Target: Lebanon

The Israelis have struck Beirut International Airport and imposed a naval blockade of Lebanon:

Israeli aircraft bombed Beirut International Airport on Thursday before blocking naval traffic in Lebanese waters as Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.

Israel Defense Forces said the aim of the naval blockade, announced at midday, was to "block the transfer of terrorists and weaponry."

Earlier, Israeli fighter jets bombed all three runways at Beirut's main airport -- located in the city's southern suburbs -- rendering them unusable, according to the IDF and a Lebanese aviation official. As a result, the airport was closed and flights were diverted to nearby Cyprus, the official said.

IDF said it targeted the airport because it serves as a central hub for the transfer for weapons and supplies to Hezbollah.

The IDF also struck Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station, but it wasn't knocked off the air. IsraellyCool is live-blogging operations in Lebanon and Gaza.

Damian P.

Update: Kesher Talk links to several Arab bloggers' thoughts on this brewing conflict.

I will support Israel in any war with Hezbollah, and if Lebanon was unwilling or unable to take action against an extremist militia which had carved out a fiefdom on Lebanese soil, Israel had to do something. But as Michael Totten's dispatches from Lebanon showed, that country has come a long way in recent years. It is distressing to see the country dragged back into war so soon.

Posted by damian at July 13, 2006 07:35 AM