Israel attacks Gaza Strip

maglomanic said:

Reality Check....

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"Outlining the scope of the Israeli campaign for the first time, a senior army commander said Israel would only encircle Lebanese towns and villages near the border and did not plan a deeper push into the country.

"The intention is to deal with the Hezbollah infrastructure that is within reach," Col. Hemi Livni, who commands Israeli troops in the western sector of southern Lebanon, told Israel Army Radio, told Israel Army Radio. "That means in southern Lebanon, not going beyond that."
"

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Hezbollah Captures 2 Israeli Soldiers
By JOSEPH PANOSSIAN , 07.12.2006, 05:41 AM

The militant group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during clashes Wednesday across the border in southern Lebanon, prompting a swift reaction from Israel, which sent ground forces into its neighbor to look for them.

The forces were trying to keep the soldiers' captors from moving them deeper into Lebanon, Israeli government officials said on condition of anonymity.

The Israeli military would not confirm the report.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called an emergency Cabinet meeting and said Lebanese guerrillas would pay a "heavy price" for Wednesday's attacks.

"These are difficult days for the state of Israel and its citizens," Olmert said. "There are people ... who are trying to test our resolve. They will fail and they will pay a heavy price for their actions."

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FreeAsia2000 said:

yes reality check two for the BBC, Sky News, Fox News, CNN etc...

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U.S. Gives Israel Timeline for Assault on Hezbollah, Official Says
Tuesday, July 25, 2006


PHOTOS VIDEO PHOTO ESSAYS


Click image to enlarge
Photo Essays:
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Ground Forces Push Into Lebanon
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Mideast Crisis Enters 12th Day
STORIES BACKGROUND LINKS
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Hezbollah: We Didn't Expect Such Strong Reaction From Israel
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Pope Praying for Mideast Peace While on Vacation
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Israel Wants NATO, Not U.N., to Help Quell War in Mideast
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House OKs Money for Americans Fleeing Lebanon
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First U.S. Aid Package Arrives in Lebanon
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Rice Wants Urgent, Enduring Peace to Mideast Turmoil
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Saudi King Warns of Mideast War if Israeli Attacks Continue
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Mideast Crisis May Spawn 'Hurricane' of Fighting, Iran's President Warns
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Hundreds of Americans, Russians Stranded in Lebanon
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First Edition of Iranian Hezbollah's Newspaper Praises 'Islamic Resistance'
NABATIYEH, Lebanon — The United States has given Israeli forces between 10 and 14 days to finish dealing Hezbollah "a strategic blow," a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official told FOX News, as both Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas continued to volley rockets across the Lebanon-Israel border.

While admitting that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is working at a "slow pace," the official insisted the plan was constructed out of concern for human life.

"We could do it much faster if we would be willing to inflict high civilian casualties," the official said. "The decision was made to move in a methodical, slow way."

Israeli troops sealed off a Hezbollah stronghold and warplanes killed six people in a market city in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, while Beirut was pounded by new airstrikes. Guerrillas fired rockets at northern Israel, killing a girl, as the two-week-old crisis showed no signs of letting up, despite frantic diplomatic efforts.

Journalists covering the conflict were warned Tuesday by Hezbollah in Tyre, Lebanon, not to tape or broadcast live the source of outgoing rocket attacks, for fear of having guerrilla positions discovered by Israeli forces.

A second senior official told FOX News the IDF would need "another 10 days or so" to finish the job against Hezbollah. He continued to say that the U.S., European nations and moderate Arab nations that Israel is "doing the dirty job" for everyone in its attacks on Hezbollah.

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Finnish Soldier Apparently Killed in Lebanon
Published 26.07.2006, 06.20 (updated 26.07.2006, 08.59)



A Finn is believed to have been killed in an Israeli air raid on a UN base in Khiam, southern Lebanon, on Tuesday night. Three others – from Canada, China, and Austria – are also presumed dead.



A missile struck a shelter head-on where the four UN observers were taking cover. Although the bodies have not yet been retrieved or identified, all four are believed to be dead.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has demanded that Israel investigate the quote "apparently deliberate targeting" of a U.N. post.

According to the general headquarters of the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish man was a military observer in Khiam, an area which is said to strongly support the activities of Hizbollah.

Currently 14 Finnish military observers are serving in the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation in the area. The Finnish Defence Forces says three Finnish military observers were located in southern Lebanon, but the U.N. is ultimately responsible for ensuring their safety.

"The operational matters belong to the United Nations, and I am sure they will take measures, but we have checked the well being of the other Finns,” says Lieutenant Colonel Veli-Matti Rintala, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces’ International Centre.

“Otherwise, our contribution to this mission is a political one, so it is up to Finnish government how we will continue,” he added in an interview with YLE News.

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9 Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon fighting
Reuters
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 14:21 IST


JERUSALEM: Israeli Army suffered heavy casualties in a battle with Hizbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon on Wednesday and Al-Jazeera Television said at least nine soldiers had been killed.

Al-Arabiya Television said 12 were killed during fierce clashes in the town of Bint Jbeil, a key militia stronghold 4 km in Lebanon. The stations gave no further details.

Such a toll would be the heaviest for Israel's army since it launched an offensive against Hizbollah more than two weeks ago.

Israeli media said up to 13 soldiers had been wounded. An army spokesman said he could only confirm several soldiers were wounded.

Israeli forces have been battling for days to take over Bint Jbeil, since seizing a village closer to the border last week.

Hizbollah earlier said in a statement in Beirut that fierce clashes were raging around Bint Jbeil. It said guerrillas had confronted Israeli forces trying to advance towards the town from a nearby hill. The army estimates it has killed up to 30 guerrillas in the battle for the Bint Jbeil stronghold, home to 4,000 people.

Until the latest fighting, nine Israeli troops had been killed in the ground offensive inside southern Lebanon.

Taking Bint Jbeil would be a morale-booster for Israel, which launched its Lebanese offensive after Hizbollah killed eight soldiers and abducted two others in a July 12 border raid.

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Israeli missiles had clearly pierced the very centre of the red cross on the roof of each ambulance

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Gollevainen said:

This makes me angry, not that a finn is dead (I feel more angrier about the hundreds of civilians dying) but that Israel strikes directly agaisnt UN post (which location they must have known)

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FuManChu said:

I feel sad about the latest deaths, but this just goes to show how dated the UN is. It can't do anything because there's a permanent member with a veto, the US, to block action. Just like China refused action over Sudan and sanctions over North Korea.

Ironically perhaps China might see the benefit of UN reform now. Though I doubt it would support any change of the veto power, so this sort of thing will keep on happening this century - I'm sure of that.

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Israel troops 'ignored' UN plea

Israeli strike in Khiam, south Lebanon

Israel had hit Khiam a number of times earlier on Tuesday
UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon contacted Israeli troops 10 times before an Israeli bomb killed four of them, an initial UN report says.

The post was hit by a precision-guided missile after six hours of shelling nearby, diplomats familiar with the initial probe into the deaths say.

The news came as crisis talks in Rome failed to call for an immediate ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.

Reports say up to 13 Israeli soldiers died in the latest fighting.

The four unarmed UN observers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, died after their UN post was hit by an Israeli air strike on Tuesday.

The UN report says each time the UN contacted Israeli forces, they were assured the firing would stop.

Israel is conducting an investigation into the deaths, and has rejected accusations made by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that the targeting of the UN position was "apparently deliberate".

In southern Lebanon, fierce clashes have continued between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters around the town of Bint Jbail.

Israel has not confirmed any deaths from among its soldiers, but says there have been 20 casualties.

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Gollevainen said:

It seems we finns, canadians and chinese are together being withnessing the Israeli aggressions...

From YLE:




This makes me angry, not that a finn is dead (I feel more angrier about the hundreds of civilians dying) but that Israel strikes directly agaisnt UN post (which location they must have known)...

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FreeAsia2000 said:

FuManChu it's difficult to see how UN reform is going to help when the UN is saying that it pleaded 10 times with the Israeli's to stop attacking their base ! I can understand why Kofi Annan called it apparently deliberate.

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