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Thursday, July 13, 2006

IAF bombs Beirut International Airport

When the IDF warned the Lebanese government that is was going to set its infrastructure back twenty years, one of the things they apparently had in mind was putting Beirut International Airport back into the bad old days of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90).

IAF fighter jets bombed runways at Beirut International Airport early this morning as part of a military campaign which it vowed would be harsh and quick against the Lebanese government and Hizbullah, which killed eight IDF soldiers and kidnapped two others along the northern border yesterday.

Al-Jazeera television network is reporting that 15 people were killed in the airstrike. I would take that report with a grain of salt. What were those people doing - lying down on the runways? The IAF didn't bomb the terminals, and the attack didn't take place at a busy time of day.

The IAF attack forced the closure of the airport and the diversion of two flights to Cyprus. Cyprus is quite close by. It's less than an hour's flight from Tel Aviv and is even closer to Beirut.

In an emergency cabinet meeting late yesterday, the Cabinet approved plans by the IDF to target the airport and other strategic infrastructures inside Lebanon including power plants. UN Human Rights Council coming to condemn the destruction of electric power plants in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Deja vu all over again as Yogi would say. (And no, New Yorkers, I hate the Yankees. I'm a Red Sox fan. I just happen to like the quote).

Earlier this morning, several Katyusha rockets, fired by Hizbullah from southern Lebanon, landed on the IDF base in Mount Meron. No one was wounded and no damage was reported. The base on Mount Meron is a big observation post because it is one of the highest points in the country.

In southern Lebanon, at least 22 civilians were reported killed in overnight Wednesday in IAF attacks, including a family of 12 in the village of Dweir, leading TV station LBC reported. Again, take it with a grain of salt. I would not put it past the Arabs to inflate casualty reports.

Overnight last night, the IAF struck a Hizbullah post and two bridges in southern Lebanon as the number of targets hit by the Airforce since fighting erupted after the kidnapping of two IDF soldiers, reached into the hundreds.

Meanwhile, Hizbullah shelled the Western Galilee with mortars. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.

Some of the information in this post came from the Jerusalem Post.


2 Comments:

At 8:07 AM, Blogger Lois Koenig said...

Carl,

You just have to love Yogi!I am a lonely Red Sox fan living about 10 miles from the home of the stinking Yankees. My husband is a Red Sox fan, too. Not bad for a Brooklynite!

The report from al-Jazz? Add another grain of salt. A new Pallywood production?

Lebanon and Syria both asked for it, and I only hope they get what they deserve.So far, they have barely had their wrists slapped.

 
At 2:07 PM, Blogger Red Tulips said...

I agree with NY Nana. This is barely a wrist slap. That said, I believe that Syria, not Lebanon, is really behind all the problems. Israel should be aiming for Damascas, not Beirut.

 

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