Israel Blockades Lebanon; Wide Strikes by Hezbollah

[ssdivisiongermany1933]

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Friday, July 14 — Israel imposed a full naval blockade on Lebanon on Thursday and put Beirut’s international airport out of commission, and the militant group Hezbollah loosed a hail of rockets and mortar shells that killed two Israelis and sent thousands into bomb shelters.


A day after cross-border raids by Hezbollah fighters brought Israeli troops into Lebanon in force for the first time in six years, Israel sent punishing airstrikes deeper into the country, hitting all three runways at Rafik Hariri International Airport, two Lebanese Army bases. Early on Friday, it struck Hezbollah offices in south Beirut and the main highway between the capital and Damascus, Syria, and later, Reuters reported, a base for pro-Syrian Palestinian guerrillas a few miles from the Syrian border.


The Lebanese government said 53 Lebanese civilians had died since Wednesday, including one family of 10 and another of 7 in the southern village of Dweir. More than 103 have been wounded, the Lebanese said.


Lebanese residents hoarded canned goods and batteries as lines at gas stations stretched for blocks. Supermarkets and bakeries were flooded. It felt, many said, as if the civil war that ended 15 years ago was back.


Israel said that the Lebanese government was responsible for the actions of Hezbollah, which is a member of the governing coalition, and that the cross-border raid that captured two Israeli soldiers on Wednesday was an unprovoked act of war by a neighboring state. Senior Israeli officials said that the military had been unleashed to cut off Lebanon, permanently drive Hezbollah forces back from the border and punish the government for not upholding a United Nations directive to disarm and control the group.


Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, warned that “nothing is safe” in Lebanon and that Beirut itself, especially Hezbollah offices and strongholds in southern Beirut, would be a target.

Hezbollah fired more than 120 Katyusha rockets and mortar shells into Israel on Thursday, Israeli officials said. The barrage killed a woman on her balcony in Nahariya and a man in Safed, and wounded more than 100 other Israelis in some 20 towns and villages, including Haifa, Safed and Carmiel. Israeli officials said it was the first time Haifa had been hit by rocket fire from Lebanon.

Hezbollah said it was using a new rocket, called Thunder 1, that is more advanced than the standard Katyusha, which does not have enough range to reach the 18 miles between the border and Haifa.


Thousands of Israelis in the north spent the night in bomb shelters as Hezbollah warned that Israeli attacks on southern Beirut would be met by rocket attacks on Haifa, a port city of 250,000 people. Thursday evening, two rockets landed near the city’s Stella Maris Church.



The rapid surge in fighting on a second front, two weeks after Israel entered Gaza to try to secure the release of another captured soldier, alarmed Arab and Western governments and drove up the price of oil.

The European Union on Thursday criticized Israel for “the disproportionate use of force” in Lebanon “in response to attacks by Hezbollah on Israel,” according to a statement issued by the union’s current Finnish presidency. It said that “the imposition of an air and sea blockade on Lebanon cannot be justified.”

The Israeli military said it struck the airport because it is “a central hub for the transfer of weapons and supplies to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”

President Bush, in remarks in Germany, said that “Israel has the right to defend herself,” but he also called for care, warning Israel not to weaken the government in Lebanon.

“There are a group of terrorists who want to stop the advance of peace,” Mr. Bush said. “The soldiers need to be returned.”

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, warned that Israel’s Lebanon offensive “is raising our fears of a new regional war” and urged world powers to intervene.

The Lebanese government, which has said that it had nothing to do with the raid by Hezbollah, called for a cease-fire, saying that all means should be used to end “open aggression” against the country.

But Israeli officials said there would be a long campaign to restore the country’s security, both along its southern border with Gaza and its northern one with Lebanon. The Israelis want to restore their military credibility with the Palestinian militants and the Hamas government in Gaza and with Hezbollah, and say they intend to make the current campaign painful for both sets of antagonists.

Neither Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, nor its defense minister, Amir Peretz, has the kind of long military experience previous holders of their positions have had, and the two have been in power for only several months. Some Israeli commentators argued that this made it all the more necessary for an unambiguous military response.

The Israelis say they want the message to get across to Syria and Iran, the countries widely considered to be the main sponsors of Hezbollah and Palestinian militancy.

[nix]

well, with the US behind them..they can afford to do it. israel's military might is amazing. Israel gave peace a chance by withdrawing from gaza, their own soldiers had to push ppl out of their homes....even after all this, the terrorists dont stop attacking. I think what its doing is right...its defending itseslf and will do anything to do so...they value their soldiers more than US.

[arcticflare]

a country with guts

[Simple_Graduate]

Originally Posted by nix

well, with the US behind them..they can afford to do it. israel's military might is amazing.

In our case Chacha (Uncle Sam) calls Pakistan a major ally and partner and supplies them with missiles and airacraft.

But we are still superior to Pak in our navy and air force...the latter can still do the job against Pakis in the manner depicted here:

http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/b...=0-595-76754-0

Originally Posted by arcticflare

a country with guts

Yup. You can say much more than that.

[nix]

@simple_graduate: i agree with your...our military might is far greater than pakistan's. i'm also pround that we make our own missiles, nuclear bomb and other military equipment. what i'm surprised is that india, even after having evidence that pakistan is getting missiles and stuff from china, is not making any noise about it in the UN or to US or in any meeting. indian govt should try and win countries on its side by providing this evidence to other european nations and tell them our point...we dont seem to be doing anything on the international front.

[Ajatshatru]

Israel surely rocks under the blind support Of USA . Get inspired from Rang de basanti and changed INDIA in to a rocking , hot and super perfect nation

JAI HIND

[Soorya]

India should learn from Israel and bomb all PoK terrorist training areas!

[freshseasons]

Israel is nothing but bunch of lunatic stupid people who simply dont know how to handle the arsenal power.
Facts from Buisness Today this weeks Article:-
1) Israel Air Force Bombed 40 childred in Lebanon . Their Latter explanation ", Ohh before bombing ,we were still wondering why the Hezbollah has such small drawf army soilders and why are they carring Dolls."
2) Israal Bombed UN quarters in Lebanon killing 5 UN officials and when asked them for clarification the reply was ," Ya we did try to warn our air pilot before he was to strike but it so happens that he is huge fan of Music and his ipod was on while he was bombing.
3) Israel is the worst in civilians bombings and when saught futher clarification from BBC reply was ",Yaa its so unfortunate most of our Pilots are still trainers, but they may improve ."
I dont know wheather to Laugh on Israel or to hate them for this. And To say they got Guts is height.
Oppss for people who say india Should Follow Israel , remember we have Enemy who has Nuclear Power. Mindless attack will jeoparadise whole of the asian continent.

[nix]

^^that cant be true. if it was, it would have somehow got leaked from a reliable source and made big news. btw, no pilot will listen to ipod while on a mission..i dont think thats allowed either...he has to be connected to the base.
the first point is...hmm...what does business today think? we'll believe c%$p like this?

[kumarmohit]

Dude its a joke, just a joke do u think Israel Air force is that stupid???? Having guts is not bad things if its coupled with brains unfortunatly all Indians with guts are controlled by a political leadership who has no brains and all those Indians with brains are either out of India serving other people or sitting in call centers and again helping others...

[freshseasons]

If you think thats unbelievable wait to you see some of the bloopers made by american army.
Americans put world to shame almost in anything...and stupidity and insanity ..they can't lag behind.

[sysfilez]

Hitler did a big mistake by not wiping de whole of jewish community. isreali ppl rocks coz america helps them. nothing gr8. yes they are fighter from the begining coz they dont have their own land, they have fled from one place to another since begining.

[mediator]

I guess the scenario here is getting like FIGHT CLUB!

[Yamaraj]

Originally Posted by sysfilez

Hitler did a big mistake by not wiping de whole of jewish community.

And your point is? Shouldn't US, Israel and EU wipe out the whole of Middle-East,
and Russia should nuke Chechenya forever? Let's steer clear of personal hatred in
public forums. Jews are also human, and generally very talented and nice people.
Try to look beyond religions, cultures and races if you cannot resist the temptation
to comment on other living beings.

[nix]

Originally Posted by sysfilez
Hitler did a big mistake by not wiping de whole of jewish community.

what the hell man get a life. jews are very efficient people ok. theirs is a small country but they utilize all resources very well. they are tolerant towards other religions too, like there are arabs living in israel. but a jew in an arab country wouldnt stand a chance. just like hindu's in pakistan. think about it.

[ilugd]

Ever read on the history of Jews @sysfilez before spewing crap? If Hitler had his reach here, half the population of India too would be marked for 'cleansing'.

[borg]

I have no problem with any Jew, but do have serious problems with Israel. It is a terrorist state for all practical purposes. The bias that people hold here just amazes me. There seem to be a lot of Israel fanboys here. Israel has killed a lot more civilians & innocents than just about any other nation. Go ask a palestinian refugee whose home got destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, for no fault of his own.

In the recent Lebanon conflict, entire residential areas were bombed & destroyed. How would you feel if residential areas (say Juhu in Mumbai) were bombed out by Pakistani airplanes?. Yes, that would be a dastardly & cowardly attack. So why is it different if Israel does it?. Does Israel have a license to kill, maim & destroy?. All this violence because a couple of Israeli soldiers were kidnapped. Who will talk about the hundreds of Lebanese & Palestinian people who are languishing in Israeli jails for over a decade.

[Yamaraj]

Israel is not a terrorst state. It's a victim of Islamic terrorism, whether you
accept it or not. Sure, sometimes they go overboard with their arrogance
against the surrounding Arab states, but it's only a matter of survival. The
day Israel becomes a Gandhian state, the Arabs will eliminate the jews and
you won't even shed a tear for them. It's you who is biased against Israel.

Pakistani bombers attacking Mumbai? Either you're daydreaming or wetting
your pants with all your malicious pre-Pakistani thoughts. Get real! Terrorists
are coward sons of their b1tchen mothers. Pakistan would be eliminated from
the face of the Earth, if it ever tried to bomb Delhi or Mumbai. They should
be thankful to our spineless politicians, otherwise they wouldn't have survived
this long. Pakistan is a fscking failed-state, and gutless terrorists are her only
products. In fact, America itself will take care of Pakistan. It's only a matter
of time now.

Palestinians are not innocent people; they've proved this by electing Hamas.
They're all terrorists that are being justly dealt with. Why do you not care about
the hundreds of thousands of people massacred by Islamic terrorists in India,
Middle-East and Russia? Where were you when Chechen terrorists killed around
400 children is Beslan school attack? How do you justify it?

Shove your sympathy for terrorists up your rear, and better not sing Pakistani
might in your posts again.

[devips]

Pathetic! Grow up, boy.

[jz2linkinpark]

Originally Posted by Yamaraj

And your point is? Shouldn't US, Israel and EU wipe out the whole of Middle-East,
and Russia should nuke Chechenya forever? Let's steer clear of personal hatred in
public forums. Jews are also human, and generally very talented and nice people.
Try to look beyond religions, cultures and races if you cannot resist the temptation
to comment on other living beings.

whats the matter,forgot what you preach?
weren't you the one who was totally upbrading islam in some of the previous threads?
And as for nukes,we should blast your ugly face from the likes of this forum,
I utterly agree with Devips,GROW UP!

P,S:Your configuration sucks!

[Yamaraj]

Originally Posted by devips

Pathetic! Grow up, boy.

Got anything meaningful to say? If not, go sleep with those terrorists.
I wonder why is that one gets away with bashing US or Israel all the time,
while it's sort of a crime to cite Islamic terrorism and its ugly face?

Unless you've something worth a post, don't just humuliate the keyboard only
because you can. Write something that counters or falsifies quoted posts, or
shut the fsck up!
__________

Originally Posted by jz2linkinpark

whats the matter,forgot what you preach?
weren't you the one who was totally upbrading islam in some of the previous threads?
And as for nukes,we should blast your ugly face from the likes of this forum,
I utterly agree with Devips,GROW UP!

P,S:Your configuration sucks!

If you ever attended a school, ask them for full refunds. You're wasted!
You've got the guts to blast my ugly face? C'mon, you little terrorist! Why
don't you and your friends go to Iraq to help your brethren? No wonder, you
people are so full of hatred and stupidity that you even slaughter your own.
Only a few days back, some Pakistanis and three Hyderabadis were 'executed'
in Iraq by terrorists.

You people are the ugliest thing on the face of Earth. Only time will tell who
gets wiped out and who has the last laugh. Hah!

And, I'm proud of my machine. It works as it's supposed to. Why are you so
jealous?

[jz2linkinpark]

@yamaraj:disgusting thoughts,but beautiful writing!Where have you been educated?

[Yamaraj]

Originally Posted by jz2linkinpark

@yamaraj:disgusting thoughts,but beautiful writing!Where have you been educated?

There's nothing disgusting about my thoughts. All children are born innocents.
It's the religious venom injected in their brains, that makes them hate each
other. And this is exactly what I am against. Religious fanatism is evil.

Once we put off our religious differences, how different is a Pakistani from an
Indian; or a Palestinian from an Israeli; or a Chechen from a Russian? Why do
they want to destroy the other, even at the cost of their children, their future?

Believe whatever you want to, but religious fundamentalism is pure evil. People
just don't want to think; becoming a follower is easier. If so-called religious
people rejoice over deaths of others, they are mentally ill. If all religions preach
not to hate each other, all of them have failed to qualify as religions, because
the hatred is still there. And it's only getting more intense.

I urge you people to see other living beings as equally worthy of living. Your
life is no more important than the lives of others. Hating others, only because
some fanatic-lunatic-schizophreniac said so a thousand years ago, is ridiculous.

I believe that once you have developed your own conscience, ethics and moral
values, you do not need any religion to uniquely identify yourself.