The United States should fight The War On Terror like Israel...

[recxjake]

Israel is kicking ass.... if the United States wasn't full of liberal cry babies the war on terror would be going much better.... Go Israel!!! Kill them all!

[jiveturkey]

Israel is kicking ass.... if the United States wasn't full of liberal cry babies the war on terror would be going much better.... Go Israel!!! Kill them all!
Call me back when their war ends.

It's an effective approach but it has yet to actually win.

[beavis]

Call me back when their war ends.

It's an effective approach but it has yet to actually win.
Hope you plan on living for about another 1,000 years. I doubt it will be over then either.

[FringeNC]

How is Israel kicking ass? Hizbollah is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iran. Iran orders Hizbollah to attack Israel. Israel goes after Hizbollah, but refuses to go after the terror-master himself in Iran.

Israel simply can't win playing the game like that.

[Dave Lane]

Some day smarter cooler heads will resolve this issue by recognizing each other and making peace. Till then the fools continue to make the world blind by trading an eye for an eye.

Dave

[DaKCMan AP]

your and idiot

[recxjake]

I hope Israel smokes Syria and Iran!

[FringeNC]

Wow. Now CNN is reporting that a ballistic missile was fire from Lebanon into Israel by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The timetable for regime change in Syria and Iran just got bumped up. If Israel attacks Syria or Iran, it'll be almost impossible for the U.S. to stay out.

[Donger]

Wow. Now CNN is reporting that a ballistic missile was fire from Lebanon into Israel by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The timetable for regime change in Syria and Iran just got bumped up. If Israel attacks Syria or Iran, it'll be almost impossible for the U.S. to stay out.

No sh*t?

That's not good. Not good at all.

[recxjake]

The Iranian wacko said that if Israel attacks Syria that in short there will be no mroe israel

[Laz]

WWIII anyone?

[BucEyedPea]

Seems like this would be a good point to merge this thread with the one asking if WWIII has begun.

[Adept Havelock]

Wow. Now CNN is reporting that a ballistic missile was fire from Lebanon into Israel by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The timetable for regime change in Syria and Iran just got bumped up. If Israel attacks Syria or Iran, it'll be almost impossible for the U.S. to stay out.

I've seen some reports of "rocket attacks". I'm quite curious if they are actual guided missiles, or just a variant on the old Katyusha that they've used for years.

If Israel attacks Syria or Iran, what the hell makes it our fight? They've got a nuclear arsenal and a military of their own. If they want to rattle them around, that's their business. If they are dumb enough to start a strategic exchange, let them ride the whirlwind, and reap that harvest. :shrug:

Once the exchange of nuclear and chemical weapons dies down, then we can try to do something for the (few) survivors.

BTW- Exactly how do you expect Israel to attack Iran? They have one of the top trained military forces in the world, but they don't have the ability to project power like that. Heck, the strike at Osirak stretched their air capablities to the limit, and they don't have the air-tanker assets a serious air campaign would require.

[Donger]

I've seen some reports of "rocket attacks". I'm quite curious if they are actual guided missiles, or just a variant on the old Katyusha that they've used for years.

Apparently, about a 100 Katyushas and Israeli intel believes what hit Haifa was much more advanced.

[Adept Havelock]

Apparently, about a 100 Katyushas and Israeli intel believes what hit Haifa was much more advanced.

Interesting. I'll be keeping an eye on this one. Can't say I'm surprised. What goes around, comes around. :shrug:

[FringeNC]

I've seen some reports of "rocket attacks". I'm quite curious if they are actual guided missiles, or just a variant on the old Katyusha that they've used for years.

If Israel attacks Syria or Iran, what the hell makes it our fight? They've got a nuclear arsenal and a military of their own. If they want to rattle them around, that's their business. If they are dumb enough to start a strategic exchange, let them ride the whirlwind, and reap that harvest. :shrug:

Once the exchange of nuclear and chemical weapons dies down, then we can try to do something for the (few) survivors.

BTW- Exactly how do you expect Israel to attack Iran? They have one of the top trained military forces in the world, but they don't have the ability to project power like that.

Israel's most likely retaliation would be at Iran's satellite state, Syria. Iran has claimed an attack on Syria is an attack on Iran. So now...Israel attacks Syria....how is Iran going to attack Israel without violation "our" airspace. There is simply no way we allow Iranian jets into Iraqi airspace.

It seems the likelihood of all this happening is fairly high. If indeed Iran did fire rockets into Israel, Israel would be insane not to retaliate.

[BucEyedPea]

Interesting. I'll be keeping an eye on this one. Can't say I'm surprised. What goes around, comes around. :shrug:

That's exactly right!

[Adept Havelock]

Israel's most likely retaliation would be at Iran's satellite state, Syria. Iran has claimed an attack on Syria is an attack on Iran. So now...Israel attacks Syria....how is Iran going to attack Israel without violation "our" airspace. There is simply no way we allow Iranian jets into Iraqi airspace.

It seems the likelihood of all this happening is fairly high. If indeed Iran did fire rockets into Israel, Israel would be insane not to retaliate.

I don't disagree. I just don't think it's our fight.

[Donger]

Interesting. I'll be keeping an eye on this one. Can't say I'm surprised. What goes around, comes around. :shrug:

They mentioned the rocket type on the news, but I can't find anything on it. They did mention that it was fired by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon. That's not good.

What do you mean by, "What goes around, comes around"?

[Adept Havelock]

That's exactly right!



What do you mean by, "What goes around, comes around"?

Isreal launches helo and tac bomber airstrikes at targets in cities, why should I be surprised when the other side attacks cities in reply?

The Iranian involvement is some pretty serious s**t.

[BucEyedPea]

You launch helo and tac bomber airstrikes at targets in cities, why should I be surprised when the other side attacks cities in reply?
I'm not disagreein' with ya.

[recxjake]

Does Israel have a lot of troops?

[Adept Havelock]

Does Israel have a lot of troops?

If completely mobilized, they could concievably put a couple million under arms. That said, their economy couldn't sustain it for any period of time. Their total population is only about 6 and a half million or so.

[Donger]

I don't disagree. I just don't think it's our fight.

If it's proven that the Iranians are directly involved in attacking our ally, we will get involved. Perhaps not overtly, but we will become involved nonetheless.

[BucEyedPea]

We've already been involved. Iraq was to help secure Israel.

[Adept Havelock]

We've already been involved. Iraq was to help secure Israel.

The fable of Brer Rabbit and the tar baby Brer Wolf made comes to mind.

[FringeNC]

If completely mobilized, they could concievably put a couple million under arms. That said, their economy couldn't sustain it for any period of time. Their total population is only about 6 and a half million or so.

Israel isn't going to fight a ground war with Syria or Iran. Israel may decide to take out a few of Assad's offices. Then what will Iran do?

[Adept Havelock]

Israel isn't going to fight a ground war with Syria or Iran. Israel may decide to take out a few of Assad's offices. Then what will Iran do?

Low grade? Probably supply more money and arms to Hezbollah, etc.

Worst Case? Massive chemical strike on Israel, followed by large parts of Iran becoming relatively flat discs of glass.

[Laz]

If completely mobilized, they could concievably put a couple million under arms. That said, their economy couldn't sustain it for any period of time. Their total population is only about 6 and a half million or so.
you can bet we'd be funding them

[Adept Havelock]

you can bet we'd be funding them

I'm sure we would be providing support. That said, no nation can sustain having a full third of it's population under arms for a prolonged period. That's all I'm saying. That, and this ain't our fight, IMO.

[Mr. Kotter]

Some day smarter cooler heads will resolve this issue by recognizing each other and making peace. Till then the fools continue to make the world blind by trading an eye for an eye.

DaveYeah, I'm thinking by 2010 or so, every nation at the UN will join hands around a huge bonfire. They will be wearing tie-dyed tee-shirts, while roasting marshmallows for their smores.....smoking some weed, listening to "Give Peace a Chance." They will close with a ringing rendition of fugging Kumbaya too.:hmmm:

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's gonna happen....

[Mr. Kotter]

I'll bring my bi-atches wit me to; I'll be leading the second verse....

[Adept Havelock]

I'll bring my bi-atches wit me to; I'll be leading the second verse....

Who the hell is that holding the Sitar? Ravi Shaft-ar?

[Mr. Kotter]

Who the hell is that holding the Sitar? Ravi Shaft-ar?

That's ME, bitch....




;)

[Adept Havelock]

That's ME, bitch....




;)


So how'dya get Mary McDonnell to stand behind you acting like a neo-hippy? :p

[Always a Chief fan]

We have defense treaties with Israel. A WMD attack on Israel will be considered an attack on us.
The United States will never let Israel fall. Just when is the war on terror "our fight"? When we are fighting in your backyard? You dumb,smug,sonofabitch.

[Adept Havelock]

We have defense treaties with Israel. A WMD attack on Israel will be considered an attack on us.
The United States will never let Israel fall. Just when is the war on terror "our fight"? When we are fighting in your backyard? You dumb,smug,sonofabitch.

Ignoring the childish name calling:

Please, provide a link substantiating a military defense treaty with Israel along the lines of NATO, SEATO, Etc. A treaty which states an attack on Israel constitutes an attack on the US. I won't hold my breath.

You'll find trade agreements, and military training and material support/sales agreements. An open military alliance? I don't think so.

You seem gung-ho to take on Syria and Iran. Get going. The IDF will be happy to enlist you. They are always looking for bright and articulate chaps like yourself.

Besides, in case of WMD attack on Israel, they are quite capable of handling the response themselves. You have heard of a place called Dimona, haven't you? :hmmm:

[Cochise]

If you look back through history, a lot of people have had it in for Israel and tried to destroy them. All have failed. I don't see why this would be much different.

This is not the time in history where they have the fewest friends or the most overwhelming adversary by any means.

In terms of WMD, Israel has been nuclear capable for decades, hasn't it? Whatever Iran has cobbled together at this point certainly seems a knife in a gunfight.

[SCChief]

If you look back through history, a lot of people have had it in for Israel and tried to destroy them. All have failed. I don't see why this would be much different.

This is not the time in history where they have the fewest friends or the most overwhelming adversary by any means.

In terms of WMD, Israel has been nuclear capable for decades, hasn't it? Whatever Iran has cobbled together at this point certainly seems a knife in a gunfight.

Exactly!

History is littered with the corpses of kingdoms and empires that have messed with the ancestors of today's Israelis. Whether you believe the religious implications or not... these people live a charmed life.

[BucEyedPea]

Exactly!

History is littered with the corpses of kingdoms and empires that have messed with the ancestors of today's Israelis. Whether you believe the religious implications or not... these people live a charmed life.

You call being slaves in Egypt for 430 years, charmed?
Not to speak of the Babylonian captivity and Assyrian conquest.
You call being kicked off their land in 70 AD by Romans ( who also massacred them) to go live in so many areas of the world for what, over 2000 years, charmed?
You call the hundreds of years of pogroms in Christian Europe, the Spanish Inquistion and it deportations, followed later by a genocide of 6 million charmed?
You call living under siege with terrorism charmed?

Wow! I hate to think of what your idea of persecution is. :(

Seems to me that conflict follows them and they have to move from place to place. More like a pattern of up and down then any stability.

[Adept Havelock]

You call being slaves in Egypt for 430 years, charmed?
Not to speak of the Babylonian captivity and Assyrian conquest.
You call being kicked off their land in 70 AD by Romans ( who also massacred them) to go live in so many areas of the world for what, over 2000 years, charmed?
You call the hundreds of years of pogroms in Christian Europe, the Spanish Inquistion and it deportations, followed later by a genocide of 6 million charmed?
You call living under siege with terrorism charmed?

Wow! I hate to think of what your idea of persecution is. :(

Seems to me that conflict follows them and they have to move from place to place. More like a pattern of up and down then any stability.

:thumb: :clap: :wayne:

Charmed? Oy Gevalt.

[Adept Havelock]

If you look back through history, a lot of people have had it in for Israel and tried to destroy them. All have failed. I don't see why this would be much different.

This is not the time in history where they have the fewest friends or the most overwhelming adversary by any means.

In terms of WMD, Israel has been nuclear capable for decades, hasn't it? Whatever Iran has cobbled together at this point certainly seems a knife in a gunfight.

You are correct. They have been nuclear capable since 1967. The 1973 war came within hours of going nuclear, twice. (Early days by Israel, late days when USSR was airlifting in nuclear weapons to defend Damascus and Cairo). They have a sizable arsenal, and the air force to deliver it, especially if they take the tactic that SAC did in the late 40's and early 50's, and don't plan on being able to fly all the way back home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/

[Iowanian]

You should care.

Iran and Syria fund and support Hezbollah....who was responsible for the bombing that killed more than 200 US Marines in Beruit. The US should have stomped some asses in response then.

If Iran is going to do jack a bout it...how do they plan on even GETTING to Israel?

They sure aren't marching their divisions through Iraq with 19 US Brigades in the way.

The US SHOULD Support Israel beating their asses, because Israel's enemy in this fight...has attacked Americans.

[Rausch]

Israel isn't going to fight a ground war with Syria or Iran. Israel may decide to take out a few of Assad's offices. Then what will Iran do?

Don't question Israel's willingness to **** somebody up.

There isn't a nation in that region that scares them and Iran has been d!cking with Israel for decades...

[Loki]

you can bet we'd be funding them

we already are / have been / will continue to do so.
our tax dollars pretty much ARE their economy.

[Loki]

You should care.

Iran and Syria fund and support Hezbollah....who was responsible for the bombing that killed more than 200 US Marines in Beruit. The US should have stomped some asses in response then.

If Iran is going to do jack a bout it...how do they plan on even GETTING to Israel?

They sure aren't marching their divisions through Iraq with 19 US Brigades in the way.

The US SHOULD Support Israel beating their asses, because Israel's enemy in this fight...has attacked Americans.
indeed. the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

might be nice, though, if they didn't call us in to do their dirty work for them this time. gnome sayn?

[Radar Chief]

I've seen some reports of "rocket attacks". I'm quite curious if they are actual guided missiles, or just a variant on the old Katyusha that they've used for years.

Apparently, about a 100 Katyushas and Israeli intel believes what hit Haifa was much more advanced.

From what I’ve been hear’n they’re call’n the longer range missiles fired yesterday “area effect weapons”. By that, I take it that they have some sort of gyro to help stabilize the missile in flight, but otherwise lack guidance to specify targets. Think WWII Buzz Bombs, where they set azimuth and elevation for it to land in a general area, then light the fuse and get out’a the way. That’s an overgeneralization, but I’m sure you get what I mean. ;)

[Iowanian]

indeed. the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

might be nice, though, if they didn't call us in to do their dirty work for them this time. gnome sayn?

All I'm saying is that I don't blame Israel for being tired of this shit, and I haven't forgotten what happend to 241 US Marines in Lebanon in 1983.....which was funded by Syria and Iran. I was young, but to this day I don't know why the US didn't stomp someone's ass flat for that.

This is Israel's fight....I think the US should stay out of their way, and provide them every weapon they ask for....Syria and Iran have been meddling in Iraq since we got there.

Iran has been making threats to the US since this new asshole was elected...now they're threatening Israel, whom they've already said(Iranian president) they'd like to wipe off the map.

How are they going to get there, and what exactly do they think they'll be doing to them?

Hezbollah made an incursion into Israel, and captured two of their soldiers..its absolutely an act of war, and the people that allow it to happen, funded it and or supported it, deserve whatever Israel decides to do to them.

[FringeNC]

Now this is kinda funny -- The Lebanese Christians applaud Israel's invasion:

http://www.free-lebanon.com

Your Excellency,
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

It was about time,

We Lebanese congratulate you on your recent actions against the Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon. We urge you to hit them hard and destroy their terror infrastructure. It is not Israel who is fed up with this situation, but the majority of the silent Lebanese in Lebanon who are fed up with Hezbollah and are powerless to do anything out of fear of terror retaliation.

Since Israel's forced withdrawal in 2000, pulling out due to pressure from the Clinton Administration, Hezbollah has not for one day ceased its terror incentives, acts of war and provocations at the border. Hezbollah, with the help of Syria and Iran, turned Southern Lebanon into a terror base supported by 12,000 Iranian missiles threatening every initiative for Peace in general and the security of Israel in particular.

[Cochise]

Hezbollah made an incursion into Israel, and captured two of their soldiers..its absolutely an act of war, and the people that allow it to happen, funded it and or supported it, deserve whatever Israel decides to do to them.

If Hezbollah had sent their operatives into the United States, kidnapped people to use as political pawns, and was firing rockets into U.S. cities and towns - not even at military targets just shooting indiscriminantly at towns near the border - you can bet your ass we would have a military response. As far as I'm concerned Israel has a right to respond with overwhelming force.

[Cochise]

It is not Israel who is fed up with this situation, but the majority of the silent Lebanese in Lebanon who are fed up with Hezbollah and are powerless to do anything out of fear of terror retaliation.

Since Israel's forced withdrawal in 2000, pulling out due to pressure from the Clinton Administration, Hezbollah has not for one day ceased its terror incentives, acts of war and provocations at the border. Hezbollah, with the help of Syria and Iran, turned Southern Lebanon into a terror base supported by 12,000 Iranian missiles threatening every initiative for Peace in general and the security of Israel in particular.

Yeah - I think something a lot of people are missing is that Israel is at war with Hezbollah and not Lebanon.

Just out of curiousity, I wonder what percentage of the current armed conflicts going on in the world have on at least one side, a muslim terrorist organization, an extremist islamic government, or the like?

[FringeNC]

Yeah - I think something a lot of people are missing is that Israel is at war with Hezbollah and not Lebanon.

Just out of curiousity, I wonder what percentage of the current armed conflicts going on in the world have on at least one side, a muslim terrorist organization, an extremist islamic government, or the like?

I read that somewhere....it's like 24 out of 27 or something like that.

[Cochise]

I read that somewhere....it's like 24 out of 27 or something like that.

Surprise, surprise.

I'm sure Bush caused each of these conflicts somehow.

[ct]

If Hezbollah had sent their operatives into the United States, kidnapped people to use as political pawns, and was firing rockets into U.S. cities and towns - not even at military targets just shooting indiscriminantly at towns near the border - you can bet your ass we would have a military response. As far as I'm concerned Israel has a right to respond with overwhelming force.

Agree 100%

Yeah - I think something a lot of people are missing is that Israel is at war with Hezbollah and not Lebanon.

Just out of curiousity, I wonder what percentage of the current armed conflicts going on in the world have on at least one side, a muslim terrorist organization, an extremist islamic government, or the like?


These days of war are very blurred regarding national boundaries. This is something the UN is unable to comprehend and/or deal with at this point in history.

[Always a Chief fan]

The UN has been unable, or more correctly unwilling to do anything for years unless it is condemning the United States, or Israel for defending themselves. We should evict them from our building, and close our checkbook to these parasites. Maybe Mexico, or France will take them in. Go Israel! Kick Hajji's ass!

[ct]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/72BAC422-6079-419C-9DD1-2FCBF21FDA5E.htm

Saudi sideswipe at Hezbollah

Friday 14 July 2006, 19:18 Makka Time, 16:18 GMT

Saudi Arabia has blamed "elements" inside Lebanon for the violence with Israel, in unusually frank language directed at Hezbollah and its Iranian backers.

"A distinction must be made between legitimate resistance and uncalculated adventures undertaken by elements inside [Lebanon] and those behind them without recourse to the legal authorities and consulting and co-ordinating with Arab nations," a statement carried by the official news agency SPA said.

"These elements should bear the responsibility for their irresponsible actions and they alone should end the crisis they have created."

Israel struck Beirut airport and military airbases and blockaded Lebanese ports on Thursday, intensifying reprisals that have killed 55 civilians in Lebanon since Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers a day earlier.

Israel struck Beirut airport and military airbases and blockaded Lebanese ports on Thursday, intensifying reprisals that have killed 55 civilians in Lebanon since Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers a day earlier.

"They [the elements] are exposing Arab nations and their gains to grave dangers without these nations having a say in the matter," said the statement, which reiterated Saudi support for Palestinian and Lebanese resistance against Israeli occupation.

The statement did not make clear what it meant by the gains of Arab nations.

Criticism of some Arab resistance movements, which act without consulting any Arab government, have been the focus of some Saudi press coverage lately.


Escalation


The Israeli army said Hezbollah fighters fired more than 100 rockets at northern Israel in their heaviest bombardment in 10 years, hitting Israel's third-largest city, Haifa. Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran and Syria, denied that it had fired on the port city.

Arab governments have agreed to send their foreign ministers to Cairo for an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

But the 22-member league has not yet made specific proposals for a joint Arab response to the Israeli attacks.

[ct]

Breaking news headline (no story associated yet)

Israeli Jets Blast Beirut Building Believed Housing Hezbollah Chief

[Iowanian]

I hope he was sitting on the crapper in the room the bomb landed.

[ct]

I hope he was sitting on the crapper in the room the bomb landed.

All new meaning for lightin a fire under yo azz!!

[DaKCMan AP]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/14/mideast/index.html

Rockets fly into Israel as it pounds Lebanon

Reports: Hezbollah leader safe after Israeli airstrikes


BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli warships and aircraft were clamping down on Lebanon's air, sea and land infrastructure on Friday, three days after Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.

Israeli warplanes destroyed a building housing the headquarters of Hezbollah guerrillas in south Beirut late Friday, The Associated Press reported. The AP said the group's TV station reported the strike.

Hezbollah says its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and his family are safe after Israeli airstrikes, according to AP.

Israeli rescue services report a large barrage of rockets hitting northern Israel late Friday. Also, three explosions have been heard in Beirut.

The rocket attacks on Israel have prompted Israel's Cabinet to approve continued military operations in Lebanon, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

In the past two days, about 200 rockets have been fired from Lebanon at Israeli targets, according to The Associated Press.

On Thursday, two missiles fired from Lebanon hit the center of Haifa, Israel's third-largest city -- extending beyond the range of any missiles fired at Israel from Lebanon in the past.

Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Dan Gillerman said many missiles that have been fired from Lebanon toward the northern Israel were made in Iran. (Watch Israeli fires, rubble, wounded from rocket attacks -- 2:08 (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/07/14/vause.hezbollah.strikes.ap','2006/07/21');))

Many of the long-range missiles fired into Israel in the recent days were Iranian missiles made by the same regime that is now trying to possess nuclear weapons," Gillerman said at the U.N. on Friday.

When asked by CNN what role Syria or Iran may have played in the current crisis, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said it would be "strange" for Hezbollah to have "done this alone."

However, Hezbollah guerrillas denied firing the two rockets, which had a range longer than previous missiles fired at Israel from Lebanon.

Haifa residents have been urged Friday to seek safety in bomb shelters, The Associated Press reported.

Siniora called the crisis a "controlled war," and described it as an opportunity for the region to address the Israeli-Palestinian problem that has existed since 1948, when Israel was created. (Watch Lebanon's prime minister describe how bad his crisis is -- 5:00 (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/07/14/lebanon.pm.interview.cnn','2006/07/21');))

Israeli forces Friday hit Lebanese highways and renewed attacks on Beirut's international airport, crippling a runway.

Israeli aircraft also carried out more airstrikes on a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut and an airstrike on Hezbollah's radio station, Reuters reported, wounding at least one person. The radio station, al-Nour, remained on the air, the news agency said.

Siniora called on President Bush and other world leaders to press Israel to halt the attacks.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday that Bush declined Siniora's request, adding: "The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel," Reuters reported.

Bush "believes the Israelis have the right to protect themselves and that in doing that they should limit as much as possible so-called collateral damage not only to facilities but also to human lives", Snow said, according to Reuters.

Olmert said Israel would not halt its offensive until Hezbollah was disarmed, AP reported. He made the comment in a telephone conversation with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Israeli government officials said.

Rockets on Friday hit the town of Yesod Hamaalah, the army and Israeli rescue services said.

Police reported that Katyusha rockets were hitting towns in northern Israel -- five rockets hit Nahariya, five struck Safed, two hit Hatzor and four hit Pqui'in. Also, the IDF reported a barrage of Katyusha rockets had hit Kiryat Shmona.

Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel have killed two people, the IDF said, and more than 100 Israelis have been wounded in the attacks.

Israel launched the military operation against Hezbollah after the group's militants killed three Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others from northern Israel on Wednesday. Five more Israeli soldiers have been killed since.

Since the fighting began, Israeli attacks on what it sees as Hezbollah targets in Lebanon have killed at least 63 Lebanese people, including two soldiers, and wounded 167 others, Lebanon's internal security forces told CNN on Friday.

Diplomatic efforts to calm the crisis resumed at the United Nations Security Council in New York, at the convening of an "urgent meeting."

Before Friday's bombing of Beirut airport, the United States helped broker an unusual deal that allowed a runway at the Beirut airport to be repaired long enough to allow a private aircraft carrying former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Nakati and five planes from Middle East Airlines to take off.

Israel's navy continued its blockade of Lebanese ports, including Tripoli, Sidon and Tyre.

Overnight, IDF warplanes attacked 18 targets in Lebanon, including the headquarters for the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in east Lebanon.

Israeli planes also attacked Hezbollah headquarters in southern Beirut overnight, according to IDF. Bridges and roads leading to the offices were destroyed in the operation.

Along the Israel-Lebanon border, IDF attacked two Hezbollah outposts, a weapons storage facility used by militants and three fuel stations south of Sidon.

Despite several countries -- including the United States and Lebanon -- contending that Lebanon doesn't have the capacity to extend its authority into Hezbollah-held territory, Israel has blamed the Lebanese government for the violence and charged it with the safe release of the soldiers.

Hezbollah, which enjoys substantial backing from Syria and Iran, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel. The group holds 23 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament. (Watch as fighting along the border intensifies -- 1:45 (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/07/13/hancocks.israel.lebanon.crisis.ap','2006/07/20');))
AP: Hundreds of Palestinians enter Gaza

Palestinian militants forced open a border gate between Egypt and Gaza on Friday, AP reported, wounding an Egyptian officer before letting hundreds of people who had been trapped on the Egyptian side of the border to get into Gaza.

Egyptian police Capt. Mohammed Abdel Hadi said masked Palestinian militants firing guns broke into the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, clearing the way for the trapped Gazans, according to AP.

The report came after Israel Defense Forces said it withdrew troops from central Gaza Friday but Israeli troops remained in the southern part of the territory.

The army had been in central Gaza trying to find an Israeli soldier kidnapped June 25 and to quell rocket attacks against Israeli citizens.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press (http://www.cnn.com/interactive_legal.html#AP) contributed to this report.

[Always a Chief fan]

Gives new meaning to the cliche "scared the shit out of him" LOL

[DaKCMan AP]

unfortunately, reports indicate the Hezbollah leader is still alive..article on previous page

[ct]

Gives new meaning to the cliche "scared the shit out of him" LOL

unfortunately, reports indicate the Hezbollah leader is still alive..article on previous page

Well shit.

[Always a Chief fan]

Aww shit! They missed. Oh well, close only counts in horseshoes,and hand grenades.

[Adept Havelock]

Aww shit! They missed. Oh well, close only counts in horseshoes,and hand grenades.

Oh, I'm pretty sure "close" counts with these.

[Sully]

Breaking news headline (no story associated yet)

Israeli Jets Blast Beirut Building Believed Housing Hezbollah Chief


I bet you can't say that 5 times fast.