Edwin P K 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 Israel bombards Beirut amid spiraling attacks Thursday, July 13, 2006; Posted: 10:31 a.m. EDT (14:31 GMT) BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut's international airport and the navy blockaded Lebanon's ports in a sharp escalation of its military campaign Thursday. Hezbollah guerrillas fired scores of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel in the most intense bombardment in years. The missiles killed one woman and at least 10 others were hurt in the attack on Safed, about 13 miles (20 kilometers) from the Lebanese border, which local officials said not been hit by Hezbollah rockets since 1972. (Watch the rocket's explosion and town chaos -- 1:45) Beirut's main airport was forced to close after Israeli fighter jets hit all three of its runways, leaving huge craters and making them unusable. Other airfields also were attacked Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said, but details were not immediately available. Israel said it targeted the airport in the capital's suburbs because it was used to transfer weapons and supplies to Hezbollah, the militant group that captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in raids earlier this week. Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat called the airport strikes a "general act of war," saying they had nothing to do with Hezbollah but were instead an attack against the country's "economic interests," especially its tourism industry. At least 45 people have been killed in Lebanon since the violence began Wednesday, Lebanon's health ministry said. After the airport attack, planes began dropping leaflets warning residents of an impending attack on an area of southern Beirut where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is believed to live. (Watch the first reports on the runway bombings -- 6:00) If that happened, Hezbollah said it would attack the northern Israeli city of Haifa, where 300,000 people live. Israel: 'We mean business' Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he fears a "regional war is mounting" with Israel's two ongoing military campaigns in Lebanon and in Gaza, where forces were deployed after the capture of an Israeli soldier last moth. "This is not our interest and will not bring peace and stability to the region," Abbas said. President Bush warned Israel to take care not to "weaken" Lebanon's government. Bush also stressed during a visit to Germany that Syria "needs to be held to account." Hezbollah enjoys substantial backing from Syria and Iran and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel. The group holds posts in Lebanon's government. Israeli Security Cabinet Minister Isaac Herzog said: "We are taking strong measures so that it will be clear to the Lebanese people and government ... that we mean business." The United Nations will send a team to the Middle East to urge both sides to use restraint, a spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday. Captives named Israeli airstrikes were aimed at targets used by Hezbollah for storing weapons, the Israel Defense Forces said. Warplanes also hit al-Manar television station because the station is used by Hezbollah to incite and recruit activists, the IDF said. Al-Manar continued to broadcast, a Lebanese security source said. Israel's Cabinet authorized a "severe and harsh" response to the abduction of the two soldiers, named Thursday as Ehud Goldvasser, 31, from Nahariya, and Eldad Regev, 26, from the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Motzkin. Hezbollah called for a prisoner exchange but, as in Gaza, Israel has rejected the call. Hezbollah chief Nasrallah told reporters that seizing the soldiers was "our natural, only and logical right" to win freedom for Hezbollah prisoners held by Israel. Nasrallah said the two soldiers had been taken to a place "far, far away" and that an Israeli military campaign would not win their release. More than 70 Katyusha rockets have hit Israel in the past 24 hours, the IDF said. Missiles hit the Jewish town of Carmiel and adjacent Arab village of Majd el-Krum in northern Israel, the army said, according to The Associated Press. Buildings in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya also were damaged by rockets, according to CNN's John Vause in the town. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Yong 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 Israel too rediculous!!!!! they want to conquer the west bank with the war!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sneeze Lam 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 Photos by linked throught RTHK. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seth K 3 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 I personally say these two leaders Bush and Olmert is the people who deserve to be send to the Taliban for assasination It's not hard to make peace, even the muslims(Muslim militant groups) offered peace agreement between America and enemies, but heck, the leader say "NO". How many people have to die? Why wanna waste trillions of $$$ just to kill people? Just give it to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radzi 2 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 Why are we not saying the truth? That is a terrorist attack, pure and simple. Israel is the biggest terrorist in the world. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naim 6 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 (edited) Some related pics I filched off the web. It must have been a beautiful airport. And now this ... Edited July 13, 2006 by Naim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Woei Shen 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 POV of an aviation enthusiast : PLEASE DO NOT HARM THE BEAUTIFUL AIRCRAFTS!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Izanee 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 (edited) lebanon and the muslims in that region have suffered enough. this attack is typical of the 'collective punishment' policy of the zionist regime. and pieter....i use only use the term 'zionist' because i know there are many jews and israelis - jewish or arabs - who want peace in the region. i don't hate the jews..however, i am furious with the oppressive and inhumane treatment meted out by the zionist government. and its NOT because of Iranian propaganda as you'd like to think. the world can only watch on as the US will veto any sanctions against the state of Israel which has broken at least 67 UN resolutions. as radzi said...they are the biggest terrorists of them all Edited July 13, 2006 by Izanee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 Topic closed due to non-aviation and political statements ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
