Word: lebanon
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...Israel responded with the largest ground invasion into south Lebanon since its 2000 pullout. Dozens of targets in south Lebanon were hit, according to Col. Boaz Cohen, chief of operations for Israel's Northern Command. Targets included Hizballah positions, three to five bridges, "and more." Cohen declined to say what was included in the latter category...
...Olmert quickly labeled the attack an "act of war" and warned that not just Hizballah but all of Lebanon and its government - to which Hizballah belongs - would be held responsible. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called it an act of "unprovoked aggression" by a "terrorist organization, which is part of the Lebanese government." In a statement, she charged that Hizballah, Hamas, Syria and Iran represented "an axis of terror and hate," that "wants to end any hope for peace ... in these circumstances, Israel has no alternative but to defend itself and its citizens...
...Soon after the attack, Israeli artillery and fighter jets began striking targets in southern Lebanon, particularly Hizballah positions, and bridges and roads the abductors might use to move the soldiers away from the border. Planes flew over Beirut as well. By evening, however, it appeared that the soldiers had been either moved away from the border area or secreted away somewhere. "The prisoners have been moved to a safe area," Hizballah said in a statement, without further elaborating...
...Clearly, whatever Israel does to respond, time is of the essence. Golan says that if a campaign in Lebanon began to drag and people started thinking they were looking at a reprise of 1982 - or that they'd "been dragged into a trap by Hamas and Hizballah"- the current strong support could evaporate. Some opinion polls taken during the Gaza soldier kidnapping standoff, but before the Hizballah attack, had already shown that Israelis want the government to negotiate some sort of solution, releasing prisoners if need be, as it has done in the past. Olmert has vowed determination and perseverance...
...Cohen said the Lebanese government has asked for a cease-fire through UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon since the first Israeli withdrawal in 1978. "There will be none until we see our soldiers," Cohen said. He added that Beirut was included in the possible targets in addition to others around Lebanon, but declined to say whether the capital would be attacked. "You'll find out in a few days...