Ministry and security officials. The deaths of the soldiers on Wednesday brought to 51 the number of Israelis killed in the campaign, according to the military.
And a missile a four-story building belonging to the Shiite Muslim Amal Movement in the southern port city of Tyre, a day after a strike in the city devastated an empty seven-story building where Hezbollah's top commander in the south has offices.
The strike on Wednesday wounded 13 people, including six children, nearby. But a Hezbollah official in Tyre denied Israeli reports that the commander, Sheik Nabil Kaouk, was killed.
The privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. TV station said Israeli jets struck the army base at Aamchit, 50 kilometers (30 miles) along the Beirut-Tripoli highway north of the Lebanese capital near the coast and knocked down a relay tower in an adjacent field of antennas belonging to the state-run Radio Liban.
Israeli military officials said the target of the airstrike was a radar station used by Hezbollah for attacks like the one on the Israeli missile boat on July 14. Four Israeli soldiers died in that incident.
Israel said Wednesday that it intends to damage Hezbollah and establish a "security zone" that would be free of the guerrillas and extend 1.2 miles into Lebanon from the Israeli border. Such a zone would prevent Hezbollah from carrying out cross-border raids such as the one two weeks ago which triggered the Israeli military response.
Israel said it would maintain such a zone, with firepower or other means, until the arrival of an international force with muscle to be deployed in a wider swath of southern Lebanon - as opposed to the U.N. force already there that has failed to prevent the violence.
___
AP correspondents Kathy Gannon in Tyre, Hamza Hendawi in Sidon, Laurie Copans in Jerusalem, Jocelyn Gecker in Kuala Lumpur and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this story.
(pvs-krg/lk)
Israel extends its air campaign
The Associated Press
Published: July 27, 2006
BEIRUT Israeli jets pounded across Lebanon on Thursday, extending their air campaign a day after suffering its highest one-day casualty toll in fighting with Hezbollah, with nine soldiers killed. Al-Qaida threatened new attacks in response to Israel's assault on Lebanon, its first comment on the fighting now in its third week.
The Israeli government met Thursday to decide whether to broaden the Lebanon offensive. An Israeli Cabinet minister said world powers' lack of agreement on a cease-fire this week gave Israel a green light to press deeper to wipe out Hezbollah guerrillas.
The al-Qaida threat, in a videotape by Osama bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, was the first sign the terror network aimed to exploit Israel's two pronged offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas-linked militants in Gaza Strip to rally Islamic militants and expand the fight.
"We cannot just watch these shells as they burn our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon and stand by idly, humiliated," al-Zawahri said, adding that "all the world is a battlefield open in front of us."
"The war with Israel does not depend on cease-fires. ... It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq," he said. "We will attack everywhere."
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza after Palestinian Hamas-linked militants there snatched an Israeli soldier on June 25. As that conflict raged, Hezbollah grabbed two soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid, sparking a massive Israel assault on Lebanon.
So far, 16 days of bombardment and intense ground fighting in recent days have been unable to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks. On Wednesday, the guerrillas unleashed their biggest volley yet - 151 rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli military warned Lebanese in the south on Thursday that their villages would be "totally destroyed" if missiles are fired from them.
On Wednesday, a high-level conference of key Mideast players in Rome ended in disagreement, with most European leaders urging an immediate cease-fire, but the U.S. willing to give Israel more time to punish Hezbollah and ensure an international force can move into south Lebanon to keep the peace.
With cease-fire efforts stalemated, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that she was prepared to make a second tour of the Middle East to try to hammer out a resolution, but she did not specify when.
"I am more than happy to go back," Rice said, if her efforts can "move toward a sustainable cease-fire that would end the violence." She spoke in Malaysia after attending the Rome conference. Rice held talks in Beirut and Jerusalem earlier in the week.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel interprets the lack of consensus at Rome as a green light to continue its offensive.
"We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world .... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won't be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed," he told Israel Army Radio. "Everyone understands that a victory for Hezbollah is a victory for world terror."
Ramon also said the Israeli air force must bomb villages before ground forces enter, suggesting that this would help prevent Israeli casualties in the future.
Asked whether entire villages should be flattened, he said: "These places are not villages. They are military bases in which Hezbollah people are hiding and from which they are operating."
Thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped in villages across the border region in southern Lebanon, according to humanitarian officials who have toured the region. Americans who escaped a village near the epicenter of the ground fighting said Wednesday many U.S. citizens were still there.
On Thursday, the Israeli military's radio in south Lebanon warned that the army "will totally destroy any village from which missiles are fired toward Israel."
The statement, aired on Al-Mashriq radio, also told Lebanese not to use the road from Qleileh - which is near the Mediterranean coast - to Houlah in eastern Lebanon across the border from Israel's Kiryat Shmona.
Israeli airstrikes on Thursday pounded roads and suspected Hezbollah residences in the south and east, as well as a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes barraged the immediate border region where ground fighting continued.
The call for greater firepower came after Israel suffered its heaviest casualty toll in a single battle on Wednesday, with nine soldiers killed and 25 wounded in house-to-house fighting in Bint Jbail, a border town that Israeli troops have been trying for five days to wrest from Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli army commanders have said troops would seize additional towns and villages in south Lebanon to force out Hezbollah gunmen.
In the first apparent ramification of the killing of four U.N. observers by an Israeli airstrike earlier this week, Australia decided to withdraw 12 unarmed logistics specialists who had been sent to southern Lebanon to help with evacuation efforts.
It also said it would not support a new international force in southern Lebanon unless it had the strength and will to disarm Hezbollah, Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday.
Earlier this month, Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson backed participation of Australian troops in a new U.N. Middle East peacekeeping mission, but on Thursday, he seemed to rule out any major contribution.
"I would be surprised if Australia were to be committing a significant number of troops to this area," Nelson said. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally in the war on terror, has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as East Timor and the Solomon Islands.
Across the south, Israeli warplanes struck roads and houses, many believed to belong to Hezbollah activists. The houses were mostly deserted, but such strikes have often caused casualties among nearby residents. A Lebanese policeman, Mohammed Abu Hamdan, was killed when an Israeli missile struck his car as he drove in the eastern city of Zahle, security officials said.
Jets carried out more than 30 bombing runs in the highland, apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah, striking empty houses of alleged Hezbollah activists. The strikes caused a number of casualties, but ambulances and civil defense crews were unable to reach the targeted areas because of intense bombardment, security officials and witnesses said.
Other strikes hit the nearby southern market town of Nabatiyeh, wounding at least three people, officials said. A hit on a road in Rayak, a few kilometers (miles) from the Lebanese-Syrian border, wounded two soldiers and a civilian, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make statements to the media.
At least 423 other people have been killed in Lebanon - including 376 civilians reported by the Health Ministry and security officials. The deaths of the soldiers on Wednesday brought to 51 the number of Israelis killed in the campaign, according to the military.
And a missile a four-story building belonging to the Shiite Muslim Amal Movement in the southern port city of Tyre, a day after a strike in the city devastated an empty seven-story building where Hezbollah's top commander in the south has offices.
The strike on Wednesday wounded 13 people, including six children, nearby. But a Hezbollah official in Tyre denied Israeli reports that the commander, Sheik Nabil Kaouk, was killed.
The privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. TV station said Israeli jets struck the army base at Aamchit, 50 kilometers (30 miles) along the Beirut-Tripoli highway north of the Lebanese capital near the coast and knocked down a relay tower in an adjacent field of antennas belonging to the state-run Radio Liban.
Israeli military officials said the target of the airstrike was a radar station used by Hezbollah for attacks like the one on the Israeli missile boat on July 14. Four Israeli soldiers died in that incident.
Israel said Wednesday that it intends to damage Hezbollah and establish a "security zone" that would be free of the guerrillas and extend 1.2 miles into Lebanon from the Israeli border. Such a zone would prevent Hezbollah from carrying out cross-border raids such as the one two weeks ago which triggered the Israeli military response.
Israel said it would maintain such a zone, with firepower or other means, until the arrival of an international force with muscle to be deployed in a wider swath of southern Lebanon - as opposed to the U.N. force already there that has failed to prevent the violence.
___
AP correspondents Kathy Gannon in Tyre, Hamza Hendawi in Sidon, Laurie Copans in Jerusalem, Jocelyn Gecker in Kuala Lumpur and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this story.
(pvs-krg/lk)
BEIRUT Israeli jets pounded across Lebanon on Thursday, extending their air campaign a day after suffering its highest one-day casualty toll in fighting with Hezbollah, with nine soldiers killed. Al-Qaida threatened new attacks in response to Israel's assault on Lebanon, its first comment on the fighting now in its third week.
The Israeli government met Thursday to decide whether to broaden the Lebanon offensive. An Israeli Cabinet minister said world powers' lack of agreement on a cease-fire this week gave Israel a green light to press deeper to wipe out Hezbollah guerrillas.
The al-Qaida threat, in a videotape by Osama bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, was the first sign the terror network aimed to exploit Israel's two pronged offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas-linked militants in Gaza Strip to rally Islamic militants and expand the fight.
"We cannot just watch these shells as they burn our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon and stand by idly, humiliated," al-Zawahri said, adding that "all the world is a battlefield open in front of us."
"The war with Israel does not depend on cease-fires. ... It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq," he said. "We will attack everywhere."
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza after Palestinian Hamas-linked militants there snatched an Israeli soldier on June 25. As that conflict raged, Hezbollah grabbed two soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid, sparking a massive Israel assault on Lebanon.
So far, 16 days of bombardment and intense ground fighting in recent days have been unable to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks. On Wednesday, the guerrillas unleashed their biggest volley yet - 151 rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli military warned Lebanese in the south on Thursday that their villages would be "totally destroyed" if missiles are fired from them.
On Wednesday, a high-level conference of key Mideast players in Rome ended in disagreement, with most European leaders urging an immediate cease-fire, but the U.S. willing to give Israel more time to punish Hezbollah and ensure an international force can move into south Lebanon to keep the peace.
With cease-fire efforts stalemated, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that she was prepared to make a second tour of the Middle East to try to hammer out a resolution, but she did not specify when.
"I am more than happy to go back," Rice said, if her efforts can "move toward a sustainable cease-fire that would end the violence." She spoke in Malaysia after attending the Rome conference. Rice held talks in Beirut and Jerusalem earlier in the week.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel interprets the lack of consensus at Rome as a green light to continue its offensive.
"We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world .... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won't be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed," he told Israel Army Radio. "Everyone understands that a victory for Hezbollah is a victory for world terror."
Ramon also said the Israeli air force must bomb villages before ground forces enter, suggesting that this would help prevent Israeli casualties in the future.
Asked whether entire villages should be flattened, he said: "These places are not villages. They are military bases in which Hezbollah people are hiding and from which they are operating."
Thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped in villages across the border region in southern Lebanon, according to humanitarian officials who have toured the region. Americans who escaped a village near the epicenter of the ground fighting said Wednesday many U.S. citizens were still there.
On Thursday, the Israeli military's radio in south Lebanon warned that the army "will totally destroy any village from which missiles are fired toward Israel."
The statement, aired on Al-Mashriq radio, also told Lebanese not to use the road from Qleileh - which is near the Mediterranean coast - to Houlah in eastern Lebanon across the border from Israel's Kiryat Shmona.
Israeli airstrikes on Thursday pounded roads and suspected Hezbollah residences in the south and east, as well as a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes barraged the immediate border region where ground fighting continued.
The call for greater firepower came after Israel suffered its heaviest casualty toll in a single battle on Wednesday, with nine soldiers killed and 25 wounded in house-to-house fighting in Bint Jbail, a border town that Israeli troops have been trying for five days to wrest from Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli army commanders have said troops would seize additional towns and villages in south Lebanon to force out Hezbollah gunmen.
In the first apparent ramification of the killing of four U.N. observers by an Israeli airstrike earlier this week, Australia decided to withdraw 12 unarmed logistics specialists who had been sent to southern Lebanon to help with evacuation efforts.
It also said it would not support a new international force in southern Lebanon unless it had the strength and will to disarm Hezbollah, Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday.
Earlier this month, Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson backed participation of Australian troops in a new U.N. Middle East peacekeeping mission, but on Thursday, he seemed to rule out any major contribution.
"I would be surprised if Australia were to be committing a significant number of troops to this area," Nelson said. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally in the war on terror, has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as East Timor and the Solomon Islands.
Across the south, Israeli warplanes struck roads and houses, many believed to belong to Hezbollah activists. The houses were mostly deserted, but such strikes have often caused casualties among nearby residents. A Lebanese policeman, Mohammed Abu Hamdan, was killed when an Israeli missile struck his car as he drove in the eastern city of Zahle, security officials said.
Jets carried out more than 30 bombing runs in the highland, apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah, striking empty houses of alleged Hezbollah activists. The strikes caused a number of casualties, but ambulances and civil defense crews were unable to reach the targeted areas because of intense bombardment, security officials and witnesses said.
Other strikes hit the nearby southern market town of Nabatiyeh, wounding at least three people, officials said. A hit on a road in Rayak, a few kilometers (miles) from the Lebanese-Syrian border, wounded two soldiers and a civilian, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make statements to the media.
At least 423 other people have been killed in Lebanon - including 376 civilians reported by the Health Ministry and security officials. The deaths of the soldiers on Wednesday brought to 51 the number of Israelis killed in the campaign, according to the military.
And a missile a four-story building belonging to the Shiite Muslim Amal Movement in the southern port city of Tyre, a day after a strike in the city devastated an empty seven-story building where Hezbollah's top commander in the south has offices.
The strike on Wednesday wounded 13 people, including six children, nearby. But a Hezbollah official in Tyre denied Israeli reports that the commander, Sheik Nabil Kaouk, was killed.
The privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. TV station said Israeli jets struck the army base at Aamchit, 50 kilometers (30 miles) along the Beirut-Tripoli highway north of the Lebanese capital near the coast and knocked down a relay tower in an adjacent field of antennas belonging to the state-run Radio Liban.
Israeli military officials said the target of the airstrike was a radar station used by Hezbollah for attacks like the one on the Israeli missile boat on July 14. Four Israeli soldiers died in that incident.
Israel said Wednesday that it intends to damage Hezbollah and establish a "security zone" that would be free of the guerrillas and extend 1.2 miles into Lebanon from the Israeli border. Such a zone would prevent Hezbollah from carrying out cross-border raids such as the one two weeks ago which triggered the Israeli military response.
Israel said it would maintain such a zone, with firepower or other means, until the arrival of an international force with muscle to be deployed in a wider swath of southern Lebanon - as opposed to the U.N. force already there that has failed to prevent the violence.
___
AP correspondents Kathy Gannon in Tyre, Hamza Hendawi in Sidon, Laurie Copans in Jerusalem, Jocelyn Gecker in Kuala Lumpur and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this story.
(pvs-krg/lk)
Voices from Iran and Syria BBC News
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice has warned Hezbollah's main allies, Syria and Iran, that they face isolation unless they try to halt the war in Lebanon. A Syrian who supports Hezbollah, and an Iranian who does not, discuss the group's role in the conflict.
HALA, 27, CIVIL ENGINEER, HAMA, SYRIA
I support Hezbollah. Not for religious sectarian reasons, but because Hezbollah symbolises Arab resistance. This is what is lacking from the Arab scene. Israel always blames Syria and Iran for all the problems in the region because these are the two countries that stand in the face of Israel and try to resist it. Compared with Israel, Hezbollah has limited international support. But it does have lots of support among real people within Syria. Israel has the backing of the international community, especially the USA. So why don't Arab countries rally round Hezbollah seeing as Israel already has the support of the world's major powers? If the current stand-off continues Syria may get attacked. US forces could come across the border from Iraq, because they are already there. As I see it, there are two possible ways this conflict could go. The temporary one is that Hezbollah continues its attacks and keeps on fighting. The more permanent solution is that the Arab countries cut off oil to the west and open up their borders so people from Arab countries who want to go and fight can do so.
BAHMAN, SCIENCE TEACHER, TEHRAN, IRAN
I am no great fan of Hezbollah. Yet the West's pronouncements on this current crisis shock and anger me. Are Bush, Rice and their patsy Blair so foolish to believe what they say when they place all the blame on Hezbollah, Syria and Iran? Blame naturally is on both sides, but Israel as the more powerful player carries more responsibility for the entire Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Hezbollah, while having its own agenda for prisoner exchange, was also reacting to Israeli actions in Gaza. Hezbollah's popularity and strength are linked proportionally to Israel's policies and use of violence in the region. Here in Iran we do get tired of Ahmedinejad's constant banging on about Israel and his pathetic statements about the Holocaust. But Israel's horrific actions in Lebanon, its repeated disregard for Muslim and Christian Arab civilians has served to harden popular opinion. Israel is viewed as barbaric, oppressive and racist. If Israel made serious moves towards peace in the Middle East, groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah would not find domestic support for violent acts. But as long as Israel kills and imprisons as it wishes, these groups will find people willing to fill their ranks. And I can't say I blame them.
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice has warned Hezbollah's main allies, Syria and Iran, that they face isolation unless they try to halt the war in Lebanon. A Syrian who supports Hezbollah, and an Iranian who does not, discuss the group's role in the conflict.
HALA, 27, CIVIL ENGINEER, HAMA, SYRIA
I support Hezbollah. Not for religious sectarian reasons, but because Hezbollah symbolises Arab resistance. This is what is lacking from the Arab scene. Israel always blames Syria and Iran for all the problems in the region because these are the two countries that stand in the face of Israel and try to resist it. Compared with Israel, Hezbollah has limited international support. But it does have lots of support among real people within Syria. Israel has the backing of the international community, especially the USA. So why don't Arab countries rally round Hezbollah seeing as Israel already has the support of the world's major powers? If the current stand-off continues Syria may get attacked. US forces could come across the border from Iraq, because they are already there. As I see it, there are two possible ways this conflict could go. The temporary one is that Hezbollah continues its attacks and keeps on fighting. The more permanent solution is that the Arab countries cut off oil to the west and open up their borders so people from Arab countries who want to go and fight can do so.
BAHMAN, SCIENCE TEACHER, TEHRAN, IRAN
I am no great fan of Hezbollah. Yet the West's pronouncements on this current crisis shock and anger me. Are Bush, Rice and their patsy Blair so foolish to believe what they say when they place all the blame on Hezbollah, Syria and Iran? Blame naturally is on both sides, but Israel as the more powerful player carries more responsibility for the entire Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Hezbollah, while having its own agenda for prisoner exchange, was also reacting to Israeli actions in Gaza. Hezbollah's popularity and strength are linked proportionally to Israel's policies and use of violence in the region. Here in Iran we do get tired of Ahmedinejad's constant banging on about Israel and his pathetic statements about the Holocaust. But Israel's horrific actions in Lebanon, its repeated disregard for Muslim and Christian Arab civilians has served to harden popular opinion. Israel is viewed as barbaric, oppressive and racist. If Israel made serious moves towards peace in the Middle East, groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah would not find domestic support for violent acts. But as long as Israel kills and imprisons as it wishes, these groups will find people willing to fill their ranks. And I can't say I blame them.
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1191
Israeli Units Branch East, Face Heavy Hizballah Resistance in Central Sector
DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Report
July 26, 2006, 4:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
The Israeli military campaign against Hizballah, launched July 12 when two soldiers were kidnapped, started out in the Central Sector of South Lebanon with the conquest of Maroun er Ras, and moved on to Bin Jubeil and its five satellite villages. Wednesday, July 25, the IDF suffered a major reverse at Bin Jubeil where HIzballlah fighters regrouped and counter-attacked, inflicting heavy casualties on the Israel mopping-up force.
But other IDF contingents had meanwhile embarked on the next stage of the campaign in the Eastern Sector of South Lebanon. This came to light when a series of Israeli air strikes against Hizballah positions and installations around Khiam hit a Unifil post and killed four observers Tuesday night, July 25
Israel deeply regretted the deaths and promised a full investigation, after UN Secretary Kofi Annan accused Israel of apparently targeting the observer post.
However, DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources add: The holier-than-thou tone of outrage taken by Annan is surprising when it generally known that many UN missions are exploited as the cover for foreign agents, often hostile, to carry out spying operations in war zones. The inadvertent Israeli air strike revealed the fact that the UN force in Lebanon includes Chinese observers. One was killed along with an Austrian, a Canadian and a Finn. The presence of Chinese observers keeping an eye on the combat in South Lebanon has never before been reported.
Our intelligence experts compare the incident to the inadvertent US bombardment which destroyed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1998, killing a number of Chinese “diplomats.” It was discovered that from that building the Chinese had operated sophisticated surveillance to track the performance of American warplanes, missiles and smart bombs.
On the night of July 26, Day 15 of the Lebanon War, an Israeli force pushed towards Khiam on its way to the approaches of the large Druze village of Hatzbaya. This route has taken Israeli troops north and east for the objective of controlling a stretch of south Lebanon known as Fatahland (before the 1982 war cleansed it of Yasser Arafat’s terrorists.)
This would bring them close up to Syrian positions on Mt. Hermon and for the first time in 35 years afford the Israeli outposts at the disputed Shebaa Farms strategic depth.
Monday, July 24, Damascus warned that Israeli artillery coming within range of Damascus would not be tolerated. The statement was issued with a view to deterring Israel from entering the Eastern Sector. So far the Syrians have made no response to Israel’s advance.
Perhaps the most important gain from the crisis is Israel’s recovery of control over its main sources of water, the Wazani springs in the divided Ghajar village. This was achieved in the early hours of the IDF push in the east. Israel will not cede this asset in a hurry. Worth citing in this regard is defense minister Amir Peretz’s statement Tuesday, 25, after US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice left the Middle East, that Israel would retain control of a security belt in southern Lebanon until a multinational force takes over.
The main battle in this sector is now centering on the Majidya base in Khiam, source of Hizballah rocket attacks on Kiryat Shemona and the Galilee panhandle communities Majidya was once a Lebanese army training facility for new recruits under Israeli military instructors. It was demolished when Israel pulled out of south Lebanon in May 2000. Aside from the Hizballah concentration in Majidya, its men are fairly thin on the ground in the Eastern Sector.
The mixed village population on the Israeli units path of advance, Druzes, Shiites, Sunnis and Christians, provides a useful shield for Hizballah fighters. They take full advantage of the directives to Israeli ground forces not to touch Druze and Christian villages. By long Lebanese tradition, the Druzes shut their village doors to Shiites, while the Christians accommodate them because they don’t know how long Israeli forces will be around to protect them against the Hizballah.
As the Israelis advance through the region, they are discovering the depth and breadth of Hizballah’s war preparations. South Lebanon was divided into 176 combat squares controlled from 40 scattered command bunkers. Their latest directive orders them to fight Israeli troops from the shelter of wooded areas and bunkers using guerrilla tactics of surprise and ambush instead of hand-to-hand combat in built-up areas in which they have taken heavy casualties.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: The huge explosions that struck South Beirut Tuesday evening were caused by 20 Israeli airborne missiles dropping on large, newly-discovered Hizballah subterranean arms caches, part of this tunnel network.
The force of the secondary blasts attested to their contents and the accuracy of the Israeli intelligence pinpointing of previously unknown weapons bunkers in S. Beirut.
Buried alongside the command bunkers are vast arsenals of Katyusha rockets and launchers, and food and water for a long stay. Hizballah was itself caught napping by the extent and fierceness of Israel’s riposte to their July 12 cross-border attack. Therefore, not all the bunker posts were completely built. The night before the Israeli advance into the Eastern Sector, Hizballah personnel were seen putting finishing touches on the fortifications of the command bunkers and sowing the routes with anti-tank mines and roadside bombs. Israel guns shelled the Hizballah teams to disrupt their work on the bunkers and the roads.
Israeli Units Branch East, Face Heavy Hizballah Resistance in Central Sector
DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Report
July 26, 2006, 4:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
The Israeli military campaign against Hizballah, launched July 12 when two soldiers were kidnapped, started out in the Central Sector of South Lebanon with the conquest of Maroun er Ras, and moved on to Bin Jubeil and its five satellite villages. Wednesday, July 25, the IDF suffered a major reverse at Bin Jubeil where HIzballlah fighters regrouped and counter-attacked, inflicting heavy casualties on the Israel mopping-up force.
But other IDF contingents had meanwhile embarked on the next stage of the campaign in the Eastern Sector of South Lebanon. This came to light when a series of Israeli air strikes against Hizballah positions and installations around Khiam hit a Unifil post and killed four observers Tuesday night, July 25
Israel deeply regretted the deaths and promised a full investigation, after UN Secretary Kofi Annan accused Israel of apparently targeting the observer post.
However, DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources add: The holier-than-thou tone of outrage taken by Annan is surprising when it generally known that many UN missions are exploited as the cover for foreign agents, often hostile, to carry out spying operations in war zones. The inadvertent Israeli air strike revealed the fact that the UN force in Lebanon includes Chinese observers. One was killed along with an Austrian, a Canadian and a Finn. The presence of Chinese observers keeping an eye on the combat in South Lebanon has never before been reported.
Our intelligence experts compare the incident to the inadvertent US bombardment which destroyed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1998, killing a number of Chinese “diplomats.” It was discovered that from that building the Chinese had operated sophisticated surveillance to track the performance of American warplanes, missiles and smart bombs.
On the night of July 26, Day 15 of the Lebanon War, an Israeli force pushed towards Khiam on its way to the approaches of the large Druze village of Hatzbaya. This route has taken Israeli troops north and east for the objective of controlling a stretch of south Lebanon known as Fatahland (before the 1982 war cleansed it of Yasser Arafat’s terrorists.)
This would bring them close up to Syrian positions on Mt. Hermon and for the first time in 35 years afford the Israeli outposts at the disputed Shebaa Farms strategic depth.
Monday, July 24, Damascus warned that Israeli artillery coming within range of Damascus would not be tolerated. The statement was issued with a view to deterring Israel from entering the Eastern Sector. So far the Syrians have made no response to Israel’s advance.
Perhaps the most important gain from the crisis is Israel’s recovery of control over its main sources of water, the Wazani springs in the divided Ghajar village. This was achieved in the early hours of the IDF push in the east. Israel will not cede this asset in a hurry. Worth citing in this regard is defense minister Amir Peretz’s statement Tuesday, 25, after US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice left the Middle East, that Israel would retain control of a security belt in southern Lebanon until a multinational force takes over.
The main battle in this sector is now centering on the Majidya base in Khiam, source of Hizballah rocket attacks on Kiryat Shemona and the Galilee panhandle communities Majidya was once a Lebanese army training facility for new recruits under Israeli military instructors. It was demolished when Israel pulled out of south Lebanon in May 2000. Aside from the Hizballah concentration in Majidya, its men are fairly thin on the ground in the Eastern Sector.
The mixed village population on the Israeli units path of advance, Druzes, Shiites, Sunnis and Christians, provides a useful shield for Hizballah fighters. They take full advantage of the directives to Israeli ground forces not to touch Druze and Christian villages. By long Lebanese tradition, the Druzes shut their village doors to Shiites, while the Christians accommodate them because they don’t know how long Israeli forces will be around to protect them against the Hizballah.
As the Israelis advance through the region, they are discovering the depth and breadth of Hizballah’s war preparations. South Lebanon was divided into 176 combat squares controlled from 40 scattered command bunkers. Their latest directive orders them to fight Israeli troops from the shelter of wooded areas and bunkers using guerrilla tactics of surprise and ambush instead of hand-to-hand combat in built-up areas in which they have taken heavy casualties.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: The huge explosions that struck South Beirut Tuesday evening were caused by 20 Israeli airborne missiles dropping on large, newly-discovered Hizballah subterranean arms caches, part of this tunnel network.
The force of the secondary blasts attested to their contents and the accuracy of the Israeli intelligence pinpointing of previously unknown weapons bunkers in S. Beirut.
Buried alongside the command bunkers are vast arsenals of Katyusha rockets and launchers, and food and water for a long stay. Hizballah was itself caught napping by the extent and fierceness of Israel’s riposte to their July 12 cross-border attack. Therefore, not all the bunker posts were completely built. The night before the Israeli advance into the Eastern Sector, Hizballah personnel were seen putting finishing touches on the fortifications of the command bunkers and sowing the routes with anti-tank mines and roadside bombs. Israel guns shelled the Hizballah teams to disrupt their work on the bunkers and the roads.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Israeli cabinet rejects army chiefs’ demands to expand the IDF ground campaign in South Lebanon and call up more reserves
July 27, 2006, 3:43 PM (GMT+02:00)
These decisions were reached the day after Israel sustained severe losses in battles with Hizballah at Bint Jubeil and Maroun er Ras.
IDF generals argued that the cabinet was playing into Hizballah's hands by holding the IDF to a slow pace of advance and keeping it short of the troops needed to crush Hizballah and halt its rocket blitz against Israeli cities, which has climbed to more than 100 a day.
The cabinet also decided against opening a second front against Syria although, as DEBKAfile’s military sources stress, Damascus is an active partner in Hizballah’s offensive, serves as a staging post for Iranian weapons supplies to Hizballah and pushes arms and rockets into Lebanon.
Copyright 2000-2006 DEBKAfile. All Rights Reserved.
The Israeli cabinet rejects army chiefs’ demands to expand the IDF ground campaign in South Lebanon and call up more reserves
July 27, 2006, 3:43 PM (GMT+02:00)
These decisions were reached the day after Israel sustained severe losses in battles with Hizballah at Bint Jubeil and Maroun er Ras.
IDF generals argued that the cabinet was playing into Hizballah's hands by holding the IDF to a slow pace of advance and keeping it short of the troops needed to crush Hizballah and halt its rocket blitz against Israeli cities, which has climbed to more than 100 a day.
The cabinet also decided against opening a second front against Syria although, as DEBKAfile’s military sources stress, Damascus is an active partner in Hizballah’s offensive, serves as a staging post for Iranian weapons supplies to Hizballah and pushes arms and rockets into Lebanon.
Copyright 2000-2006 DEBKAfile. All Rights Reserved.
Israeli Units Branch East, Face Heavy Hizballah Resistance in Central Sector
DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Report
July 26, 2006, 4:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
The Israeli military campaign against Hizballah, launched July 12 when two soldiers were kidnapped, started out in the Central Sector of South Lebanon with the conquest of Maroun er Ras, and moved on to Bin Jubeil and its five satellite villages. Wednesday, July 25, the IDF suffered a major reverse at Bin Jubeil where HIzballlah fighters regrouped and counter-attacked, inflicting heavy casualties on the Israel mopping-up force.
But other IDF contingents had meanwhile embarked on the next stage of the campaign in the Eastern Sector of South Lebanon. This came to light when a series of Israeli air strikes against Hizballah positions and installations around Khiam hit a Unifil post and killed four observers Tuesday night, July 25
Israel deeply regretted the deaths and promised a full investigation, after UN Secretary Kofi Annan accused Israel of apparently targeting the observer post.
However, DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources add: The holier-than-thou tone of outrage taken by Annan is surprising when it generally known that many UN missions are exploited as the cover for foreign agents, often hostile, to carry out spying operations in war zones. The inadvertent Israeli air strike revealed the fact that the UN force in Lebanon includes Chinese observers. One was killed along with an Austrian, a Canadian and a Finn. The presence of Chinese observers keeping an eye on the combat in South Lebanon has never before been reported.
Our intelligence experts compare the incident to the inadvertent US bombardment which destroyed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1998, killing a number of Chinese “diplomats.” It was discovered that from that building the Chinese had operated sophisticated surveillance to track the performance of American warplanes, missiles and smart bombs.
On the night of July 26, Day 15 of the Lebanon War, an Israeli force pushed towards Khiam on its way to the approaches of the large Druze village of Hatzbaya. This route has taken Israeli troops north and east for the objective of controlling a stretch of south Lebanon known as Fatahland (before the 1982 war cleansed it of Yasser Arafat’s terrorists.)
This would bring them close up to Syrian positions on Mt. Hermon and for the first time in 35 years afford the Israeli outposts at the disputed Shebaa Farms strategic depth.
Monday, July 24, Damascus warned that Israeli artillery coming within range of Damascus would not be tolerated. The statement was issued with a view to deterring Israel from entering the Eastern Sector. So far the Syrians have made no response to Israel’s advance.
Perhaps the most important gain from the crisis is Israel’s recovery of control over its main sources of water, the Wazani springs in the divided Ghajar village. This was achieved in the early hours of the IDF push in the east. Israel will not cede this asset in a hurry. Worth citing in this regard is defense minister Amir Peretz’s statement Tuesday, 25, after US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice left the Middle East, that Israel would retain control of a security belt in southern Lebanon until a multinational force takes over.
The main battle in this sector is now centering on the Majidya base in Khiam, source of Hizballah rocket attacks on Kiryat Shemona and the Galilee panhandle communities Majidya was once a Lebanese army training facility for new recruits under Israeli military instructors. It was demolished when Israel pulled out of south Lebanon in May 2000. Aside from the Hizballah concentration in Majidya, its men are fairly thin on the ground in the Eastern Sector.
The mixed village population on the Israeli units path of advance, Druzes, Shiites, Sunnis and Christians, provides a useful shield for Hizballah fighters. They take full advantage of the directives to Israeli ground forces not to touch Druze and Christian villages. By long Lebanese tradition, the Druzes shut their village doors to Shiites, while the Christians accommodate them because they don’t know how long Israeli forces will be around to protect them against the Hizballah.
As the Israelis advance through the region, they are discovering the depth and breadth of Hizballah’s war preparations. South Lebanon was divided into 176 combat squares controlled from 40 scattered command bunkers. Their latest directive orders them to fight Israeli troops from the shelter of wooded areas and bunkers using guerrilla tactics of surprise and ambush instead of hand-to-hand combat in built-up areas in which they have taken heavy casualties.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: The huge explosions that struck South Beirut Tuesday evening were caused by 20 Israeli airborne missiles dropping on large, newly-discovered Hizballah subterranean arms caches, part of this tunnel network.
The force of the secondary blasts attested to their contents and the accuracy of the Israeli intelligence pinpointing of previously unknown weapons bunkers in S. Beirut.
Buried alongside the command bunkers are vast arsenals of Katyusha rockets and launchers, and food and water for a long stay. Hizballah was itself caught napping by the extent and fierceness of Israel’s riposte to their July 12 cross-border attack. Therefore, not all the bunker posts were completely built. The night before the Israeli advance into the Eastern Sector, Hizballah personnel were seen putting finishing touches on the fortifications of the command bunkers and sowing the routes with anti-tank mines and roadside bombs. Israel guns shelled the Hizballah teams to disrupt their work on the bunkers and the roads.
DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Report
July 26, 2006, 4:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
The Israeli military campaign against Hizballah, launched July 12 when two soldiers were kidnapped, started out in the Central Sector of South Lebanon with the conquest of Maroun er Ras, and moved on to Bin Jubeil and its five satellite villages. Wednesday, July 25, the IDF suffered a major reverse at Bin Jubeil where HIzballlah fighters regrouped and counter-attacked, inflicting heavy casualties on the Israel mopping-up force.
But other IDF contingents had meanwhile embarked on the next stage of the campaign in the Eastern Sector of South Lebanon. This came to light when a series of Israeli air strikes against Hizballah positions and installations around Khiam hit a Unifil post and killed four observers Tuesday night, July 25
Israel deeply regretted the deaths and promised a full investigation, after UN Secretary Kofi Annan accused Israel of apparently targeting the observer post.
However, DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources add: The holier-than-thou tone of outrage taken by Annan is surprising when it generally known that many UN missions are exploited as the cover for foreign agents, often hostile, to carry out spying operations in war zones. The inadvertent Israeli air strike revealed the fact that the UN force in Lebanon includes Chinese observers. One was killed along with an Austrian, a Canadian and a Finn. The presence of Chinese observers keeping an eye on the combat in South Lebanon has never before been reported.
Our intelligence experts compare the incident to the inadvertent US bombardment which destroyed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1998, killing a number of Chinese “diplomats.” It was discovered that from that building the Chinese had operated sophisticated surveillance to track the performance of American warplanes, missiles and smart bombs.
On the night of July 26, Day 15 of the Lebanon War, an Israeli force pushed towards Khiam on its way to the approaches of the large Druze village of Hatzbaya. This route has taken Israeli troops north and east for the objective of controlling a stretch of south Lebanon known as Fatahland (before the 1982 war cleansed it of Yasser Arafat’s terrorists.)
This would bring them close up to Syrian positions on Mt. Hermon and for the first time in 35 years afford the Israeli outposts at the disputed Shebaa Farms strategic depth.
Monday, July 24, Damascus warned that Israeli artillery coming within range of Damascus would not be tolerated. The statement was issued with a view to deterring Israel from entering the Eastern Sector. So far the Syrians have made no response to Israel’s advance.
Perhaps the most important gain from the crisis is Israel’s recovery of control over its main sources of water, the Wazani springs in the divided Ghajar village. This was achieved in the early hours of the IDF push in the east. Israel will not cede this asset in a hurry. Worth citing in this regard is defense minister Amir Peretz’s statement Tuesday, 25, after US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice left the Middle East, that Israel would retain control of a security belt in southern Lebanon until a multinational force takes over.
The main battle in this sector is now centering on the Majidya base in Khiam, source of Hizballah rocket attacks on Kiryat Shemona and the Galilee panhandle communities Majidya was once a Lebanese army training facility for new recruits under Israeli military instructors. It was demolished when Israel pulled out of south Lebanon in May 2000. Aside from the Hizballah concentration in Majidya, its men are fairly thin on the ground in the Eastern Sector.
The mixed village population on the Israeli units path of advance, Druzes, Shiites, Sunnis and Christians, provides a useful shield for Hizballah fighters. They take full advantage of the directives to Israeli ground forces not to touch Druze and Christian villages. By long Lebanese tradition, the Druzes shut their village doors to Shiites, while the Christians accommodate them because they don’t know how long Israeli forces will be around to protect them against the Hizballah.
As the Israelis advance through the region, they are discovering the depth and breadth of Hizballah’s war preparations. South Lebanon was divided into 176 combat squares controlled from 40 scattered command bunkers. Their latest directive orders them to fight Israeli troops from the shelter of wooded areas and bunkers using guerrilla tactics of surprise and ambush instead of hand-to-hand combat in built-up areas in which they have taken heavy casualties.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: The huge explosions that struck South Beirut Tuesday evening were caused by 20 Israeli airborne missiles dropping on large, newly-discovered Hizballah subterranean arms caches, part of this tunnel network.
The force of the secondary blasts attested to their contents and the accuracy of the Israeli intelligence pinpointing of previously unknown weapons bunkers in S. Beirut.
Buried alongside the command bunkers are vast arsenals of Katyusha rockets and launchers, and food and water for a long stay. Hizballah was itself caught napping by the extent and fierceness of Israel’s riposte to their July 12 cross-border attack. Therefore, not all the bunker posts were completely built. The night before the Israeli advance into the Eastern Sector, Hizballah personnel were seen putting finishing touches on the fortifications of the command bunkers and sowing the routes with anti-tank mines and roadside bombs. Israel guns shelled the Hizballah teams to disrupt their work on the bunkers and the roads.
Lebanon damage report BBC News
Summary of the main Lebanese infrastructure damaged by Israeli bombing in the two weeks since the conflict began on 12 July, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs.
Airports
Beirut International
Qaleiat domestic
Rayak military
Ports
Beirut
Tripoli
Jounieh
Other transport
Lighthouse, Beirut
Bridges: 62
Fuel stations: 22
Overpasses: 72
Dams: 3
Roads: 600km
Military
Radar installations: 4
Army barracks: 1
Civilian
Private homes: 5,000
Commercial
Tissue paper factory, Bekaa
Bottle factory, Bekaa
Other businesses: 150
Communications
Hezbollah's al-Manar TV station, Haret Hreik, Beirut
MTC mobile phone antenna, Dahr al-Baidar
Utilities
Jiyeh power plant
Sibline power station
Sewage plant, Dair al-Zahrani
Summary of the main Lebanese infrastructure damaged by Israeli bombing in the two weeks since the conflict began on 12 July, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs.
Beirut International
Qaleiat domestic
Rayak military
Ports
Beirut
Tripoli
Jounieh
Other transport
Lighthouse, Beirut
Bridges: 62
Fuel stations: 22
Overpasses: 72
Dams: 3
Roads: 600km
Military
Radar installations: 4
Army barracks: 1
Civilian
Private homes: 5,000
Commercial
Tissue paper factory, Bekaa
Bottle factory, Bekaa
Other businesses: 150
Communications
Hezbollah's al-Manar TV station, Haret Hreik, Beirut
MTC mobile phone antenna, Dahr al-Baidar
Utilities
Jiyeh power plant
Sibline power station
Sewage plant, Dair al-Zahrani
Lebanon battles rage as talks fail to agree on truce The Daily Star
Fighting in Lebanon showed little sign of abating yesterday after nine Israeli soldiers were killed in running battles with Hezbollah on the Lebanese border as the conflict entered its third week marked by the failure of international talks to agree a truce. Israel was also under fire over the killing of four UN peacekeepers Tuesday in what UN chief Kofi Annan charged was an "apparently deliberate" targeting of their post. But the United Nations Security Council failed Wednesday to agree a statement condemning the killings after the United States rejected any criticism of the Israeli attack, and was to resume its negotiations on Thursday. As the Israeli toll mounted in a war that has already cost more than 405 lives in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert laid out plans to set up a narrow security zone in southern Lebanon, which has borne the brunt of the Israeli offensive. In Rome, far from the bombs and bloodshed, 15-nation crisis talks failed to agree on a call for an immediate ceasefire, effectively backing the US stance that there must first be a sustainable solution. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora despaired for his war-ravaged people, saying his country was being "cut to pieces". US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied on Thursday that Washington had been isolated at the talks in its rejection of an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah. "Yes, there were a lot of countries calling for an immediate ceasefire. There were several that did not," Rice told journalists on board a plane taking her from Rome to a meeting with southeast Asian leaders in Malaysia. "It was not all countries calling for an immediate ceasefire," she said. Rice insisted the Rome meeting had not been a failure. "It was a success because it identified the elements that would eventually make up a sustainable ceasefire," she said. She said there had been agreement that full implementation of United Nations resolution 1559 and the Taif Agreement that ended Lebanon's civil war in 1990 were the basis for a solution. Both the resolution and the agreement call for the extension of the Lebanese government's sovereignty to the whole of the country and the disbanding of private militias such as Hezbollah. Rice said there had also been agreement in Rome on the need for a multinational UN-mandated force for Lebanon. "The UN plans to hold a troop contribution meeting at the end of this week or next week," she added. Israel announced that nine soldiers had been killed in fighting around the key Hezbollah military stronghold of Bint Jbeil and a nearby village, bringing to 51 the number of Israelis killed in the worst cross-border fighting in a quarter century. It was the highest toll since Israel launched its deadly offensive against Lebanon on July 12 to try to recover two soldiers captured by Hezbollah in border attacks that also killed eight servicemen. Israel is also engaged in a similarly fierce assault in the Gaza Strip to retrieve a third serviceman held captive by Palestinians militants. A total of 24 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday alone in the bloodiest day since the offensive was launched in late June. A total of 140 have been killed since then. Israel carried out new air strikes against the southern port city of Tyre, with rescue officials warning that dozens of people were trapped under rubble. Olmert, who has said he was determined to press on with Israel's war on Hezbollah, proposed the creation of a security zone in Lebanon to protect its border but he insisted there was no question of another occupation. He also said during a tour of northern Israel that the offensive would not "last months," but declined to give any timeframe. Countries at the Rome meeting also agreed to hold multilateral talks soon on an international buffer force, an idea espoused by Rice who ended a lightning visit to the Middle East Tuesday. Israel however, was not at the talks, nor were Syria or Iran, which both back Hezbollah and are accused by both the Jewish state and Washington of stoking the conflict. Governments around the world expressed shock and anger at the deaths in the Israeli raid on Tuesday, which Annan said appeared to target the observer post. "I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces of a UN observer post in southern Lebanon that has killed two UN military observers, with two more feared dead," Annan said. Israel's UN ambassador Dan Gillerman said he was "surprised at these premature and erroneous assertions." Olmert however phoned Annan and expressed "deep regrets" over the killing in Khiam, once the site of an infamous Israeli jail but now a Hezbollah stronghold, and said he would order a comprehensive inquiry. Amid international outcry, the UN Security Council agreed to condemn the attack. But UN ambassadors announced the failure to agree a statement following a day of intense haggling among the 15-nation council. China, home to one of the dead soldiers of the UN mission in Lebanon, or Unifil, had originally demanded the statement condemn the attack. But the United States would not accept any criticism of its ally Israel, diplomats said. The four dead observers were from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, a Lebanese security source said. Washington has appeared increasingly isolated in its steadfast support for the Israeli campaign, facing accusations that it was allowing Israel the time to complete its aim of wiping out Hezbollah. But there was also no sign of any let-up from Hezbollah, the fundamentalist Shia "Party of God" which was created after Israel's bloody invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed to hit back with rocket attacks into the heart of Israel as he made a new television appearance following repeated attempts by Israel to kill him in bombing raids. Israel has repeatedly said it believes the Shia militant group has longer-range rockets capable of reaching beyond its third city, as far as the commercial capital Tel Aviv, or even the southern city of Beersheva. Several rockets landed Wednesday on Haifa, wounding at least six people. In a flickering sign of some relief for Lebanese trapped by Israel's blockade, a Jordanian military plane carrying UN humanitarian aid landed at Beirut airport and Unicef announced that a first convoy of humanitarian aid for children had arrived in Tyre. Much of Lebanon's infrastructure lies in ruins from Israeli bombing and food, fuel and medical supplies have been disrupted with some 800,000 Lebanese displaced. The UN food body has warned of a "major food crisis". Tens of thousands of foreigners have also fled, with Americans completing their final evacuation Wednesday. Most have been pulled out by land or sea with the airport closed to commercial traffic because of Israeli air strikes.
Lebanon: Up to 600 killed in Israel's assault Mail & Guardian Online
Ceasefire delay Israel's 'green light' The Australian
Canada.com - Boston Globe - Wall Street Journal - International Herald Tribune - all 2,610 related »
Fighting in Lebanon showed little sign of abating yesterday after nine Israeli soldiers were killed in running battles with Hezbollah on the Lebanese border as the conflict entered its third week marked by the failure of international talks to agree a truce. Israel was also under fire over the killing of four UN peacekeepers Tuesday in what UN chief Kofi Annan charged was an "apparently deliberate" targeting of their post. But the United Nations Security Council failed Wednesday to agree a statement condemning the killings after the United States rejected any criticism of the Israeli attack, and was to resume its negotiations on Thursday. As the Israeli toll mounted in a war that has already cost more than 405 lives in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert laid out plans to set up a narrow security zone in southern Lebanon, which has borne the brunt of the Israeli offensive. In Rome, far from the bombs and bloodshed, 15-nation crisis talks failed to agree on a call for an immediate ceasefire, effectively backing the US stance that there must first be a sustainable solution. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora despaired for his war-ravaged people, saying his country was being "cut to pieces". US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied on Thursday that Washington had been isolated at the talks in its rejection of an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah. "Yes, there were a lot of countries calling for an immediate ceasefire. There were several that did not," Rice told journalists on board a plane taking her from Rome to a meeting with southeast Asian leaders in Malaysia. "It was not all countries calling for an immediate ceasefire," she said. Rice insisted the Rome meeting had not been a failure. "It was a success because it identified the elements that would eventually make up a sustainable ceasefire," she said. She said there had been agreement that full implementation of United Nations resolution 1559 and the Taif Agreement that ended Lebanon's civil war in 1990 were the basis for a solution. Both the resolution and the agreement call for the extension of the Lebanese government's sovereignty to the whole of the country and the disbanding of private militias such as Hezbollah. Rice said there had also been agreement in Rome on the need for a multinational UN-mandated force for Lebanon. "The UN plans to hold a troop contribution meeting at the end of this week or next week," she added. Israel announced that nine soldiers had been killed in fighting around the key Hezbollah military stronghold of Bint Jbeil and a nearby village, bringing to 51 the number of Israelis killed in the worst cross-border fighting in a quarter century. It was the highest toll since Israel launched its deadly offensive against Lebanon on July 12 to try to recover two soldiers captured by Hezbollah in border attacks that also killed eight servicemen. Israel is also engaged in a similarly fierce assault in the Gaza Strip to retrieve a third serviceman held captive by Palestinians militants. A total of 24 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday alone in the bloodiest day since the offensive was launched in late June. A total of 140 have been killed since then. Israel carried out new air strikes against the southern port city of Tyre, with rescue officials warning that dozens of people were trapped under rubble. Olmert, who has said he was determined to press on with Israel's war on Hezbollah, proposed the creation of a security zone in Lebanon to protect its border but he insisted there was no question of another occupation. He also said during a tour of northern Israel that the offensive would not "last months," but declined to give any timeframe. Countries at the Rome meeting also agreed to hold multilateral talks soon on an international buffer force, an idea espoused by Rice who ended a lightning visit to the Middle East Tuesday. Israel however, was not at the talks, nor were Syria or Iran, which both back Hezbollah and are accused by both the Jewish state and Washington of stoking the conflict. Governments around the world expressed shock and anger at the deaths in the Israeli raid on Tuesday, which Annan said appeared to target the observer post. "I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces of a UN observer post in southern Lebanon that has killed two UN military observers, with two more feared dead," Annan said. Israel's UN ambassador Dan Gillerman said he was "surprised at these premature and erroneous assertions." Olmert however phoned Annan and expressed "deep regrets" over the killing in Khiam, once the site of an infamous Israeli jail but now a Hezbollah stronghold, and said he would order a comprehensive inquiry. Amid international outcry, the UN Security Council agreed to condemn the attack. But UN ambassadors announced the failure to agree a statement following a day of intense haggling among the 15-nation council. China, home to one of the dead soldiers of the UN mission in Lebanon, or Unifil, had originally demanded the statement condemn the attack. But the United States would not accept any criticism of its ally Israel, diplomats said. The four dead observers were from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, a Lebanese security source said. Washington has appeared increasingly isolated in its steadfast support for the Israeli campaign, facing accusations that it was allowing Israel the time to complete its aim of wiping out Hezbollah. But there was also no sign of any let-up from Hezbollah, the fundamentalist Shia "Party of God" which was created after Israel's bloody invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed to hit back with rocket attacks into the heart of Israel as he made a new television appearance following repeated attempts by Israel to kill him in bombing raids. Israel has repeatedly said it believes the Shia militant group has longer-range rockets capable of reaching beyond its third city, as far as the commercial capital Tel Aviv, or even the southern city of Beersheva. Several rockets landed Wednesday on Haifa, wounding at least six people. In a flickering sign of some relief for Lebanese trapped by Israel's blockade, a Jordanian military plane carrying UN humanitarian aid landed at Beirut airport and Unicef announced that a first convoy of humanitarian aid for children had arrived in Tyre. Much of Lebanon's infrastructure lies in ruins from Israeli bombing and food, fuel and medical supplies have been disrupted with some 800,000 Lebanese displaced. The UN food body has warned of a "major food crisis". Tens of thousands of foreigners have also fled, with Americans completing their final evacuation Wednesday. Most have been pulled out by land or sea with the airport closed to commercial traffic because of Israeli air strikes.
Lebanon: Up to 600 killed in Israel's assault Mail & Guardian Online
Ceasefire delay Israel's 'green light' The Australian
Canada.com - Boston Globe - Wall Street Journal - International Herald Tribune - all 2,610 related »
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-L..._r=1&oref=login
Israel OKs Call - Up of 30, 000 Soldiers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 27, 2006
Filed at 3:29 p.m. ET
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's government decided Thursday not to expand its battle with Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon for now, but authorized the army to call up 30,000 reserve soldiers in case the fighting intensified. The Lebanese health minister said up to 600 civilians have been killed in the campaign, including as many as 200 still buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, said she was ''willing and ready'' to return to the region to work for a sustainable peace agreement. But President Bush suggested he would support the offensive for as long as it would take to cripple Hezbollah.
Bush also sharply condemned Iran for its support of Hezbollah.
The events signaled that Israel and the United States were settling in for a much longer battle than had initially been expected, one that could grow far bloodier if Israel decides its air attacks and small-scale invasion into Lebanon is not working and sends in thousands of more ground forces.
With no end in sight to the fighting, al Qaida weighed in Thursday for the first time since the Israeli offensive began, vowing to attack ''everywhere'' until Islam prevails.
In recent days, senior Israeli generals urged the government to authorize a broader ground campaign in southern Lebanon, which they said would help the thousands of troops already engaged in bloody battles there.
Israel's security Cabinet authorized the army to call up three additional reserve divisions to refresh the troops in Lebanon if they were needed, but rejected the generals' advice to expand the offensive.
However, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said that world leaders' failure to call for an immediate cease-fire during a Rome summit gave Israel a green light to carry on with its campaign to crush Hezbollah -- an assertion hotly rejected by European officials.
The conference ended Wednesday in disagreement, with most European leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire and the United States wanting to give Israel more time to neutralize Hezbollah.
''We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world .... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won't be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed,'' Ramon told Israel's Army Radio.
European leaders said Ramon's interpretation was badly mistaken.
''I would say just the opposite -- yesterday in Rome it was clear that everyone present wanted to see an end to the fighting as swiftly as possible,'' German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday struck roads and houses, many believed to be the deserted homes of Hezbollah activists, in the apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah. The strikes caused casualties, but fighting kept ambulances and civil defense crews from the areas, security officials and witnesses said.
Other strikes hit a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes pounded the area near the border, according to witnesses. However, the fierce ground battles that raged Wednesday through the border villages of Bint Jbail and Maroun al-Ras appeared to have abated, with U.N. observers reporting only ''sporadic fighting'' there.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the strategic damage to Hezbollah was ''enormous'' and vowed that the group would ''not return to what it was.''
Israel launched its offensive in Lebanon on July 12, after Hezbollah guerrillas overran the border, killed three Israeli soldiers on patrol and captured two others.
Since then, at least 429 people in Lebanon -- most of them civilians -- have been killed in a punishing campaign of airstrikes, artillery shelling and clashes, according to Lebanese officials and Hezbollah. A total of 33 Israeli soldiers died in the fighting and 19 civilians were killed in Hezbollah's unyielding rocket attacks on Israel's northern towns, the army said.
The guerrillas shot 110 rockets into Israel on Thursday, lightly wounding 20 people and bringing the total of rockets launched to 1,564.
The army broadcast a warning on its Arabic-language radio station Thursday telling Lebanese in the south that their villages would be ''totally destroyed'' if rockets were fired from them.
Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said there have been hundreds of Hezbollah casualties and that ''we have caused serious damage to their rocket launching capabilities.''
But Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a staunch supporter of Hezbollah, said Israel would never be able to crush the group militarily, and should stop fighting and start talking.
''Whatever it (Israel) does it's not going to reach its goal,'' he told The Associated Press. ''They're not going to be able to take out the weaponry of Hezbollah. So all they're doing is massive destruction.''
Meanwhile, al-Qaida issued its first response to the violence, threatening to retaliate with new attacks.
The videotape by Osama bin Laden deputy Ayman al-Zawahri was an effort by the terror network to rally Islamic militants by exploited Israel's two-pronged offensive -- against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas-linked militants in Gaza.
''We cannot just watch these shells as they burn our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon and stand by idly, humiliated,'' al-Zawahri said, adding that ''all the world is a battlefield open in front of us.''
''The war with Israel does not depend on cease-fires. ... It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq,'' he said. ''We will attack everywhere.''
In Damascus, Syrian and Iranian officials gathered to hold meetings on the crisis, according to Iranian and Kuwaiti news reports. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was also to take part in the meeting as well as Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to Kuwait's Al-Siyassah newspaper, known for its opposition to the Syrian regime.
The newspaper said the meeting was designed to discuss ways to maintain supplies to Hezbollah fighters with ''Iranian arms flowing through Syrian territories.''
Hezbollah spokesman Hussein Rahhal would not comment on whether Nasrallah, whose movements are kept strictly secret, was in Damascus but was dismissive of the Kuwaiti newspaper report.
With cease-fire efforts stalemated, Rice -- who was in Malaysia after a trip to Beirut, Jerusalem and the Rome conference -- said she was prepared to make a second tour of the Middle East, but did not announce a timetable.
''I am more than happy to go back,'' Rice said, if her efforts can ''move toward a sustainable cease-fire that would end the violence.''
In his interview with Army Radio, Ramon said the Israeli air force must bomb villages before ground forces enter, suggesting that this would help prevent future Israeli casualties. Ramon spoke a day after nine soldiers were killed in house-to-house fighting in two border villages. Hezbollah acknowledged Thursday that it lost five fighters in that fighting, though Israel said at least 30 were killed.
Asked whether entire villages should be flattened, he said: ''These places are not villages. They are military bases in which Hezbollah people are hiding and from which they are operating.''
Thousands of civilians are believed trapped in the border villages, according to humanitarian officials.
International Red Cross spokesman Hisham Hassan said their teams that have visited border villages under heavy bombardment, have found families hiding in schools, mosques and churches, or huddled together in homes they hope will withstand the barrage.
''But even the residents we speak to can't say how many are there, because everyone's hiding, they don't know who's dead or alive,'' he said.
Israel OKs Call - Up of 30, 000 Soldiers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 27, 2006
Filed at 3:29 p.m. ET
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's government decided Thursday not to expand its battle with Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon for now, but authorized the army to call up 30,000 reserve soldiers in case the fighting intensified. The Lebanese health minister said up to 600 civilians have been killed in the campaign, including as many as 200 still buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, said she was ''willing and ready'' to return to the region to work for a sustainable peace agreement. But President Bush suggested he would support the offensive for as long as it would take to cripple Hezbollah.
Bush also sharply condemned Iran for its support of Hezbollah.
The events signaled that Israel and the United States were settling in for a much longer battle than had initially been expected, one that could grow far bloodier if Israel decides its air attacks and small-scale invasion into Lebanon is not working and sends in thousands of more ground forces.
With no end in sight to the fighting, al Qaida weighed in Thursday for the first time since the Israeli offensive began, vowing to attack ''everywhere'' until Islam prevails.
In recent days, senior Israeli generals urged the government to authorize a broader ground campaign in southern Lebanon, which they said would help the thousands of troops already engaged in bloody battles there.
Israel's security Cabinet authorized the army to call up three additional reserve divisions to refresh the troops in Lebanon if they were needed, but rejected the generals' advice to expand the offensive.
However, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said that world leaders' failure to call for an immediate cease-fire during a Rome summit gave Israel a green light to carry on with its campaign to crush Hezbollah -- an assertion hotly rejected by European officials.
The conference ended Wednesday in disagreement, with most European leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire and the United States wanting to give Israel more time to neutralize Hezbollah.
''We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world .... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won't be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed,'' Ramon told Israel's Army Radio.
European leaders said Ramon's interpretation was badly mistaken.
''I would say just the opposite -- yesterday in Rome it was clear that everyone present wanted to see an end to the fighting as swiftly as possible,'' German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday struck roads and houses, many believed to be the deserted homes of Hezbollah activists, in the apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah. The strikes caused casualties, but fighting kept ambulances and civil defense crews from the areas, security officials and witnesses said.
Other strikes hit a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes pounded the area near the border, according to witnesses. However, the fierce ground battles that raged Wednesday through the border villages of Bint Jbail and Maroun al-Ras appeared to have abated, with U.N. observers reporting only ''sporadic fighting'' there.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the strategic damage to Hezbollah was ''enormous'' and vowed that the group would ''not return to what it was.''
Israel launched its offensive in Lebanon on July 12, after Hezbollah guerrillas overran the border, killed three Israeli soldiers on patrol and captured two others.
Since then, at least 429 people in Lebanon -- most of them civilians -- have been killed in a punishing campaign of airstrikes, artillery shelling and clashes, according to Lebanese officials and Hezbollah. A total of 33 Israeli soldiers died in the fighting and 19 civilians were killed in Hezbollah's unyielding rocket attacks on Israel's northern towns, the army said.
The guerrillas shot 110 rockets into Israel on Thursday, lightly wounding 20 people and bringing the total of rockets launched to 1,564.
The army broadcast a warning on its Arabic-language radio station Thursday telling Lebanese in the south that their villages would be ''totally destroyed'' if rockets were fired from them.
Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said there have been hundreds of Hezbollah casualties and that ''we have caused serious damage to their rocket launching capabilities.''
But Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a staunch supporter of Hezbollah, said Israel would never be able to crush the group militarily, and should stop fighting and start talking.
''Whatever it (Israel) does it's not going to reach its goal,'' he told The Associated Press. ''They're not going to be able to take out the weaponry of Hezbollah. So all they're doing is massive destruction.''
Meanwhile, al-Qaida issued its first response to the violence, threatening to retaliate with new attacks.
The videotape by Osama bin Laden deputy Ayman al-Zawahri was an effort by the terror network to rally Islamic militants by exploited Israel's two-pronged offensive -- against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas-linked militants in Gaza.
''We cannot just watch these shells as they burn our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon and stand by idly, humiliated,'' al-Zawahri said, adding that ''all the world is a battlefield open in front of us.''
''The war with Israel does not depend on cease-fires. ... It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq,'' he said. ''We will attack everywhere.''
In Damascus, Syrian and Iranian officials gathered to hold meetings on the crisis, according to Iranian and Kuwaiti news reports. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was also to take part in the meeting as well as Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to Kuwait's Al-Siyassah newspaper, known for its opposition to the Syrian regime.
The newspaper said the meeting was designed to discuss ways to maintain supplies to Hezbollah fighters with ''Iranian arms flowing through Syrian territories.''
Hezbollah spokesman Hussein Rahhal would not comment on whether Nasrallah, whose movements are kept strictly secret, was in Damascus but was dismissive of the Kuwaiti newspaper report.
With cease-fire efforts stalemated, Rice -- who was in Malaysia after a trip to Beirut, Jerusalem and the Rome conference -- said she was prepared to make a second tour of the Middle East, but did not announce a timetable.
''I am more than happy to go back,'' Rice said, if her efforts can ''move toward a sustainable cease-fire that would end the violence.''
In his interview with Army Radio, Ramon said the Israeli air force must bomb villages before ground forces enter, suggesting that this would help prevent future Israeli casualties. Ramon spoke a day after nine soldiers were killed in house-to-house fighting in two border villages. Hezbollah acknowledged Thursday that it lost five fighters in that fighting, though Israel said at least 30 were killed.
Asked whether entire villages should be flattened, he said: ''These places are not villages. They are military bases in which Hezbollah people are hiding and from which they are operating.''
Thousands of civilians are believed trapped in the border villages, according to humanitarian officials.
International Red Cross spokesman Hisham Hassan said their teams that have visited border villages under heavy bombardment, have found families hiding in schools, mosques and churches, or huddled together in homes they hope will withstand the barrage.
''But even the residents we speak to can't say how many are there, because everyone's hiding, they don't know who's dead or alive,'' he said.
The UN Security Council calls on Israel to publish its findings from the probe of an air strike which caused the deaths of four UNIFIL observers at Khiam
July 27, 2006, 10:56 PM (GMT+02:00)
Australia has decided to pull its 12 observers from UNIFIL in South Lebanon following the incident.
Israel voiced deep sorrow for the deaths of 4 UN observers in air strikes targeting Hizballah positions at Khaim, Eastern Sector of S. Lebanon, July 26 and promised a thorough inquiry.
DEBKAfile adds: The holier-than-thou tone of outrage taken by Annan is surprising when it generally known that many UN missions are exploited as the cover for foreign agents, often hostile, to carry out spying operations in war zones. The inadvertent Israeli air strike revealed the fact that the UN force in Lebanon includes Chinese observers. One was killed along with an Austrian, a Canadian and a Finn. The presence of Chinese observers keeping an eye on the combat in South Lebanon has never before been reported.
Our intelligence experts compare the incident to the inadvertent US bombardment which wrecked the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1998 (picture), killing a number of Chinese “diplomats.” It was discovered that from that building the Chinese had operated sophisticated surveillance to track the performance of American warplanes, missiles and smart bombs.
The Khaim observer post was located near Hizballah positions and training facilities in the eastern sector, where the IDF has launched the next stage of its campaign against Hizballah in southern Lebanon.
Copyright 2000-2006 DEBKAfile. All Rights Reserved.
July 27, 2006, 10:56 PM (GMT+02:00)
Australia has decided to pull its 12 observers from UNIFIL in South Lebanon following the incident.
Israel voiced deep sorrow for the deaths of 4 UN observers in air strikes targeting Hizballah positions at Khaim, Eastern Sector of S. Lebanon, July 26 and promised a thorough inquiry.
DEBKAfile adds: The holier-than-thou tone of outrage taken by Annan is surprising when it generally known that many UN missions are exploited as the cover for foreign agents, often hostile, to carry out spying operations in war zones. The inadvertent Israeli air strike revealed the fact that the UN force in Lebanon includes Chinese observers. One was killed along with an Austrian, a Canadian and a Finn. The presence of Chinese observers keeping an eye on the combat in South Lebanon has never before been reported.
Our intelligence experts compare the incident to the inadvertent US bombardment which wrecked the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1998 (picture), killing a number of Chinese “diplomats.” It was discovered that from that building the Chinese had operated sophisticated surveillance to track the performance of American warplanes, missiles and smart bombs.
The Khaim observer post was located near Hizballah positions and training facilities in the eastern sector, where the IDF has launched the next stage of its campaign against Hizballah in southern Lebanon.
Copyright 2000-2006 DEBKAfile. All Rights Reserved.
Lebanon says up to 600 killed in Israeli attacks:
Hospitals had so far received 401 bodies of victims of the Israeli attacks. "On top of those victims, there are 150 to 200 bodies still under the rubble. We have not been able to pull them out because the areas they died in are still under fire," Khalifeh told Reuters.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3282427,00.html
Dozens killed in day of fiercest combat yet:
Israel's two-front conflict saw its heaviest day of fighting on Wednesday, killing nine Israeli soldiers, dozens of Hezbollah fighters and at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza.
http://tinyurl.com/jdzn4
Harper demands answers on UN death:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, under attack by political opponents over his Middle East policy, said yesterday he will seek explanations from the United Nations and the Israeli government about the "terrible tragedy" that killed a Canadian peacekeeper in Lebanon.
http://tinyurl.com/z5hlg
World condemns Israel as diplomacy fails again:
Jerusalem attempted to fend off the rebukes following the deaths of the four UN observers, who came from Austria, Canada, Finland and China.
http://www.alternet.org/story/39527
Bush cites Iran's role in Lebanon conflict:
President Bush declined Thursday to criticize Israel's tactics in its continuing offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon, and gave a sharp condemnation of Iran's role in the bloody fighting.
http://tinyurl.com/kjpzr
Israel's star-spangled arsenal;
Much has been made in the US media of the Syrian- and Iranian-origin weaponry used by Hezbollah in the escalating violence in Israel and Lebanon. There has been no parallel discussion of the origin of Israel's weaponry, the vast bulk of which is from the United States.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14237.htm
'They are treating us like meat in a butcher's shop':
Outside the hospital, men were nailing shut around 70 coffins for just some of the scores of innocent civilians killed in the previous nine days' bombardment. Among them were the small coffins of 20 children.
http://www.sundayherald.com/56880
Belgian Jewish Leader: Israel Committing War Crimes :
Jewish associations have begun to react against the Israeli offensive into Lebanon. Head of the Union of Belgian Jewish Progressives (UPJB) Dr. Jacques Ravedovitch stated that Israel is committing war crimes in Lebanon.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=35131
Twin wars `a calculated kind of madness':
Israel's twin wars, one in Lebanon and the other in the Gaza Strip, are a disaster, not only for their civilian victims but also Israel itself, as well as for the United States, and the chief cheerleader for both, Stephen Harper.
http://tinyurl.com/eh5pg
Uri Avnery: Is Beirut Burning? :
It is not important how long this war will last and what will be its results - the fact that a few thousand fighters have withstood the Israeli army for 11 days and more, has already been imprinted in the consciousness of hundred of millions of Arabs and Muslims.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article14220.htm
Syrian reporter: In Syria there is atmosphere of eve of war:
As the conflict with Hizbullah in Lebanon escalates by the day, the question of Syria's involvement in the conflict becomes increasingly more relevant.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3282279,00.html
Israel steps up "psy-ops" in Lebanon :
From mass targeting of mobile phones with voice and text messages to old-fashioned radio broadcasts warning of imminent attacks, Israel is deploying a range of old and new technologies in Lebanon as part of the psychological operations ("psyops") campaign supplementing its military attacks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5217484.stm
Noam Chomsky in Beirut:
"I think Nasrallah has a reasoned and persuasive argument that the arms should be in the hands of Hizbullah as a deterrent to potential aggression, and there are plenty of background reasons for that ..."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14230.htm
Hezbollah Signals It's Open to Talks With United States:
A Hezbollah political leader told a delegation of former European and American officials last month that the Bush administration approached the organization for talks following September 11, 2001, and that the group would be open to new discussions.
http://www.nysun.com/article/11974?access=129695
Bombs bound for Israel came via British airports :
Ministers are embroiled in a row over whether British military equipment and airports are being used to assist Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1199343.ece
75-year-old woman and a child among 5 killed by Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza:
Despite a high death toll in Gaza, with 23 people killed on Wednesday alone, the world's attention has been focused on Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been fighting Hezbollah guerrillas since July 12.
http://tinyurl.com/kljop
Israeli tank shelling kills two Palestinian sisters in Gaza Strip :
Two Palestinian sisters, aged at two and nine, were killed and their mother critically wounded Wednesday evening in an Israeli tank shelling at the eastern town of Jabalya in northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics and witnesses said.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/2...727_287066.html
At least 21 Palestinians killed as Israeli occupation forces invade Gaza:
At least 21 Palestinians were killed yesterday when the Israeli army renewed its hostilities in the Gaza Strip. About 50 tanks and armoured vehicles entered northern Gaza and began demolishing buildings and trees at dawn. Armed Palestinians attacked the forces and fighting continued all day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1831143,00.html
Why Israel Can’t Win the War:
The world is witnessing what could be a critical turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel is now engaged in a war that could permanently undermine the efficacy of its much-vaunted military apparatus.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14226.htm
Map Showing Where Israel Has Bombed Lebanon
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14227.htm
A Statement By The Saudi Royal Court:
It should be stated that patience could not last forever. If the Israeli military brutality persisted with killings and destruction no one could predict the consequences and then regreat will be in vain
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14217.htm
A history of terror:
60th anniversary of Zionist bombing the King David Hotel:
91 people died, among them 28 British, 41 Arabs and 17 Jews. One IZL fighter was killed inside the hotel, after the explosives had been set.
http://tinyurl.com/lal2n
Hospitals had so far received 401 bodies of victims of the Israeli attacks. "On top of those victims, there are 150 to 200 bodies still under the rubble. We have not been able to pull them out because the areas they died in are still under fire," Khalifeh told Reuters.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3282427,00.html
Dozens killed in day of fiercest combat yet:
Israel's two-front conflict saw its heaviest day of fighting on Wednesday, killing nine Israeli soldiers, dozens of Hezbollah fighters and at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza.
http://tinyurl.com/jdzn4
Harper demands answers on UN death:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, under attack by political opponents over his Middle East policy, said yesterday he will seek explanations from the United Nations and the Israeli government about the "terrible tragedy" that killed a Canadian peacekeeper in Lebanon.
http://tinyurl.com/z5hlg
World condemns Israel as diplomacy fails again:
Jerusalem attempted to fend off the rebukes following the deaths of the four UN observers, who came from Austria, Canada, Finland and China.
http://www.alternet.org/story/39527
Bush cites Iran's role in Lebanon conflict:
President Bush declined Thursday to criticize Israel's tactics in its continuing offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon, and gave a sharp condemnation of Iran's role in the bloody fighting.
http://tinyurl.com/kjpzr
Israel's star-spangled arsenal;
Much has been made in the US media of the Syrian- and Iranian-origin weaponry used by Hezbollah in the escalating violence in Israel and Lebanon. There has been no parallel discussion of the origin of Israel's weaponry, the vast bulk of which is from the United States.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14237.htm
'They are treating us like meat in a butcher's shop':
Outside the hospital, men were nailing shut around 70 coffins for just some of the scores of innocent civilians killed in the previous nine days' bombardment. Among them were the small coffins of 20 children.
http://www.sundayherald.com/56880
Belgian Jewish Leader: Israel Committing War Crimes :
Jewish associations have begun to react against the Israeli offensive into Lebanon. Head of the Union of Belgian Jewish Progressives (UPJB) Dr. Jacques Ravedovitch stated that Israel is committing war crimes in Lebanon.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=35131
Twin wars `a calculated kind of madness':
Israel's twin wars, one in Lebanon and the other in the Gaza Strip, are a disaster, not only for their civilian victims but also Israel itself, as well as for the United States, and the chief cheerleader for both, Stephen Harper.
http://tinyurl.com/eh5pg
Uri Avnery: Is Beirut Burning? :
It is not important how long this war will last and what will be its results - the fact that a few thousand fighters have withstood the Israeli army for 11 days and more, has already been imprinted in the consciousness of hundred of millions of Arabs and Muslims.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article14220.htm
Syrian reporter: In Syria there is atmosphere of eve of war:
As the conflict with Hizbullah in Lebanon escalates by the day, the question of Syria's involvement in the conflict becomes increasingly more relevant.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3282279,00.html
Israel steps up "psy-ops" in Lebanon :
From mass targeting of mobile phones with voice and text messages to old-fashioned radio broadcasts warning of imminent attacks, Israel is deploying a range of old and new technologies in Lebanon as part of the psychological operations ("psyops") campaign supplementing its military attacks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5217484.stm
Noam Chomsky in Beirut:
"I think Nasrallah has a reasoned and persuasive argument that the arms should be in the hands of Hizbullah as a deterrent to potential aggression, and there are plenty of background reasons for that ..."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14230.htm
Hezbollah Signals It's Open to Talks With United States:
A Hezbollah political leader told a delegation of former European and American officials last month that the Bush administration approached the organization for talks following September 11, 2001, and that the group would be open to new discussions.
http://www.nysun.com/article/11974?access=129695
Bombs bound for Israel came via British airports :
Ministers are embroiled in a row over whether British military equipment and airports are being used to assist Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1199343.ece
75-year-old woman and a child among 5 killed by Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza:
Despite a high death toll in Gaza, with 23 people killed on Wednesday alone, the world's attention has been focused on Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been fighting Hezbollah guerrillas since July 12.
http://tinyurl.com/kljop
Israeli tank shelling kills two Palestinian sisters in Gaza Strip :
Two Palestinian sisters, aged at two and nine, were killed and their mother critically wounded Wednesday evening in an Israeli tank shelling at the eastern town of Jabalya in northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics and witnesses said.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/2...727_287066.html
At least 21 Palestinians killed as Israeli occupation forces invade Gaza:
At least 21 Palestinians were killed yesterday when the Israeli army renewed its hostilities in the Gaza Strip. About 50 tanks and armoured vehicles entered northern Gaza and began demolishing buildings and trees at dawn. Armed Palestinians attacked the forces and fighting continued all day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1831143,00.html
Why Israel Can’t Win the War:
The world is witnessing what could be a critical turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel is now engaged in a war that could permanently undermine the efficacy of its much-vaunted military apparatus.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14226.htm
Map Showing Where Israel Has Bombed Lebanon
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14227.htm
A Statement By The Saudi Royal Court:
It should be stated that patience could not last forever. If the Israeli military brutality persisted with killings and destruction no one could predict the consequences and then regreat will be in vain
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14217.htm
A history of terror:
60th anniversary of Zionist bombing the King David Hotel:
91 people died, among them 28 British, 41 Arabs and 17 Jews. One IZL fighter was killed inside the hotel, after the explosives had been set.
http://tinyurl.com/lal2n
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...7/28/wmid28.xml
You're all targets, Israel tells Lebanese in South
By Harry de Quetteville in Jerusalem
(Filed: 28/07/2006)
Everyone remaining in southern Lebanon will be regarded as a terrorist, Israel's justice minister said yesterday as the military prepared to employ "huge firepower" from the air in its campaign to crush Hizbollah.
Haim Ramon issued the warning as the Israeli government decided against expanding ground operations after the death of nine soldiers in fighting on Wednesday.
Ehud Olmert surrounded by bodyguards in northern Israel
"What we should do in southern Lebanon is employ huge firepower before a ground force goes in," Mr Ramon said at a security cabinet meeting headed by Ehud Olmert, the prime minister. "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hizbollah. Our great advantage vis-a-vis Hizbollah is our firepower, not in face-to-face combat."
Mr Olmert promised that the army would "continue toward the established goals".
Mr Ramon's comments suggested that civilian casualties in Lebanon, which stand at about 600 after 16 days of bombardment, could rise yet higher.
The government's unrelenting line has the backing of the Israeli media, which are demanding a harsh response to an ambush in the Hizbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil, in which eight soldiers died.
The country's biggest-selling paper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said the army had raised the threshold of response to Katyusha rockets.
"In other words: a village from which rockets are fired at Israel will simply be destroyed by fire," it said.
"This decision should have been made and executed after the first Katyusha. But better late than never."
Three divisions of reserve soldiers, up to 15,000 men, are to be called up.
Almost 50 Hizbollah missiles landed in northern Israel yesterday, wounding four people and bringing the total number of rockets fired into the country to about 1,400.
You're all targets, Israel tells Lebanese in South
By Harry de Quetteville in Jerusalem
(Filed: 28/07/2006)
Everyone remaining in southern Lebanon will be regarded as a terrorist, Israel's justice minister said yesterday as the military prepared to employ "huge firepower" from the air in its campaign to crush Hizbollah.
Haim Ramon issued the warning as the Israeli government decided against expanding ground operations after the death of nine soldiers in fighting on Wednesday.
Ehud Olmert surrounded by bodyguards in northern Israel
"What we should do in southern Lebanon is employ huge firepower before a ground force goes in," Mr Ramon said at a security cabinet meeting headed by Ehud Olmert, the prime minister. "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hizbollah. Our great advantage vis-a-vis Hizbollah is our firepower, not in face-to-face combat."
Mr Olmert promised that the army would "continue toward the established goals".
Mr Ramon's comments suggested that civilian casualties in Lebanon, which stand at about 600 after 16 days of bombardment, could rise yet higher.
The government's unrelenting line has the backing of the Israeli media, which are demanding a harsh response to an ambush in the Hizbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil, in which eight soldiers died.
The country's biggest-selling paper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said the army had raised the threshold of response to Katyusha rockets.
"In other words: a village from which rockets are fired at Israel will simply be destroyed by fire," it said.
"This decision should have been made and executed after the first Katyusha. But better late than never."
Three divisions of reserve soldiers, up to 15,000 men, are to be called up.
Almost 50 Hizbollah missiles landed in northern Israel yesterday, wounding four people and bringing the total number of rockets fired into the country to about 1,400.