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Posted on 07/20/2006 6:22:58 PM PDT by Jean S
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Pitched battles raged between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters on the border Thursday, and Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to flee southern Lebanon "immediately," preparing for a likely ground offensive to set up a buffer zone.
U.N. chief Kofi Annan warned of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and called for an immediate cease-fire, even as he admitted "serious obstacles" stand in the way of even easing the violence. Annan denounced Israel for "excessive use of force" and Hezbollah for holding "an entire nation hostage" with its rocket attacks and snatching of two Israeli soldiers last week.
As the death toll rose to 330 in Lebanon as well as at least 31 Israelis, Lebanese streamed north into the capital and other regions, crowding into schools, relatives' homes or hotels. Taxi drivers in the south were charging up to $400 per person for rides to Beirut - more than 40 times the usual price. In remote villages of the south, cut off by strikes, residents made their way out over the mountains by foot.
The price of food, medical supplies and gasoline rose by as much as 500 percent in parts of Lebanon on Thursday as Israel's relentless bombardment destroyed roads, bridges and other supply routes. The World Food Program said estimates of basic food supplies ranged from one to three months.
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Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah shrugged off concerns of a stepped-up Israeli onslaught, vowing never to release two Israeli soldiers captured by his guerrillas even "if the whole universe comes (against us)." He said they would be freed only as part of a prisoner exchange brokered through indirect negotiations.
He spoke in an interview with the Al-Jazeera news network taped Thursday to show he had survived a heavy airstrike in south Beirut that Israel said targeted a Hezbollah underground leadership bunker. The guerrillas said the strike only hit a mosque under construction and no one was hurt.
The United States - which has resisted calls to press its ally Israel to halt the fighting - was sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region, arriving in Israel on Tuesday or Wednesday after stopping over in Arab nations, Israeli officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the schedule was not yet confirmed.
The mission would be the first U.S. diplomatic effort on the ground since the Israeli onslaught against Lebanon began nine days ago.
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Israel wants to send a strong message to all its enemies, especially Iran, that the consequences of attacking the Jewish state will be unbearable.
But mounting civilian casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese could limit the amount of time Israel has to achieve its goals, as international tolerance for the bloodshed and destruction runs out.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora put the death toll at more than 330 - at least 11 of them killed Thursday - with 1,100 wounded. At least 31 Israelis have been killed, including 16 soldiers - two of them killed in Thursday's fighting.
The U.N. estimated that about a half-million people have been displaced in Lebanon, with 130,000 fleeing to Syria and about 45,000 believed to be in need of assistance.
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The exodus of Americans and other foreign nationals stepped up dramatically, with ships lining up off Beirut to take thousands of families waiting at the port out of the war zone.
A group of around 40 U.S. Marines hit the ground in Beirut, helping in the evacuation of hundreds of Americans to a Navy transport vessel, the USS Nashville, offshore - the first U.S. military deployment in Lebanon in 22 years. More than 2,200 Americans were pulled out Thursday, twice the number a day before.
Two large explosions shook south Beirut late Thursday in new Israeli strikes on the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah's stronghold. During the day, Israeli strikes pounded villages and towns in the Shiite heartland of the south and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Hezbollah, in turn, fired more than 40 rockets into northern Israel.
The clashes about a mile inside the Lebanese side of the border Thursday evening came when an Israeli patrol sweeping for Hezbollah bunkers was ambushed by guerillas, taking casualties. The fight rapidly expanded, with Israeli helicopters firing missiles at targets on the ground and rescue force storming in.
The Israeli military said two Israeli soldiers died in the fighting and several guerrillas were killed. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television said three Israeli soldiers were killed but did not mention guerrilla casualties.
Two Apache attack helicopters crashed in northern Israel near the Lebanon border early Friday, injuring four soldiers, the Israeli military said. Al-Jazeera reported that four soldiers were killed in the crash, but did not give a source.
Israel has stepped up its small-scale forays over the border in recent days, seeking Hezbollah positions, rocket stores and bunkers. Each time it has faced tough resistance from the guerrillas.
In preparation for a more powerful punch deeper into Lebanon, an Israeli military radio station that broadcasts into the south issued what it called "a strict warning" that Israeli forces would "act immediately" to halt Hezbollah rocket fire.
"It will act in word and deed inside the villages of the south against these aggressive terrorist acts. Therefore all residents of south Lebanon south of the Litani must leave their areas immediately for their own safety," the message in Arabic on the Al-Mashriq station said.
More than 300,000 people are believed to live south of the Litani - which twice has been the border line for Israeli buffer zones. In 1978, Israel invaded up to the Litani to drive back Palestinian guerrillas, withdrawing from most of the south months later.
Israel invaded Lebanon again in a much bigger operation in June 1982 when its forces seized parts of Beirut. It eventually carved out a buffer zone that stopped at the Litani. That zone was reduced gradually but the Israeli presence lasted for 18 years until 2000, when it withdrew its troops completely from the country.
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Associated Press reporter Maria Sanminiatelli in Larnaca, Cyprus, contributed to this report.
Wrong!
The Lebanese are one fifth Hezzie and the rest of the population is intensely anti semitic anyways. So the chances of a lasting democracy that will leave Israel alone is very, very dim. Hezzies are popluar not just because they help out the poor, etc. the are popular because they tap into and support the anti semitic feelings of the Lebanese.
Military solution. yes. Put Nato all around Israel. have Nato go in and dismantle the Hezzies.
Anyway, I think that it is time for us to get revenge for the 1983 bombings.
First, we killed several million of them. Then we occupied them, shooting every insurgent and resistance fighter we captured (filmed and shown on newsreels back here in the States). We then installed puppet governments, rebuilt their countries, and most importantly, took control of their education systems.
This is the third option.
I don't see the U.S. doing anything like that. I'm not even a sure the Israelis are going to launch a major ground offensive into Southern Lebanon. I'm sure the IDF is determined to go but the leadership is untried and unsure of themselves. They may be hoping the world steps in with a legitimate military force (US, French, UK, Ger, Austr, etc.) to create a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah.
The problem is we did that in 83' and we know how it turned out. The same thing would happen. Hezbollah would launch terror strikes against the weakest links in that force until one by one they pull out leaving the US and maybe one or two other holding the line until we amscray.
The only way to destroy Hezbollah is to cut the road from Iran to the Bekka Valley and that means pulling Syria over to us. Overthrowing the regime is not practical at this point. Syria is basically a prostitute state that sells itself to the highest bidder. First it was the Russians until the wall fell, then Iraq and now Iran. The West needs to buy them off, safe guarding their regime and giving them an aid package. In return they stop the flow of jihadists into Iraq, kick Hezbollah, etc out of Damascus and stiff Iran.
Without Syria Hezbollah will be cut off, Iran will be completely isolated and alone, and a little more stability will be brought to Iraq. It should also bring down oil prices.
I know most people would rather not make deals with a scum bag like Assad but the real enemy is Iran not Syria. Once Iran is dealth with Syria will fall without a shot being fired.
We did the same thing with Egypt in the 70s. They were joined with the Soviets until Nixon pulled them away which ultimately led to Camp David. The West has 40 trillion in wealth vs. .4 for Iran. We need to use that leverage.
"I don't know how he could say it, with a straight face."
Kofi and the UN parallel universe
I saw a Senator on FNC yesterday (I'm not sure who, I didn't recognize him, and I just caught it in passing) saying that the UN didn't need to create a buffer between the Israelis and Lebanon, that what was needed was a UN buffer between Lebanon and Syria to prevent the flow of arms to Hezbollah.
I found the whole idea quite refreshing.
The occupation of Germany and Japan was not as quick and clean as the history books would have you believe. Soldiers died until the late forties.
I guess by "serious obstacles" he means not all of the Hezbollah checks have cleared his Swiss bank account...
Is that a recent picture of the twerp? I guess his supply of "Just For Men" has run out. Of course, I can't quite see someone like him using a product made just for men.
The objective of the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah is to destroy Israel, and also destroy America. It's open season on terrorists, and we should help Israel kill more of them as fast as possible.
I think Zero is your IQ.
The only way to stop terrorists is to stop the support from states like Syria, Iran, Pakistan, and many Arab states.
I'm not sure Israel has the capability but they need to make an Inchon type landing 40-50 miles north of the border...then march south killing everything that is alive, everything!
Then when Israel's forces turn from Lebanon to rush southward to attack the al Asqa, the Hizbullah along with Syria's army (and the Iranian Rev. Guard that's in Lebanon) mount a major counter push from the north so that Israel is fighting two major fronts from the north and the west.
I hope this scenario has no validity whatsoever, and doesn't happen, but like I said, this is what worries me about Israel mounting a full scale invasion into Lebanon.
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