Lebanon: The Current Israeli Aggression  · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

What are the bloggers saying about the current crisis between Lebanon and Israel? Here is a sample. Although it is not all inclusive, it can give an idea.
Jamal in his own way supports Hizbullah's right to act and sees that they are a strong foe that PM Olmert has to deal with:
Hezbollah acted unilaterally and they will get some criticism for it in Lebanon, especially for endangering the precious tourist season. However, regionally they got millions of admirers for being the only group in the world to do something about the rape of Gaza. Sure, Nasrallah insists today was all about Lebanon and Lebanese POWs, but who is he kidding.
It wasn't and there is no shame in that.
Olmert disagrees with me and thinks he should kill, burn 5 month-old-baby-terrorists, kill some more, and then face the inevitable negotiations.
At the end of the day Hezbollah proves they are strong, very strong actually, and Israel is not used to dealing with a strong foe.
Here too Jamal continues with what he sees should and will happen:
Olmert can choose to annihilate Hezbollah completely. That would involve a major regional war that I don't think Israel is ready for or that the world community would allow. So that leaves Olmert with the only the choice of when to stop the killing and start the negotiations. Do it today with 30 civillians dead already, or do it next week with 300 dead.
I'm afraid 300 might be the number closer to quenching his blood thirst.
This is what Lebanon.profile saw in Beirut today:
The Lebanese political establishment is in complete disarray. Political party leaders have no idea how to respond to this situation. Prime Minister Saniora is in triage mode. He's in constant communication with foreign leaders.
Life is going on as normal in Beirut, although a bit quieter than usual. I had a few meetings this morning, and am busy working, as usual. I plan on going to the gym later in the day, and then attending a party.
The power is on. The internet is working. The cellular lines are just fine. None of my calls are being dropped, domestically or internationally. Only one phone call I received from Syria was garbled by static.
I am sure the situation is similar anywhere north of Beirut: Metn, Kesrouwan, Coura, Tripoli, Bsherre, and Akkar.
The situation in Beirut's southern suburbs and Southern Lebanon is bad, but not atrocious. It doesn't come close to Israel's 1982 invasion in scale or lives lost. Electricity and phone lines are out, but friends from Saida and Nabatieh tell me their families are tense, but fine.
Moussa reporting on how he is struggling to find a safe place to put his family here.
Abu Kais posts on what he heard and vents his anger at Nasrallah and Israel here:
26 civilians have died so far in Lebanon, according to al-Jazeera. LBC is reporting that ten belonged to one family. My family told me over the telephone that they are completely cut off from Beirut. They live south of Beirut, and they could see the Israeli jets bomb the airport runway. More than 10 bridges have been reportedly destroyed. There are unconfirmed reports the tunnels that go through the airport were destroyed as well.
The Rafik Hariri International Airport is closed. Lebanon's only link to the world is now through… Syria. […]
YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED NASRALLAH.
NOW SHOW US WHAT YOU CAN DO.
SHOW US YOUR MIGHT.
USE THOSE ROCKETS.
LEBANON IS BEING DESTROYED AND ALL I CAN THINK OF IS YOUR FACE:
DAMN YOU.
AS FOR THE ISRAELI COWARDS, GO FLEX YOUR MUSCLES IN DAMASCUS AND TEHRAN. COWARDS.
Anarchistian stayed up late and wrote this at 1 AM in the morning:
It’s 1 am here. I’ve been keeping my ears open for any sounds of jets, and checking Israeli media while writing this. The latest reports (from local media) say that the IAF targeted a bridge in the coastal town of Damour close to Beirut, which cut off phone lines in some areas. Many injuries have been reported in the various strikes, including a hit on an ambulance and the injury of a number of reporters from NewTV and Al-Manar TV (VIEW AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION).
What is next, then? And where does this all end? And if these Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners are merely “security prisoners”, how come their incarceration is creating more insecurity? What are the implications? Should Israel turn the entire Middle East into one big prison and have “peace” its own way? Will that be real peace? Will Israelis go to bed with a clear, happy conscience, that they and their loved ones are safe, for many decades to come, while others’ children rot in prisons and camps, deprived of the most basic resources, water, food, health care. Will that put an end to this seemingly never-ending Israeli whining about how they are the weak, poor, oppressed, victimized, patient observers, David facing off Goliath? Or will there be more? More claims, more refugees (this time from refugee camps), to make way for Treppenwitzes? All this, and not once did I defend HezbAllah’s actions. Why should I? I don’t think it was justified, even if it was a smart, well-planned, effective strategy. If only the same could be said for our neighbours to the south.
Dove’s Eye View reflects:
For those of you concerned about the personal safety of my relatives, even the airport bombing is still not a direct hit. Remember, the Lebanese have taken this before. My mother's plane circled Beirut airport for an hour while Israel bombed Beirut in 1996. I am concerned for Lebanon. I am saddened at the news of the dawn raids (July 13) that killed  27 civilians, including  twelve members of a family in a village in the far South. I am not yet concerned for my relatives. Let us be ugly and frank about ethnicity here: my village is Christian. The Israelis have had its coordinates for over a generation. They have never before bombed Christian Lebanese so I am not yet frightened. I am disgusted and bitter but I am not frightened for my own family. Yet.
I am sorry for the Lebanese families who grieve today. Don't ask me to say anything about anybody else right now, I am a flawed, selfish woman and my heart has only so much room this evening.
Finally, for now, a call for peace from Bob:
While shells are falling a few miles away from my home, I cannot but remember this afternoon, while I was driving back home from Beirut Hezbollah sympathizer where offering passerby cookies and candies!
While my ear rings from the sound of explosions I cannot but see the firecrackers Hezbollah sympathizer where launching this afternoon rejoicing in their “great victory”
And tomorrow when I will see the bridge linking my home town of Saida to Beirut, I will only say from the bottom of my heart: Enough! Enough wars, death and destruction! Curse you Hezbollah to hell and back! For all this destruction, for all this death! No it is not Israel fault! It is your own! Curse you!
We cannot continue on this path! People build and teach and try to live peacfully, while others think only of death, destruction and war… the time has come to stand and say one word: PEACE
I want peace with Israel! NOW! I do not care for your ideologies, or your lines drawn on maps! For your religions! For anything! PEACE NOW!
Mustapha reminds everybody of the uselessness of the measures that Israel is taking against Lebanon to free its soldiers:
The Israeli Navy is imposing a maritime blockade alongside the entire Lebanese shores. This will add to the de-facto air blockade that resulted from bombing the airport. Just to be clear, the blockade is NOT intended to prevent the smuggling of the two Israeli soldiers by sea. Had Hezbollah wanted to smuggle the soldiers outside of Lebanon, the easiest way would be to do it through the more-than-happy-to-help Syria.
The blockade has one clear purpose: To make life miserable for the Lebanese in order to exert pressure on Hezbollah.[…]
Will the plan work?
No it won’t. Israel constantly underestimates the bonds common misery can create. They are using the wrong channels and are needlessly starving an entire nation and making it angrier.
Vox writes a post with a title that calls Israel to send its message directly to Iran/Syria instead of bombing Lebanon.
Lazarus send a letter to Nassrullah and to Olmert. In his letter to Olmert he says:
Dear Ehud,
Are you reading through some of Sharon's notes? I wonder if back home you are saluted for your bravery and courage. If you are looked at as the protector of Israel. If they even know what you are doing in Lebanon. I hope you die a gruesome death, in the same way those children were burnt today.
Turn around. Withdraw your planes. Sail your ships away. Go back to Israel.
What type of retaliation is this? We want exactly what Israeli's seem to claim: security and peace, yet you make it such that peace and security seem impossible to have with Israel as a neighbor. Is this procedure part of becoming a man – a rite of passage – back home for you? Killing Lebanese? Burning children alive? If so, then Sharon must be a great man. Peres must be great as well. As is Netanyahu.
And more from Anarchistian in this lengthy post on what is going on:
This new, very ugly, very dirty face of Israel will engulf the region in flames. I have been glued in front of my computer and the TV, watching scenes of raids. I must stop watching. It is quite depressing. Children massacred, entire residential buildings leveled. I captured some shots from TV with my digital camera, a man carrying a dead 10-month-old baby in a blanket, headless bodies, a dead little girl being show to the cameras, Qana all over again.
Finally (for now) Haitham warns that Israel's aggression will not go without a high price for the Israelis:
Hezbollah is not what Israel new six years ago. Sayed Hassan Nasrallah yesterday warned Israel of ‘big surprises’, and today he showed Israel some of these. Hezbollah now uses rockets that reached more than 30 km inside the northern of Israel and Hezbollah said that next target will be the City of Haifa. If this happens, this will be a disaster for Israelis.
Guys, this is not Gaza, and this is not the poor Palestinian resistance you are dealing with here. Hezbollah is well equipped and supported. So, if you think this game will end up soon, you are mistaken. Read back the history of resistance in Southern Lebanon and you will know what I’m talking about.
O’ Israel, play the music of your tanks, Lebanon will dance the Debke!