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Israeli air raids pound Lebanon


Thursday 13 July 2006, 0:02 Makka Time, 21:02 GMT


At least two Lebanese have died in the Israeli raids

Israel has launched a series of air raids deep into Lebanon after fighters from Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance group, killed eight Israeli soldiers and captured two in a cross-border attack.



Israel described Wednesday's attack as an act of war by Lebanon and promised a "severe response", with the government giving the green light to military action against Hezbollah following an emergency cabinet meeting.

At least two Lebanese civilians were killed in an Israeli air raid on a coastal bridge at Qasmiyeh, while bombs hit nine other bridges - including one only 16km south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Several suspected Hezbollah posts in south Lebanon also came under Israeli air and land bombardment.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, said the soldiers had been seized to force Israel to release prisoners.

"What we did ... is the only feasible path to free detainees from Israeli jails," he told a news conference in Beirut.

Hezbollah celebration

The captured Israeli soldiers were seized at around 9am (0600 GMT) local time, across the border from Aita al-Shaab, 15km from the Mediterranean coast.

"We would not want to see an expansion, an escalation of conflict in the region"

Kofi Annan,
United Nations secretary-general

Three Israeli soldiers died in the raid, while four more were killed when their tank ran over a landmine. The eighth soldier died while assisting in recovering the tank, the Israeli army said.

Footage on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television showed a smouldering Israeli jeep. It also showed smoke rising from an Israeli border post.

Hezbollah supporters set off fire crackers and distributed sweets in the streets of Beirut in celebration of the attack.

Mothers of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails expressed hope to Aljazeera that the Hezbollah attack could increase the possibility of their relatives being freed, while in Gaza the families of some Palestinian prisoners also welcomed the attack.

Following the incident, Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz, the Israeli army chief of staff, warned the Lebanese government that Israel would attack its infrastructure and "turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years" if the soldiers were not returned, Israeli TV reported.


Israeli troops have not struck so far into Lebanon since they withdrew from the southern border area in 2000. Hezbollah's Shia fighters had waged an 18-year campaign against them.

UN demands soldiers' release

Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, called on Wednesday for an end to the violence and demanded that Hezbollah release the two soldiers.


Israel is also on the offensive in
the Gaza strip

"We would not want to see an expansion, an escalation of conflict in the region," Annan said.

Also on Wednesday, Yemen called for an emergency Arab summit to discuss Israel's "aggression" in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon.

The attack and ensuing air raids come while Israel is already embroiled in a major offensive in the Gaza Strip, following the capture of Corporal Gilad Shalit by Palestinian fighters late last month.

The three Palestinian resistance groups holding Shalit, 19, have also demanded that Israel release Palestinian prisoners.

You'd think after 60 years of action, reaction, that the Arabs would get the message. But nope, they are REALLY skow learners.

"You'd think after 60 years of action, reaction, that the Arabs would get the message. But nope, they are REALLY skow learners."

The failure is due to the fact they are seculars. You have to deal with Islamists in order to relay the message.

wallahi this secular state that the Arab world is in is only gonna make thier problems even more, not better it as they may think.

Arabman
You think Islamists would get the message quicker? Why do I think you misse the mark on that one?

Because Islamists are the real legitimates. Sooner or later, the West would have to deal with them.

It doesn't mean they would get the message. You can be legitimate and be a knucklehead. Indeed, religious leaders come in two forms. Great and delusional morons.

Ghandi would belong to the former. Khomeini would belong to the latter.

I would not expect you to understand any of this, it's too complex for someone who would never allow himself to think unconstrained.

The problem with arabs is--they will always be dumb A$$'s! Walaahi they annoy me soooooo much when they are themselves---Sharab Sissies!


The Yuhuds destroyed Lebanons Biggest airport Strategically --to cripple their already impoverished economy--& what do the arabs do???? They throw missle at the Yududs tourist hotels & only kills one 40 year woman! Why can't they gather together, unify--come with a master plan---even invite me to concoct some ingenious plan to destroy the Yuhuds-- walaahi i can do it. I have a very devilish plan in my head!


I mean--Can someone say Aqqaasey with me???