Israeli airstrike kills 40 civilians

[odannyboy]

Strange how stories like this one get very little mention, but if a couple Israeli's are killed by the lucky Hezbollah rocket that finds its mark there is extensive video of rescue efforts and mention of the casualties.

40 Lebanese civilians, to go with the hundreds of others killed, just dont warrant the attention of the press.

BEIRUT - Israeli bombardment killed at least 40 civilians in Lebanon on Friday and Hizbollah launched its longest-range rocket attack of the war as world powers tried to overcome their differences on how to end the fighting. One Israeli air strike hit a farm near Qaa, close to the Syrian border in the Bekaa Valley where workers, mostly Syrian Kurds, were loading plums and peaches onto trucks, local officials said.

Television footage showed bodies of what appeared to be farm workers lined up near the ruins of a small structure in fruit groves. Strewn nearby were fruit baskets.

"I was picking peaches when three bombs hit. Others were having lunch and they were torn to pieces," said Mohammad Rashed, one of the wounded. Syria's official news agency said 17 of the dead were Syrian workers, five of them women.

"The air force spotted a truck that was suspected to have been loaded with weapons cross from Syria into Lebanon on a route that is routinely used to transport weapons," said an Israeli army spokesman. "The truck entered into a building and remained inside for an hour, then left and returned to Syria."

He said that when the truck left, the building was attacked.

It was one of the deadliest air strikes in 24 days of war. An air raid in the town of Qana on Sunday killed up to 54 civilians, Lebanese officials say. Human Rights Watch says it has confirmed 28 dead in that attack and 13 people missing.

Several Hizbollah rockets landed in or near the Israeli city of Hadera, about 80 km (50 miles) from the Lebanese border -- the deepest rocket attack of the war so far. Hizbollah said in a statement that it had fired Khaibar 1 rockets at Hadera, partly in response to the Israeli attack on Qaa.

The United States and France inched closer to a deal on a U.N. resolution calling for an end to the fighting. Once they reach agreement, which officials said could happen over the weekend, a Security Council vote could be held within 24 hours.

"There are still some issues that we have not resolved, but I think we have come a little bit closer this morning. We will keep working on it," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters.

BRIDGES BOMBED

Bombardment of a house in the frontline Taibeh village in south Lebanon on Friday killed seven civilians and wounded 10, a Lebanese security source said. The source said the civilians had sheltered in the house during fierce battles.

Israeli aircraft destroyed four bridges on the main coastal highway north of Beirut, disrupting efforts to aid civilians displaced or trapped by the conflict in Lebanon.

Fighting raged in the south as Israeli troops tried to expand seven small border enclaves they control. Hizbollah guerrillas fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel killing three people and wounding several, medics said. Rockets killed eight Israelis on Thursday.

Hizbollah fighters killed three Israeli soldiers with an anti-tank missile near Markaba, Israel's army said. Al Arabiya television said five Israeli soldiers had been killed. Israeli media said seven Hizbollah guerrillas also died in the battle.

The bombing of bridges in the Christian heartlands north of Beirut cut off the coastal highway to Syria, which the UN called its "umbilical cord" for aid to Lebanon.

The bridge at Maameltein, north of Beirut, was split by a huge crater. Further north, another bridge lay in the valley it once spanned.

"The whole road is gone," said Astrid van Genderen Stort of the U.N. refugee agency. "It's really a major setback because we used this highway to move staff and supplies into the country."

Israel said it had destroyed the bridges to prevent Syria from re-arming Hizbollah, which is also backed by Iran, said Israeli bombing of routes north of Beirut had made it harder to deliver humanitarian aid.

AIR STRIKES

More than 150 Israeli air strikes hit south Lebanon and artillery pummeled border areas as Hizbollah tried to stop new Israeli incursions near Markaba and the coastal town of Naqoura.

Hizbollah said its fighters had destroyed eight Israeli tanks and an armored troop carrier in fighting around the southern villages of Markaba, Aita al-Shaab and Taibeh.

Israel has put more than 10,000 troops into Lebanon and says it has carved out a zone containing 20 villages up to seven km (four miles) from its border. The defense minister has ordered the army to prepare for a possible push further north.

At least 727 people in Lebanon and 74 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, ignited by a cross-border raid in which Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch will visit Beirut on Saturday for talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Lebanese political sources said.

Once a U.N. resolution is agreed to halt the fighting, a second resolution is envisaged a week or two later setting down conditions for a permanent ceasefire.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060804/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[Snowden]

Originally Posted by odannyboy

Strange how stories like this one get very little mention, but if a couple Israeli's are killed by the lucky Hezbollah rocket that finds its mark there is extensive video of rescue efforts and mention of the casualties.

40 Lebanese civilians, to go with the hundreds of others killed, just dont warrant the attention of the press.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060804/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Well, there are probably several reasons for this, Dan. First of all, it was the Lebanese who started this war - they killed Israelis under a pretext of being peaceful. They gave no warning, just started shooting missiles into the Israeli population. I say "Lebanese" because Hezbollah is not only made up of citizens of Lebanon, but Hezbollah is also part of that nation's government.

Secondly, the nature of Islam being what it is, in that they kill their enemy in such apparent glee. I'm thinking more of the leaders perhaps - and in truth Olmert seems to be rather lacking. I believe Sheron would have handled this whole thing differently, if it was possible. He was an old war horse, but canny. Very canny.

Then you have the realization that this is a continuation of that continual holy war between Islam and Judeo-Christianity - with emphasis on the "Judeo."

Top it off with the number of citizens in each area - even though Lebanon isn't all that large, there are many more of them than there are Israelis, and this number increases as you realize all the other Arab nations surrounding tiny Israel. If a giant fights a mere mortal, the odds may be on the giant, but deep down most of us sympathize with the mere mortal. I think David and Goliath gives us an inkling of this.

Then there is the fact that Islam is a religion of death - preferably for the others, but they even put bombs on themselves and walk among the enemy to detonate them - their lives are not the same as our lives are to us. They live to die, especially the fanatics, but have you envisioned life in Islam? Where it is practiced according to Shari'a law especially?

Judaism and Christianity are religions of life; we die as we must, but we don't glorify death as Islam does. We glorify God, life and love.

I think all these things may help us all understand why more is made of the death of an Israeli than is made of a Muslim - in their own land, as well as in the news.

These may not be the only reasons, but it's a start.

[Woodmonkey]

The biggest difference is that the Israel does not deliberately target civilians, even though some do get killed.

Hezbollah deliberately targets civilians with those katusha (sp?) which are filled with ball bearings which are designed to cause the most possible harm to humans.

[KBay84]

Danno, you have it all wrong. Watching CNN & NBC, we are bombarded by how the Israelis are killing innocent victims, but much less mention of the Israeli casualties.....media bias? Hmmmmmm......we hear about the Israeli "wrongdoings" all the time. Why do we not hear about how wrong the Hezbollah are on CNN or NBC?

[odannyboy]

I noticed this evening extensive coverage given to the Lebanese deaths from Israeli bombings. So in essence I may be off the mark in my opening comment.

However, I ALSO noticed on the news the incredible destruction that was done by Israel in Northern Lebanon.

A huge bridge (the one the UN used to aid Lebanese fleeing the fighting in the south) was destroyed by Israel, among many other structures. What is really baffling is that this bridge is in the middle of a Christian neighborhood, a part of Lebanon where Hezbollah has no supporters.

The destruction that Israel is unleashing is whipping up anti American sentiment in Iraq, as Shi'ites are gathering with "Death to Israel, Death to America" chants in Baghdad in large numbers.

[Caldric]

That is my issue Dan. The punishment of the Lebanese people. 40% are Christian?

Snow I thought this was a war against Hezbollah? Now it is all Lebanese to defend Isaeli indiscriment bombing?

Everything Israel does will be used against us. Israel only cares about Israel though pretty simple fact.

[odannyboy]

I also dont like this popular misconception that the people being bombed and forced to flee their homes, the infrastructure of Lebanon being destroyed is because all these people are Hezbollah, that is total crap!

These are normal, law abiding civilians, the vast majority affected have no ties to radical Islamist groups and who rightly are outraged and what does Israel hope it will accomplish? It will only give everyone a reason to support Hezbollah with its actions against civilians.

Check out the video of this aid convoy as it tries to deliver supplies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/wo...=1&oref=slogin