Liveblogging the War: Thursday July 20th

The big news overnight is that the IAF dropped 23 tons of bombs on a bunker thought to contain senior Hizbullah leaders. This action was taken after Israel received credible intelligence that Hizbullah leaders – Nasrallah included – were staying in the bunker. Hizbullah were quick to issue a statement that no leaders were in the building, which, they claimed, was not a bunker at all.

“The truth is that the building targeted by the enemy warplanes with 23 tons of explosives is just a building under construction to be a mosque for prayers,” said the statement, issued on the group’s Al-Manar TV and faxed to The Associated Press.

 

“It seems that the enemy wants to cover up its military and security failures with lies and claims of imaginary achievements,” it said.

“I can assure you that we know exactly what we hit. … This was no religious site. This was indeed the headquarters of the Hizbullah leadership.”

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

Friday updates here.

12:53AM: Sorry to leave it there, but I am exhausted. Will post again tomorrow.

12:49AM: The helicopter crash is being reported on this Israeli site (Hebrew site).

12:45AM: From this Ha’aretz report, it would seem that 2 soldiers were killed this afternoon. Which means the chopper crash – still unreported on the Israeli English news sites – would have claimed the lives of another 2 soldiers.

12:42AM: Now Fox News are reporting that 2 soldiers have been killed in a chopper crash. At the same time, Ynet reports that 2 soldiers have been killed “in exchanges of fire with Hizbullah”, with no reference to the chopper. So I am not sure whether these are one or more incidents.

12:08AM: Sky News are reporting that an Israeli military chopper has gone down north of Kiryat Shmona.

11:55PM: Nasrallah also claimed, in the Al Jazeera interview, that Israel has not wiped out 50% of Hizbullah’s capabilities.

11:50PM: Comment from Jamal, against whom I debated on Sky News an hour ago

Hi Dave, Since I didn’t have time to do it on air; Just wanted to say good debate. Well mini debate.

Here’s to open communications and peaceful conflict resolution between our people.

Cheers

Jamal

I second that, Jamal.

11:22PM: Or maybe not: It seems like the SOB referred to today’s bombing in the interview. 

11:20PM: Al Jazeera have apparently broadcast an interview with Hizbullah leader Nasrallah, who has promised “additional surprises.”

Does this mean he is alive? I am not sure. I have not seen the interview, but assuming it is authentic, it could have been prerecorded.

11:10PM: I just appeared on Sky News with Lebanese blogger Jamal. I think it went well, and I got across some of the main points I set out to, but I felt the interviewer asked skewed questions (I even told him so in one of my responses!).

10:30PM: Al Jazeera are reporting that 4 IDF soldiers have been killed in a gun battle with Hizbullah fighters on the Lebanese border. The Israeli news is not reporting this (Ha’aretz report that 4 soldiers have been lightly hurt). Probably because it didn’t happen.

10:10PM: Wedded blitz.

Israeli couple Shlomi Bouskila (L) and Maya Lougasi (R) step down to a bomb shelter during their wedding ceremony in the town of Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel July 20, 2006.

9:55PM: The US House of Representatives has voted 410-8 to support Israel and to condemn our enemies. Notably, at least 3 lawmakers of Lebanese descent voted in favor of the resolution.

9:25PM: Here is a statement from the Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council:

We, the undersigned, representatives of the six Canadian Lebanese organizations that are listed below, extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Canadian government, represented by Prime Minister Mr. Stephen Harper and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Peter MacKay, for the correct, just and prompt positions they have taken with regard to Lebanon and the unfortunate military confrontations that are occurring on its soil as a result of the reckless hostile actions of the Hezbollah group that violate the will of the Lebanese people and the decisions and authority of the legitimate government of Lebanon.  The actions and conduct of Hezbollah are extremely harmful to the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese people, and obstruct progress of the peace process in Lebanon specifically, and in the Middle East in general. 

We also thank the government for its wise and effective efforts with respect to its handling of all measures for the evacuation of Canadian citizens from Lebanon, the safeguard of their security, and their safe return to Canada.

We call on the Canadian government to continue its interventions through the United Nations and the Security Council to secure an immediate truce in Lebanon based on UN Resolution 1559, which explicitly calls for the disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border with Israel, and the extension of the authority of the Lebanese government over all Lebanese territory. 

I think it speaks for itself.

9:15PM: Still no word from Nasrallah. I’m thinking he’s worm food, but time will tell.

9:08PM: More than 40 Katushas have been fired at Israel so far today.

9:05PM: RPG (Rocket Propelled Gran): I saw this photo of an armed palestinian woman from the Popular Resistance Committees movement on Michelle Malkin’s blog:

I can’t relate to this depravity. I would expect her to be struggling to take out her teeth, not innocent people.

8:50PM: Do you recall Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s statements from an interview with an Italian newspaper? Allow me to remind you:

Hizbullah has created a “state within a state” in

Lebanon and must be disarmed, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said

in an interview published Thursday in an Italian daily.

 

Saniora told Milan-based newspaper Corriere della

Sera that the Shi’ite group has been doing the bidding of Syria and

Iran, and that it can only be disarmed with the help of the

international community and once a cease-fire has been achieved in the

current Middle East fighting.

 

“It’s not a mystery that Hizbullah answers to the

political agendas of Teheran and Damascus,” Saniora was quoted as

saying by Corriere. “The entire world must help us disarm Hizbullah.

But first we need to reach a cease-fire.”

Well, now Saniroa is backtracking, invoking the tried and tested “mistranslation” defense.

The office of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Thursday denied a report in the Milan-based daily “Corriere della Sera” that he called for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Siniora’s office said in a statement that his words were distorted in translation from Italian to English.

“What the prime minister said is that the international community has not given the Lebanese government an opportunity to deal with the problem of Hezbollah`s arms, since the continuing presence of the Israeli occupation of Shebaa Farms is the reason for the weapons’ location.”

The statement continued, “the international community needs to assist us in persuading Israel to withdraw from Shebaa so that we can deal with the problem of Hezbollah`s arms.”

In other words, “We can’t deal with Hizbullah’s arms since Israel is occupying the Shebaa farms” was mistranslated from Italian to English as “We need to disarm Hizbullah, which is doing the bidding of  Syria and

Iran.”

Right.

By the way, the international community recognizes that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon fully complied with UN resolution 1559, and that Israel is not occupying any part of Lebanon.

8:42PM: Looks like Hizbullah kidnapped 2 British journalists, and then released them.

8:38PM: I am scheduled to appear on Sky News, 10:45PM Israel time. At this stage, the plan is to have me debate some Hizbullah-supporting blogger. Should be interesting to say the least.

The Lebanese Minister of Defense warned Israel Thursday that if IDF ground forces are sent into southern Lebanon, Lebanese troops will fight along with the Hizbullah against Israel.

Israel’s envoy to Spain said on Thursday the two countries’ relations had been damaged after the Spanish prime minister accused Israel of using “abusive force” during an event at which he also wore a Palestinian scarf.

Speaking to Haaretz about the current crisis in Lebanon, Peres said: “Nobody has managed to isolate the Arab issue and destroy Lebanon like he has. He will continue, and there is no one to stop him.”

 

Nasrallah has “made skeletons of the Arab world, and made it a laughing stock,” Peres added.

Peres ventured that Iran was behind the Hezbollah attack last Wednesday that instigated the crisis. He pointed to the timing of the attack on an Israel Defense Forces patrol in which two soldiers were kidnapped, noting that it came just a day after Tehran’s reply to the demands made of it regarding its nuclear program.

 

According to Peres, the crisis has escalated because under the current international circumstances, nobody has influence over Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas – not the United States, not Russia, not the United Nations, not the Europeans and not the Arab League, “and the only country with guts is Israel.”

 

Peres said such a political situation was new, and that question now was how to make use of it. He believes that the fighting should continue while simultaneously conducting a diplomatic process.

Listened to an interesting audio blog post from Stuart Hughes, a journalist for the Beeb who is in Beirut now, covering the war. He woke up to find a larger-than-normal SUV in his hotel parking lot:

A new arrival in the parking lot next, to my hotel, in the form of a Lebanese Army rocket launcher, I came out to work this morning to find a camouflaged rocket launcher sitting in the car park, pointing at the sky, and I thought “Well, that wasn’t there yesterday”. I think that tells you everything you need to know about the situation here.

Whether or not the launcher is Lebanese army or Hezbollah (no pictures to tell the difference, and it might be a loaner to Hezbollah or perhaps simply stolen) — the fact that it’s parked next to a hotel housing journalists speaks volumes about the kinds of tactics used to ensure civilian casualties.

 

What, precisely, is Israel supposed to do? Sit back and let the rockets be launched? Attack the missile battery, and risk hitting a hotel full of journalists? I’m sure this launcher is positioned next to journalists for all of the cynical reasons I can imagine.

 

Also consider: unless Israel uses a large enough explosive charge to ignite the warhead in place and destroy the missiles without igniting their propulsion element, the damage will be even greater as the missile fuel ignites and the rockets launch. Short of sending somebody down there to manually disarm the missiles, it’s actually worse to underuse munitions in destroying these missiles.

The pictures that we see on television from the Middle East are in many ways not much different from pictures we regularly see from around the world.

 

And young people in particular must wonder what kind of world it is that we have brought them into.

 

And there are many diggers who would believe that they laid down their lives so that there would be an end to all of this.

 

And yet, this new war on terrorism is perhaps more insidious than anything we’ve ever known.

 

After all, once upon a time, you pointed to a spot on the map and in war time, could geographically identify the enemy.

 

Now, sadly, you may be working with such a person.

 

Where those are, who support such militant Islamic behaviour, no-one can be sure.

 

One headline today says, “Israel vows to finish the job”.

 

And rightly so, we may ask what job.

 

Well, the growth of fundamentalist and militant Islamic movements is a threat to all of us.

 

Hezbollah is an outfit, militant in the extreme.

 

We’re living in dreamland if we don’t understand, via this ghastly behaviour, that they don’t just oppose Israel but the West as well.

 

They are not just about eliminating Israel, but anyone who gets in their way.

 

And so while Lebanon is geographically the centre, the government of Lebanon, embracing democracy, can do nothing about them on their own.

 

Remember prior to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon being struck down with illness, he formed a new party in Israel with the purpose of creating a sovereign Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza.

 

But perhaps, Hezbollah saw this as weakness.

 

They then launched this unprovoked attack on Israel, violated Israel’s northern border.

 

Attacked two Israeli defence force armoured jeeps patrolling the border with Lebanon.

 

Killed 3 soldiers.

 

Kidnapped two others.

 

Blew up an Israeli tank.

 

Killed all 4 of the tank crew.

 

And an 8th soldier was killed trying to retrieve the bodies of that crew.

 

No wonder George Bush, with his microphone on the other day, was heard to say to Tony Blair, “What they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it’s all over”.

 

Well it won’t be all over until as the headline today says, “The job is finished”.

 

There is a UN security council resolution 1559 which calls for Hezbollah to be disbanded and kicked out of Lebanon.

 

So if the UN, in its usual form, and the world community, not far behind, are unwilling to enforce that directive; and if the Lebanese government can’t then it’s left to Israel to take up the job.

 

Today, we’re told that they have destroyed half of Hezbollah’s military capacity.

 

Israel have publicly acknowledged that this is an “Intensive war against Hezbollah”.

 

And there is no time limit.

 

But, it’s a measure of the high stakes involved when the Iranian President on Tuesday, speaking of the Hezbollah attacks claimed “The day of happiness for the region is near, the world is on the verge of great changes” and he accused Israel of “Playing with fire”.

 

Israel is doing what any sovereign state would do.

 

Protecting its right to existence by removing one of the dangers to that existence.

 

But on this occasion, the world should understand that such danger may be as close to us as it is to Israel.

 

That unfortunately, is the new world order.

Hizbullah has created a “state within a state” in Lebanon and must be disarmed, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said in an interview published Thursday in an Italian daily.

 

Saniora told Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera that the Shi’ite group has been doing the bidding of Syria and Iran, and that it can only be disarmed with the help of the international community and once a cease-fire has been achieved in the current Middle East fighting.

 

“It’s not a mystery that Hizbullah answers to the political agendas of Teheran and Damascus,” Saniora was quoted as saying by Corriere. “The entire world must help us disarm Hizbullah. But first we need to reach a cease-fire.”