The Latest On The Israeli Front, Update

Lots of news on the Israeli conflict today. Most everyone knows that the Israeli's do not back down from a fight and they are proving that today.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the Israel Defense Forces Saturday night to step up the rate of attacks against Lebanon. His orders were issued close to the time when Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora made a national address and called for an immediate cease-fire.

The United Nations Security Council on Saturday again rejected pleas that it call for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon after the United States objected, diplomats said.

Peretz said that the IDF must continue applying pressure on Hezbollah, giving the organization no room to breath, and continue expanding its bombing raids elsewhere.

Hours after the order was made, the Israel Air Force indeed launched a wave of bombing raids on the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs early Sunday, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV and witnesses said.

A series of loud explosions, about 18 in total, shook the capital, much of which was plunged in darkness after warplanes struck power stations and fuel depots feeding them.

Al-Manar TV said Israeli warplanes bombed the Jiyeh power station early Sunday. The plant, which is located some 20 kilometers south of the ebanese capital, was in flames in the early hours of the morning, Al-Manar and other Lebanese TVs said.

The southern suburbs were repeatedly blasted by Israeli warplanes for most of Saturday, but the early Sunday raids were the heaviest since Israel launched its offensive Wednesday, following the killing of eight IDF soldiers and abduction of two others by Hezbollah guerillas.

Hezbollah's TV aired footage it said showed the new strikes. The pictures showed two long columns of smoke rising from buildings into the night sky.

The TV said a bridge linking the al-Hazmiyah district to the road that leads to the airport, south of the capital, was also targeted.

In Israel, the military confirmed that IAF jets were bombing the Hezbollah headquarters in south Beirut.

A heavy bombardment in the early hours of Sunday targetted Hezbollah's al-Manar television building, the IDF said.

On Saturday alone the Israeli Air Force carried out hundreds of air strikes inside Lebanon, still no attack on Syria yet. The Navy attacked radar installations along the coast along with the Beirut seaport.

IAF planes also launched four bombing raids on residential areas in the eastern city of Ba'albek, where senior Hezbollah officials have residence or offices, witnesses said. Heavy black smoke billowed from the area and ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.

One person was killed and 17 others were wounded in the air raids in Ba'albek in the Bekaa, the official National News Agency reported.

The houses of two senior Hezbollah officials in Ba'albek, Sheik Mohammed Yazbek and Hussein Musawi, were destroyed in the airstrike, security officials said. The Hezbollah figures were not in the buildings when they were hit.

Also Saturday, IAF planes destroyed the Beirut office of senior Hamas official Mohammed Nazzal but he was not hurt in the attack, a spokesman for the group said.

It was not clear if Nazzal was in his office at the time or if there were any casualties.

Meanwhile Israel has called the Syrian governments bluff:

London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat says Israel gave Syria 72 hours to stop Hizbullah's activity, bring about release of kidnapped IDF troops. ‘Israel will not end military activity until new situation created that will prevent Syria, Iran from using terror organizations to threaten its security,' newspaper quotes Pentagon official as saying

The London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Saturday that "Washington has information according to which Israel gave Damascus 72 hours to stop Hizbullah's activity along the Lebanon-Israel border and bring about the release the two kidnapped IDF soldiers or it would launch an offensive with disastrous consequences."

The report said "a senior Pentagon source warned that should the Arab world and international community fail in the efforts to convinceSyria to pressure Hizbullah into releasing the soldiers and halt the current escalation Israel may attack targets in the country."

[…]The report also mentioned that President George W. Bush has repeatedly put much of the blame for the recent escalation on Syria.

"It is no coincidence that the Hizbullah operation comes at a time when the international community is working to impose sanctions on Iran due to its nuclear program and settle the score with Syria by establishing an international court to try those behind the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri," the Pentagon source said.

According to the source, Hizbullah made the same mistake as Hamas when it did not predict the ramifications of its actions and ignored the regional and international changes since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

The source said that Israel has indicated that it "will not end its military activity until a new situation is created that will prevent Syria and Iran from using terror organizations, such as Hamas and Hizbullah, to threaten its security."

And none of this should surprise anyone. Israel tried to build some peace by exiting the Gaza Strip two years ago. What did the Palestinians do? They elected a terrorist organization to run their government all the while firing missiles into Israeli cities and now kidnapping their soldiers.

I think Israel has had enough, I'm just surprised it took this long.

We know that the Syrian government actively aids Hamas while they attack Israel. Hell, as the Saddam documents have suggested they even helped Saddam get rid of his WMD's. They are the bad guy sidekick to the Iranian madman and they cannot be left alone on the sideline. Iran supports Hizbollah, Syria is supporting Hamas…..The whole world knows who the main players are in this conflict and the whole world has a stake in what happens if these rogue nations continue on their death spiral.

This is radical Islam folks, this is the War on Terror…..A World War.

Iran's madman has been making threats against Israel for quite awhile. Israel isn't blinking. They are knocking out the rear threat so they can stare straight ahead at the main enemy…..Iran

Oh btw, the French made a fool of themselves once again at the UN:

The United Nations Security Council on Saturday again rejected pleas that it call for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon after the United States objected, diplomats said.

U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday repeated that Israel had the right to defend itself in the Middle East, but did not back Lebanese calls for an immediate cease-fire.

"Our message to Israel is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences, so we are urging restraint," said Bush, who has refused to call on Israel to halt its offensive on Lebanon.

French President Jacques Chirac called for a "show of moderation" in Lebanon, and said that a lasting cease-fire is needed.

He went on to say that forces threatening Lebanon's security and sovereignty must be stopped.

No wonder Lance Armstrong called them assholes:

Lance Armstrong renewed his verbal attack on the French, bashing their World Cup team during an American awards show and using a derogatory word to describe the players.

"All their players (France) tested positive … for being a** holes," the seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Daily News on Friday.

The American cycling hero Armstrong made his comments in his opening monologue as the host of ESPY Awards, an annual televised event produced by ESPN.

Lebanese civilians and a medic escape from a gasoline station after it was hit by Israeli air strikes in Saida, south Lebanon, July 15, 2006.

Israeli soldiers stand close to a mobile artillery piece firing near the northern Israeli town of Safed July 15, 2006.

An Israeli army artillery piece fires into southern Lebanon from a position on the border near Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel , Saturday, July 15, 2006.

With the sun setting over the Mediterranean Sea an Israeli air strike hits the center of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon Saturday, July 15, 2006 as Israeli war planes repeatedly blasted the residential area which is a Hezbollah stronghold throughout the day.

Smoke drifts across Beirut, Lebanon Saturday, July 15, 2006 following a nighttime Israeli airstrike on the Hezbollah stronghold in the densely-populated southern suburbs

Other's Blogging:

I think Israel has had enough, I’m just surprised it took this long.

Curt

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