Friday, August 04, 2006

Latest update...

According to the Daily Star, Hizbullah's leader offered Thursday to stop pounding Israel's "northern settlements" if the Jewish state refrained from bombarding Lebanon's "cities and civilians." Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also issued a warning, however, in a televised speech: "Let my words be clear, any attack on Lebanon's capital, Beirut, will result in Hizbullah bombarding the Zionist entity's capital, Tel Aviv". In an almost immediate response aired on Israeli public television, a senior military official said Israel would destroy all of Lebanon's infrastructure if Tel Aviv were hit.

And so we woke up this morning with the news that between 7:30-8:00 AM new air raids were carried out on several bridges on the highway linking the north of Lebanon (and leading to Syria) with the rest of the Lebanese territory, amongst other places. This particular road was considered 'safe' up until this point and was used regularly including by myself. It was bombed right on time to catch morning traffic and to make the most number of casualties on innocent civilians going to work... the images on TV are depressing; a whole family was buried under one bridge, i don't even know if they are alive.

So really i don't get it. What sort of game is this? Is Israel trying deliberately to hurt its own people by further targeting Lebanese civilians? Or is this a muscles contest? Just because Hizballah said "spare us, we'll spare you" Israel needed to flex more muscles to tell Hizballah that it would not accept any compromise?

"We are ready to keep the whole thing restricted to a military fight with the Israeli Army," Nasrallah said, "on the ground, fighters to fighters." and what is Israel's response? Let us kill the highest number of civilians on a highway, on rush hour, in a region never targeted before, in a Christian area where there are no Hizballah fighters or supporters! This way, Hizballah is sure to bomb Tel Aviv and we will be 'compelled' to 'defend' ourselves by further destroying Lebanon.

Come on!! I do not believe in conspiracies but this is way too much BS.

Furthermore, and according to the Daily Star the fuel crisis has taken a dramatic turn for the worse when hospitals, among other public services, have announced that if the current situation continues, they may be forced to close within the next week to 10 days.

Can you imagine a hospital closing? and in these circumstances? Forget the wounded and the dead from the fightings, what about the sick? the chronically ill? people with cancer who need their chemotherapy, radiation, etc? people with diabetes, kidney problems, heart failures? My friend's father slipped into a coma last night, we still don't know the reason why and he was rushed to the hospital. He is in intensif care and she cannot even go to see him because she would have to take a bridge that was bombed this morning and which has a big hole in the midst of it. I wonder what would have happened if she decided to go to the hospital during rush hour? would she even be amongst us now? What would happen to her dad if the hospital closes? what would happen to all the patients? would they be sent home?

Unless the international community pressures Israel to allow the waiting tankers to come into Lebanon, the fuel shortage will undoubtedly add to the reasons for the rapidly increasing death toll.

Iran claims that this is their war: "This is our war," wrote Tehran's conservative Kayhan last week in reference to the ongoing battle between Hizbullah and Israel in Lebanon.

So take it to your country!! Why here? Why us? Why provocations on both sides? It is so clear that neither party wants this war to be over, neither party wants a ceasefire and the ultimate result will only be the elimination of one. Which one remains to be seen.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday the answer to the conflict in Lebanon was the "elimination of the Zionist regime," slamming Israel's "war against humanity."

But let us be realistic. This is suicide for Hizballah, Iran and Syria. We all know it and i am sure they know it as well. And the only victims here are my beloved Lebanon and its courageous and dignified people. We are suffering this war by proxy. So much more will happen before it is over... more destruction, more death, maybe famine and definitely diseases. The economy will take years to recover and construction under the best of circumstances will take at least 2 years provided all necessary funds are available.

Survive we did so many times before, and survive we will again.

On another note, a stranded 83 year old man, survived a 17-day ordeal without food or drink in Bint Jbeil as the fighting raged on around him. Unable to move due to an operation on his legs, Dabaja lay helpless in bed as Israeli ordnance pounded the area around his home. His servant escaped as the attacks intensified, leaving Dabaja some food near the bed, which lasted for just two days. The Red Cross and neighbours were unable to help him due to the constant bombing. He is currently recovering in the Rafik Hariri Public hospital and is suffering from severe dehydration and starvation, and had his legs operated on Wednesday as they had "turned blue and black" due to lack of movement, according to hospital officials.

But he survived.

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