Israel Intesifying Attacks
Israel appears to be heading all the way to the Litani River and has intensified both air and ground assaults. Nasrallah, head of Hezbollah has been offering a ceasefire, which the Israelis interpret as a sign of weakness on his part.
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Israel's pounding of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon expanded Friday with missiles targeting bridges in the Christian heartland north of Beirut for the first time, an attack that further isolates Lebanon from the outside world.
Five civilians were killed and 19 wounded in the airstrikes north of the capital, Lebanese security officials said. A Lebanese soldier and four civilians were killed in air raids near Beirut's airport and southern suburbs, security officials and witnesses said.
Meanwhile, dozens of Hezbollah rockets struck northern Israel within a half-hour Friday, killing one Israeli and seriously wounding another, police said.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile during heavy fighting in a southern Lebanese village where the militant group had been launching rockets, the army said.
The destruction of four bridges on the main north-south coastal highway linking Beirut to Syria further sealed Lebanon from outside links, as the Israeli naval blockade and earlier strikes against roadways have largely closed off other access points.
Fierce fighting continued along the border, and Hezbollah said in a statement broadcast by the group's Al-Manar TV station that guerrillas had killed six Israeli soldiers near the villages of Aita al-Shaab and Markaba.
Arab media reported Hezbollah had hit an Israeli tank. The Israeli army was not immediately available to comment on the claims.
The clashes came a day after a massive barrage of guerrilla rockets pounded northern Israel, killing eight people, and an offer by Hezbollah's leader to stop the attacks if Israel ends its airstrikes. Two more rockets hit northern Israel early Friday, causing little damage.
Hezbollah media hasn't exactly been known for it's stunning accuracy in reporting, of course. It's sort of the New York Times of Lebanon.
