Israel Bombs Bunker

Israeli warplanes dropped 23 tons of bombs on a bunker believed to house a number of Hezbollah leaders (Nasrallah may have been one of the occupants). The bunker was located in Southern Beirut. Hezbollah quickly denied anyone was hurt and that the site was not a bunker but a mosque under construction.

Israel Air Force warplanes dropped bombs late Wednesday on a bunker in south Beirut where senior Hezbollah leaders were thought to be, the Israel Defense Forces said.

IDF officials said dozens of aircrafts dropped 23 tons of explosives on the bunker. The officials said top Hezbollah figures were thought to be there, possibly including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The officials said the bunker was in the Bourj al-Barajneh section of southern Beirut.

Hezbollah said in a statement on Thursday that none of its leaders were killed during the strike. "Hezbollah denies that any of its leaders or personnel were killed during the latest bombardment…in the southern suburb," the group said in the statement.

The building targeted in the raid was a mosque under construction and not a bunker housing as Israel claimed, the statement added.

Israel has said that one of the objects of its offensive in Lebanon is to
eliminate Hezbollah leaders.

The IDF warned south Lebanon residents ahead of the strike to leave their homes and evacuate toward the north.

Hundreds of thousands of south Lebanon residents were expected to evacuate the area. The IDF broadcast its warning from an Arabic-language radio station in Israel.

There were earlier AP reports of loud explosions from the Southern part of Beirut, this would likely be the cause. Now it will be interesting to see if Nasrallah surfaces soon.

UPDATE: And proving that Israeli media is as loony as the American variant, Ynet is reporting the same thing. Along with the teeny little detail that Israeli intelligence has significantly infiltrated Hezbollah. Do these people have to pass a dumb test or something?

UPDATE: Partisan Times points out that Hezbollah faxed their denial that leaders had been hit to the AP. Anyone else see the problem with that?