Bush doubts Lebanon peace planEurope’s leaders on Monday sought to build momentum behind a United Nations plan to send soldiers to the conflict zone in Lebanon. But doubts about the viability of such a move – already resisted by Israel – were raised when George W. Bush, US president, made unguarded critical remarks about the thinking behind the idea.
Meeting at the G8 summit in St Petersburg, Tony Blair of Britain, Jacques Chirac of France and Angela Merkel of Germany rallied behind the propo... (more)
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Syria poised to strike backDAMASCUS—The Syrian government has vowed to strike back if Israel expands the war with Hezbollah by hitting targets in Syria.
Syria's information minister, Mohsen Bilal, issued the warning yesterday, as U.S. and Israeli officials stepped up condemnations of Syria as Hezbollah's patron.
"Any aggression against Syria will be met with a firm and direct response whose timing and methods are unlimited," Bilal was quoted as saying by Syria's official news agency, SA... (more)
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Lebanese run for cover as Israeli jets rip into the heart of HizbollahBeirut's southern suburbs echoed to the terrifying crash of Israeli bombs yesterday as the last residents in this Hizbollah stronghold searched for cover among the rubble and dust left where tower blocks stood the day before.
In between barrages the only sound was the tinkling of glass falling from bomb-damaged windows or the screech of wheels from a driver foolhardy enough to enter the warren of roads.
The Haret Hareik suburb is the heartland of Hizbollah, at the c... (more)
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Ahmadinejad: Zionist regime behaving like HitlerIran’s hard-line president slammed Israel for attacking Lebanon as the Iranian embassy in Beirut denied Israeli claims Saturday that Iranian troops had been sent in support of the Hizbullah guerrillas.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon showed that “The Zionist regime behaves like Hitler,” Iranian state television reported.
“The survival of this regime is not possible without oppression and aggre... (more)
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Eyewitnesses: IAF struck Syrian targets near Lebanon borderThe Israeli Air Force struck four targets in Jadidat Yabus near the Syrian-Lebanese border, eyewitnesses told the al-Mustakbal television network.
According to the report, the Air Force hit targets belonging to the Syrian army and located on Syrian territory. (Roee Nahmias)
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12 Egyptian Sailors Rescued to al-Bassel Hospital in Tartous, SyriaTartous, Syrian coast, July 15 (SANA) - Twelve Egyptian sailors have been rescued and taken to al-Bassel Hospital in the Syrian coastal city of Tartous on Saturday after their ship which was in offshore Beirut in the Lebanese international waters was fired at, set ablaze by an Israeli barge that was firing at random in all directions.
The Egyptian survivors said they sent a distress call via the satellites Friday night. They were rescued by two Syrian and Egyptian ships who were ... (more)
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Children die in convoy attack as Israel widens Lebanon assaultIsrael steeply escalated its military campaign against Hizbollah in Lebanon yesterday with a series of air strikes that left more than 35 civilians dead, including a single strike on a convoy of families fleeing the fighting in a village near Tyre in the south of the country that killed more than 20 people, most of them children.
The intensification of the conflict, in which Hizbollah fired missiles deep intoIsrael, came as international leaders appeared to be deeply split over ho... (more)
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25 Lebanese die in fresh Israeli raidsOne air strike killed at least 10 people in the coastal city of Tyre on Sunday evening. Another raid destroyed several houses near the Israeli border and killed at least 16 civilians.
The latest deaths mean that Israel's offensive against Hezbollah and Lebanon has killed at least 130 people since Wednesday.
Most of the civilian victims of today's attacks died when their homes were struck by Israeli bombs or missiles, Lebanese police said.
Escalation... (more)
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'Lebanon can be shut down for years'Lebanon can be "shut down for years, as long as necessary" a senior military official said over the weekend. He added that the goals of the Israeli blockade of Lebanon were, on a tactical level, to make sure that no rockets could be supplied to Hizbullah, and strategically, to make the government in Beirut take responsibility for its southern border.
The official said the blockade could be maintained "for as long as is necessary to remove the threat of missiles on the State of Isr... (more)
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UK defends strike on Afghan townBritish forces in Afghanistan have defended their decision to call in US planes to drop 500lb bombs on Taleban fighters in a town in Helmand province.
Witnesses say there were many civilian deaths and injuries but UK forces said there was no evidence of any.
Civilians in Nawzad told the BBC that aircraft dropped at least three bombs, destroying shops and a school.
British forces have been protecting the district government headquarters in Nawzad for a... (more)
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U.S. grants Israel green lightWASHINGTON Israel may need to prolong its offensive in Lebanon to further reduce the threat from Hezbollah, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday, as some Democrats called on her to travel to the region immediately to help defuse the crisis.
The effective U.S. green light to Israel appeared to leave the United States at odds with most of its allies, which have urged an immediate halt to Israel's retaliatory strikes in Lebanon, which follow a cross-border attack and cont... (more)
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Only the beginning, warns NasrallahThe leader of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has warned that the current confrontation with Israel was only the beginning.
"We will continue. We still have a lot more and we are just at the beginning," Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday in a taped address on Al-Manar television.
"We promise them surprises in (any) confrontation," he said a few hours after a Hezbollah rocket killed eight people in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
"We will use a... (more)
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Red Alert: Getting ReadyWe are now in the period preceding major conventional operations. Israel is in the process of sealing the Lebanese coast. They have disrupted Lebanese telecommunications, although they have not completely collapsed the structure. Israeli aircraft are attacking Hezbollah's infrastructure and road system. In the meantime, Hezbollah, aware it is going to be hit hard, is in a use-it or-lose-it scenario, firing what projectiles it can into Israel.
The Israeli strategy appears to be des... (more)
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Report: Israel gives Syria ultimatumThe London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Saturday that “Washington has information according to which Israel gave Damascus 72 hours to stop Hizbullah’s activity along the Lebanon-Israel border and bring about the release the two kidnapped IDF soldiers or it would launch an offensive with disastrous consequences.”
The report said “a senior Pentagon source warned that should the Arab world and international community fail in the efforts to... (more)
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Royal Navy ships head for LebanonDefence Secretary Des Browne has given orders for HMS Illustrious and HMS Bulwark to "make ready" for operations off Lebanon.
The pair will depart as soon as necessary, possibly within 24 hours.
No order for evacuating UK citizens has yet been given, but ministers and defence staff are considering a plan to evacuate those trapped in Lebanon.
It comes as Israel has stepped up its strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah militants seized two Israeli soldiers.... (more)
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Israel: Preparations for a Major Assault on LebanonSummary
After days of markedly increasing tensions between the Israeli government and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Israeli forces are preparing to launch a major assault against Lebanon to attempt to eradicate the militants.
Analysis
The Israel Defense Forces is preparing for a major, sustained assault into southern Lebanon to eliminate the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The assault will extend at least to the Litani River -- t... (more)
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Israeli shelling kills Palestinian in GazaA Palestinian has been killed by Israeli troops firing a tank shell at his truck in Gaza.
Palestinians said the truck took a wrong turn and ended up near Israeli forces in central Gaza early on Friday. A tank then fired a shell which hit the vehicle.
The driver escaped but a passenger was wounded and later died.
The Israeli military said the truck had been driven within 30 metres of an Israeli position and the driver had ignored orders to stop before ... (more)
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