Conflict..

Israeli forces kill Nablus leader of Al Aqsa Brigades and injure five more Palestinians Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 In the daily invasion of Nablus, Israeli forces killed Fadi Kafisha at dawn Thursday. The 27 year old was the Nablus leader of Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed resistance wing affiliated with the Fateh party. An Al Aqsa spokesperson condemned the killing and threatened reprisal. Director of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees in Nablus, Dr. Ghassan Hamdan, told PNN that Israeli forces opened fire on paramedics attempting to transport the injured, and Kafisha’s body, to the hospital. Local sources report that Israeli special forces raided the Qaryoun neighborhood in the city center after overtaking parts of the Old City for military installations. Eyewitnesses said that the armed resistance became involved in the heart of neighborhood where Kafisha was killed. more.. 100 Palestinians from Hebron arrested during month of August Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 Official sources at the Palestinian Prisoner Society in Hebron reported Thursday that Israeli forces took nine Palestinians from the southern West Bank district to unknown locations early this morning. Today’s raids began south of Hebron City and moved northeast. South of the city Israeli forces invaded the town of Al Thaheriya and arrested five people as reported by the Prisoner Society. Two brothers and their families were hit hard this morning. Twenty-nine and 23 year old Amjad and Iyad Sharif Waredah, 24 year old Mohammad Arif Waredah, 34 year old Mahmoud Awad Waredah and 25 year old Anwar Ezzat Waredah were all residents of Al Thaheriya and are now in unknown locales. more.. Israeli forces leave Ash-Shuja'iyyah destroyed Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Gaza -- Women stand before the ruins of their houses. Children play in the ruins hoping to find anything they can use at the beginning of the school year. Others begin their day by checking up on each other now that the Israeli tanks have withdrawn from the Ash-Shuja'iyyah neighbourhood of Gaza City after six days of destruction. The Israeli military tanks have left behind a wave of death and destruction: at least 21 Palestinians were killed and more than 80 were injured. Ash-Shuja'iyyah looks like a hurricane has struck it. A Palestinian who was checking on his damaged house said, "We were woken up at 11pm to find an Israeli bulldozer in front of the door. Soldiers headed to us and tied up all the men, including my father who is an old man.... when we came back home, we discovered that everything was gone including the houses and farms. " more.. Police capture armed Palestinian seeking asylum in U.K. embassy Ha'aretz 9/1/2006 Police special forces stormed the British Embassy in Tel Aviv late on Thursday evening and captured a Palestinian man who had been holed up inside for eight hours, claiming to have a gun and demanding political asylum. No one was injured. Police said the forces seized and disarmed the man after he laid down his pistol for a second to eat food that they had given to him. After the arrest, the authorities discovered that the weapon was plastic, the police said in a statement..... Nadim Injaz, 28, a resident of Ramallah and former police informant, burst into the embassy by jumping a fence at 2:30 P. M. In a dramatic interview on live television on Thursday evening, he said that he would rather die than return to the West Bank, where he feared Palestinian militants would kill him due to what he claimed was his cooperation with Israel's security services. more.. Palestinian woman injured by US-troops fire in Iraq International Middle East Media Center 9/1/2006 The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported on Thursday that a Palestinian refugee was shot and injured by American troops fire in Iraq. The woman was shot as she was leaving her home in the Palestinian area in Al Dawra area located in the souther district of Baghdad. WAFA stated that the woman, was shot by sniper-fire and was transferred to a nearby hospital. Her Husband, Ibrahim Ahmad Al Hawwy, 45, said that she is originally from Ein Ghazal, one of the Palestinian villages that were completely destroyed by Israel in 1948, near Haifa. The attack is part of a series of attacks against Palestinian refugees in Iraq, the attacks were mainly carried by groups that started targeting the Palestinian refugees in Iraq after warning them to leave the country of face death. 661 attacks were carried against the Palestinian refugees in Iraq... more.. Army invades Annin and Jalkamos villages near Jenin and takes two prisoners International Middle East Media Center 8/31/2006 The Israeli army invaded the villages of Annin and Jalkamos near the West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday morning, and took two residents as prisoners. Eyewitnesses in the two villages said Soldiers stormed residents' houses in both villages searched them and ransacked them before taking Harbi Yassin, 19 from Annin, and Ala Abu Jaber, 21 from Jalkamos prisoners and transfering them to unknown location. [end] more.. 72 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in August, 190 were injured, 220 were arrested Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Nablus -- Nablus - Ma'an – 52 Palestinian men were killed by the Israeli army in August 2006. 6 Palestinian women were killed. 14 Palestinian children were killed. These are just some of the findings revealed in the monthly report compiled by the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). In addition, 190 Palestinians were injured during this period, including 62 children and women, the report says. The Israeli forces arrested 220 Palestinians in August, including 10 women. 61 Palestinian houses were destroyed, 46 completely. 15 houses were taken over as military posts. More than 500 olive trees were burned down and 2293 hectares of Palestinian land were confiscated for the enlargement of the illegal Israeli settlements and the illegal separation wall. more.. Three Palestinians arrested in morning raids in the West Bank Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Jenin -- Ma'an - Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians in early morning raids in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. According to eyewitnesses, five Israeli military vehicles raided 'Anin, a village west of Jenin in the very north of the West Bank, and arrested Harbi Yassin, 20, after searching his house. Israeli troops also invaded Jalqamus, a village southeast of Jenin, and arrested Ala'a Abu Jabir, 20. Israeli troops also raided the villages of Arraba, Kafr Ra'i and Fahma southwest of Jenin and fired at residents' houses. Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli forces set up a number of temporary military barriers at the entrance to these three towns where they inspected passing vehicles and checked the citizens' ID's. more.. Faction leader killed by masked gunmen in northern Gaza Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Gaza -- Gaza - Ma'an – The head of a Palestinian faction in the Gaza Strip was killed by masked gunmen on Thursday morning, Palestinian security sources have reported. The sources said that masked gunmen assassinated Ra'ed Nahhal, the leader of the Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in the north of the Gaza Strip early on Thursday. The sources reported that the masked men opened fire at Nahhal in the Ash Shati refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, killing him instantly. Nakhal was reported to have been driving through the streets of Gaza City with his wife when masked gunman opened intense fire on him. The gunmen fired 15 bullets into him, killing him immediately. His wife escaped uninjured. more.. Unidentified gunmen kidnap a Palestinian citizen in Khan Younis Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Khan Younis -- Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Palestinian citizen in the centre of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning and took him to un unknown destination. Eyewitnesses told Ma'an that a number of armed men broke into a laboratory on Al Lahham Street in the city centre amid heavy gunfire and abducted Osama Shahwan. A media source in the executive forces, the Palestinian interior ministry's security forces, said that the armed kidnappers came from the Al Masri family. The source said that this kidnapping followed the accidental killing of one of the Al Masri family members at the hands of the executive force a few days ago. The source explained that Shahwan, the abducted man, is a relative of the commander of the executive forces in Khan Younis. more.. Al-Quds Brigades launch eight projectiles at Sderot; 4 Israelis suffer shock Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Jenin – Ma'an – The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed group of Islamic Jihad, have claimed responsibility for launching eight home-made, advanced 'Quds-3' projectiles at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. In a statement, the Brigades said that the Israeli authorities admitted that four Israelis suffered shock and that many cars were damaged. The Brigades affirmed that the operation marks the first retaliatory attack for the assassination of its West Bank leader, Husam Jaradat, and confirmed that they will continue to retaliate for the Israel massacres committed in the eastern Gaza neighbourhood of Ash-Shuja'iyyah. [end] more.. At least 3 Qassams hit Sderot area, one structure burns Ha'aretz 8/31/2006 Palestinian gunners in the Gaza Strip fired at least three Qassam rockets into the area of the western Negev town of Sderot early Thursday. As many as five rockets may have been fired in the salvo, two of them exploding inside the town, Israel Radio reported. It said two people were treated for anxiety after the rockets landed. One of the rockets hit a shed next to a house. The shed caught fire, the report said. [end] more.. Leaflets dropped on northern Gaza blame resistance Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 The Israeli military is holding the armed Palestinian resistance responsible for Israeli attacks and closures. Eyewitnesses report that Israeli aircraft dropped tens of thousands of leaflets on the northern Gaza Strip blaming the resistance for pedestrian and commercial crossings closures, including Rafah’s southern border with Egypt. Residents said Thursday that the leaflets were printed in Arabic using inflammatory language and outrageous accusations. According to the Israeli publication members of the resistance are “terrorists,” using their communities as “hostages in their hands. ”The leaflet continued to read, “The IDF crossings are a vital and important lifeline provided to you and the IDF spared no effort to open additional crossings for the convenience of the population... " more.. Israeli police detains a Palestinian in the Jordan valley International Middle East Media Center 8/31/2006 Israeli police stationed at Tayasser checkpoint east of the West Bank city of Tubas in the Jordan valley area have taken on Palestinian as a prisoner Thursday afternoon. Eyewitnesses said Israeli police officers stopped the man searched him then handcuffed him and took him to unknown location. The reason for the arrest and the name of the arrestee remain unknown. [end] more.. Previously unknown group, the "Syrian National Resistance", threaten to kidnap Israeli soldiers Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Bethlehem -- A group calling itself the "Syrian National Resistance" have threatened to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to exchange them with 16 Syrian citizens who the Israeli forces took prisoner in the occupied Golan Heights twenty years ago. In a statement, the previously unknown group praised the victory of the Lebanese resistance, Hezbollah, against Israel. [end] more.. West Bank mayor injured in car crash at Huwwara checkpoint Ma'an News 8/31/2006 Nablus – Ma'an -- Nablus – Ma'an - The mayor of Al Lubban, a village between Nablus and Ramallah in the northern West Bank, and two of his companions were injured during a car crash with an Israeli settler's car at Huwwara checkpoint south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses told Ma'an that Ziad Moussa, 40, was driving his car with two of his companions when a settler's truck surprised them and crashed into them. Mr. Moussa was injured in the accident and transferred to the Arabic Hospital in Nablus. Medical sources said that his injury is "light" and his two companions were "averagely" injured. [end] more.. Pre-war Beirut wins high honor from travel magazine The Daily Star 9/1/2006 BEIRUT: To be filed away under "oh so bitterly ironic," the globetrotting lifestyle magazine Travel + Leisure has published its annual list of the world's 10 best cities - and Beirut clocks in at number nine. The list is based on a survey of 23,000 readers who evaluate some 500,000 hotels, resorts, cruise lines, travel agencies, airlines and more for a round of specialized awards, which serve to buttress the best city awards. This is the first time Beirut has made the cut, though obviously the magazine went to print before the bombs started falling on fabulous destination number nine. The nod from Travel + Leisure comes late in the game of glossy magazines rediscovering Beirut after the end of Lebanon's Civil War. more.. Israeli troops begin Gaza pullout AlJazeera 8/31/2006 Israeli soldiers have begun withdrawing from the outskirts of Gaza City, following a five-day operation to uncover tunnels and explosives in which 18 Palestinians were killed. The Israeli army said on Thursday that the soldiers were withdrawing from Shijaya district, which it first raided late on Saturday. Palestinian emergency officials said the Israeli soldiers killed a total of 18 Palestinians in air strikes and gun battles. The Israeli army also released footage and photos of what it described as a tunnel dug by Palestinian armed groups from Shijaya to the Karni crossing, the main cargo crossing between Gaza and Israel. The army said the tunnel, which was 13m deep and 150m long and was reinforced with wooden beams, was to be used for an attack on Israeli soldiers at the crossing. more.. Maps - West Bank separation barrier and Gaza - July 2006 ReliefWeb/Foundation for Middle East Peace 8/31/2006 * Type: Complex Emergency; Natural Disaster; Reference - Political * Keyword(s): Access; Population and Demographics* Format: PDF *, 464k -- Latest maps: Occupied Palestinian Territory: 30 Aug 2006 Compromising Palestinian Jerusalem - The Adumim Bloc (PDF, 394k) / 30 Aug 2006 West Bank separation barrier - July 2006 (PDF, 464k) / 30 Aug 2006 Metropolitan Jerusalem - August 2006 (PDF, 603k) / 30 Aug 2006 Israeli settlement in and around the old city of Jerusalem - August 2006 (PDF, 570k) / 25 Aug 2006 FMEP Israeli disengagement options - February 2005 (PDF, 289k) / Occupied Palestinian Territory: West Bank Closure - Bethlehem - Jun 2006 (PDF, 1. 42mb) / 20 Jul 2006 UNRWA area of operations - 2005 (PDF, 493k) / 14 Jul 2006 OCHA Gaza: Access & closure situation report map - Apr 2005 (PDF, 380k)... more.. Israeli forces kill nine Palestinians in eastern Gaza City Wednesday Palestine News Network 8/30/2006 In another day in the ongoing spate of attacks on the eastern Gaza City Al Shajaiyeh neighborhood, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians. Among them are three members of the armed resistance wing of Fateh, Al Aqsa Brigades, one from Saraya Al Quds, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad, and another from Al Qassam Brigades, the armed resistance wing of Hamas. Israeli forces also killed four Palestinian citizens, including three children: 12 year old Hussam Al Sersawi, 14 year old Nidal Dahdouh and 15 year old Khalid Abu Suleiman; and 30 year old Iyad Al Sersawi. Since Sunday, Israeli forces have killed 20 people. Tens more people are injured as the Israeli military remains in the Al Muntar area. This morning Israeli forces fired a tank shell, killing three Palestinians.... more.. Israeli forces kill Nablus head of Al Aqsa Brigades and injure five more Palestinians Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 In the daily invasion of Nablus, Israeli forces killed Fadi Kafisha at dawn Thursday. The 27 year old was the Nablus head of Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed resistance wing affiliated with the Fateh party. An Al Aqsa spokesperson condemned the killing and threatened reprisal. Local sources report that Israeli special forces raided the Qaryoun neighborhood in the city center after overtaking parts of the Old City for military installations. Eyewitnesses said that the armed resistance became involved in the heart of neighborhood where Kafisha was killed. The Director of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, Dr. Ghassan Hamdan, said Kafisha’s body had numerous bullet holes throughout. Israeli forces also injured five Palestinians. more.. Israeli forces withdraw from eastern Gaza City leaving behind 20 dead, 40 injured and 100s scarred Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 Israeli forces withdrew from eastern Gaza City’s Al Shajaiyeh neighborhood through the Al Muntar (Karni) Commercial Crossing Thursday. Using war planes, helicopters, tanks and snipers, Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians, injured at least 40, and trapped hundreds inside their homes during a four day attack. Families who could not leave reported severe food shortages. However no gas could get through for cooking as the area was closed. But the most desperate for Al Shajaiyeh families, as reported by Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, was for milk for the children. Israeli soldiers forced some families to leave their homes, demolishing a few of them and using others as military installations. The assault began pre-dawn Sunday. more.. 4 Israelis beat IDF soldier, break through West Bank checkpoint Ha'aretz 8/30/2006 Four Israelis were arrested Wednesday after attacking an Israel Defense Forces soldier and breaking through a West Bank checkpoint in an effort to reach the area of the evacuated Sa-Nur settlement. The men were arrested after soldiers fired warning shots in the air. The four, ranging in age from 19-27, include two former Sa-Nur residents, reached the checkpoint and told told the soldiers that they want to visit the former settlement of Sa-Nur. Since the evacuation of the settlement as part of the disengagement plan last summer, the former settlement was designated by GOC Central Command as a closed military zone. After the troops informed the men that they could not pass the checkpoint, they got out of their cars, beat one of the soldiers, and continued driving. Only after soldiers fired in the air did the men stop. more.. Faction leader, who survived an assassination attempt last week, dies in a Jordanian hospital of his wounds Ma'an News 8/30/2006 Jenin – Gaza -- Jenin – Gaza- Ma'an – The West Bank leader of the Al Quds Brigades has died in a Jordanian hospital after five days of treatment following an Israeli assassination attempt in Jenin refugee camp last week. Hussam Jaradat, 43, was seriously injured when Israeli soldiers attempted to assassinate him in Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank. Jaradat, who is considered to be the West Bank leader of the Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, was transported to Jordan for treatment. He died of his wounds. Mahmoud As Sadi, an Islamic Jihad leader, told Ma'an that Israel created many obstacles to hinder the transfer of Jaradat to Jordan for treatment. As Sadi said that this caused delays in Jaradat's admission to hospital. more.. Israeli forces break into two Palestinian towns near Jenin Ma'an News 8/30/2006 Jenin - Ma'an – Israeli forces broke into the office of detained Palestinian Legislative Council member (Hamas) Ibrahim Dahbor in the West Bank town of Arraba. Governmental and non-governmental institutions in Arraba, south west of Jenin, denounced the raid. The same Israeli force broke into the town of Fahma, southwest of Arraba and destroyed a printing press, machines and other equipment. [end] more.. IDF exposes tunnel near Gaza YNet News 8/30/2006 Palestinian plans to carry out "terror" attack in Karni crossing area foiled by IDF troops -- The Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet foiled a "terror" attack in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the army said Wednesday. Troops located and destroyed a tunnel in the Sajjaiyeh area of northern Gaza which was dug in the direction of the Karni crossing where "terrorists" had planned to carry out an attack. The tunnel's pit was found in a building situated 1. 3 kilometers from the border. Troops were impressed by the width and depth of the tunnel, which was estimated to have been dug weeks ago. The army said the tunnel was dug in the direction of the Karni crossing where "terror" groups had planned to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians operating the crossing. more.. Israeli Troops Withdraw From Southeastern Lebanon An Nahar 8/30/2006 Israeli troops have withdrawn from eastern parts of south Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force said on Wednesday as it began patrolling the strategic sector. The Israeli army pulled back from the regions of Bastara, Kfarshuba and Shabaa, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said, adding that it would patrol the Lebanese side of the border to verify there were no more Israeli soldiers there. Lebanese troops are to eventually take over responsibility for the area for the first time in decades, with UNIFIL acting as a go-between. On Sunday, Israeli forces still occupied nine positions in southern Lebanon, two weeks after a truce was declared between the Israelis and Hizbullah fighters, a Lebanese army spokesman said. And Israeli incursions continued under the cover of darkness, he added. more.. Disguised Israeli forces abduct a Palestinian fighter in Tulkarem Ma'an News 8/30/2006 Tulkarem -- An Israeli special force broke into Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Wednesday and abducted Thaer Amarah, an active member of the Al Aqsa Brigades. The leader of the Al Aqsa Brigade in Tulkarem, the main military wing of Fatah, told Ma'an, "I received a call from Amarah and we agreed to meet at a shop in the refugee camp. When I arrived in the given place, I noticed Israeli Special Forces wearing Palestinian 'keffiyehs' on their heads stepping out of a car. I backed off when they started shooting and after that they abducted Thaer Amarah and left. During the operation, 13-year old Ayman Khalid Tanja was injured in the abdomen and Anan Mahmoud Sarhan in the neck. more.. 224 killed, 888 injured in Israel's Summer Rains offesnive International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 The Palestinian Ministry of Health issued a report on Wednesday on the Israeli Summer Rains military offensis that started late June 2006, and revealed that Israeli soldiers killed 224 reisdents, including 62 children, and injured 888 reisdents. The report showed that 132 males, and 25 females were killed in addition to five reisdents who died at the Rafah Border Crossing after they were stranded there for several weeks due to the israeli complete closure and seige imposed on the Gaza Strip. 32 residents were killed by rounds of live ammunition, 86 died by missiless, 99 died after they were hit by shells fragmentations, and five died at the Rafah Border Crossing. Bodies of 74 residents were severly mutilated. Over the past three days, 25 reisdents were killed, including 16 who were killed in Al Shujaeyya neighborhoud in Gaza City. more.. Army invades Habla village near Qalqilia,takes one prisoner International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 Israeli troops invaded Habla village south of the West Bank city of Qalqilia and took one prisoner on Wednesday. Khalid Ramadan, 30, was taken to an unknown destination, after soldiers searched his house and confiscated his tractor, eyewitnesses reported. [end] more.. Israeli troops in northern Gaza meet continued resistance Ma'an News 8/30/2006 Gaza -- Gaza - Ma'an – Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza have attacked an Israeli military post and bulldozer in the northern Gaza Strip. The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), have claimed responsibility for launching two mortars into an Israeli military post east of Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon. In a statement, the Brigades said that the launching operation was in response to the ongoing Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people especially in the Ash Shaja'iyyah district in the north of the Strip and the assassination of the Al Quds Brigades' leader, Hussam Jaradat. The Brigades also confirmed that they will continue their resistance against the Israeli occupation. more.. Settlers uproot scores of olive trees in Yatta near Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 A group of right wing Jewish settlers from the illegal settlement of Sousa uprooted on Wednesday scores of olive trees that belong to Palestinian farmers from the nearby village of Yatta south of the West Bank city of Hebron. Local sources reported that settlers uprooted trees located near an Israeli army post just outside the village. Settlers have repeatedly targeted the residents, their property and farmlands in addition to attacking the international volunteers who comes to the area to help the people. [end] more.. Israeli forces attack Jenin refugee camp for third consecutive day Ma'an News 8/30/2006 Jenin -- Fighters from the Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, clashed with Israeli forces who invaded Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday. A source in the Brigades said that "Israeli forces reinforced with military vehicles raided the camp from all directions. Fighters from the Al Quds Brigades confronted them and hit the patrols directly". The source confirmed that the assassination of the general leader of the Al Quds Brigades in the West Bank, Hussam Jaradat, will not weaken their group, saying that the Brigades will continue to resist the Israeli occupation. Israeli forces have been attempting to penetrate the camp for three days but every time, they clash with fighters from the Al Quds Brigades. [end] more.. Army storms offices of Cultural Center in a Hebron village International Middle East Media Center 8/29/2006 Israeli troops stormed the offices of Al Anwar Cultural Center in Doura village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, on Tuesday morning. soldiers confiscated computers, files and documents and then ransacked the office causing damage, eyewitnesses reported. The center is an educational and cultural facility and has no affiliation with any political group, members of the center administration said. [end] more.. Headlines from International Middle East Media Center International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 Army invades Qalqilia Army invades Tulkarem city and the nearby Zita village Army invades Tammoun village east of Tubas Army takes two prisoners from Sourif village near Hebron Army storms offices of Cultural Center in a Hebron village Army continues to attack near Sofa crossing and takes four prisoners Israeli soldier injured as anti-tank shell hit tank in Gaza Army invades Okbat Jaber refugee camp in Jericho and takes one prisoner more.. Israeli Siege Leaves Gaza Isolated and Desperate Washington Post 8/28/2006 GAZA CITY, Aug. 27 -- As the sun beat down on the city's central market, Khitam Shahleen, 37, glumly picked through a pile of cheap pencil sharpeners, searching for something -- anything -- she could afford to buy her two sons for the start of the new school year. "We don't have money," Shahleen said, eyes downcast beneath her head scarf. Her husband, who works as a laborer in Israel, has been trapped inside the Gaza Strip by a blockade. "We are imprisoned here," she said. The war in southern Lebanon has overshadowed Israel's second front, a military and economic siege of the Gaza Strip that is deepening the poverty and desperation in this dense area of 1. 4 million people. More than 200 Palestinians, at least 44 of them children, have been killed in the past 8 1/2 weeks. more.. Syria: Group threatens to kidnap troops Jerusalem Post 8/30/2006 A previously unknown group threatened Wednesday to abduct Israeli soldiers to swap them for Syrian prisoners in Israel. In a statement faxed to foreign news agencies in Damascus, a group calling itself the Men of the National Syrian Resistance threatened to "take the necessary measures" to secure the release of 16 Syrians jailed in Israel. It listed the names of four men it said have been detained in Israel for 22 years. The group said the men had been charged with "resisting Israeli occupation in the Golan. ""The continuing detention of our comrades makes us exert all-out efforts to secure their release," the statement said. The group called theirs a "humanitarian and just demand. " more.. Al-Qassam Brigades launch two projectiles at invading Israeli military vehicles Ma'an News 8/30/2006 Gaza -- The Izzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has claimed responsibility on Wednesday for launching two home-made projectiles at a group of Israeli military vehicles in eastern Ash-Shuja'iyya in the northern Gaza Strip. They affirmed that the operation comes as part of a "retaliation" battle which aims to block the Israeli invasion of Ash-Shuja'iyya and to retaliate for the frequent Israeli aggressions. [end] more.. Lebanon Fears Major Layoffs, Surge in Unemployment up to 20% An Nahar 8/30/2006 War-damage to Lebanese businesses and a debilitating seven-week Israeli blockade will lead to large-scale layoffs and a spike in unemployment, analysts say. Companies laid off thousands of workers after Israeli troops launched a massive offensive in Lebanon on July 12 against Hizbullah, bosses and trade unions say. Economist Kamal Hamdan forecast that unemployment could more than double from the official level of nine percent before the fighting to as high as 20 percent in the coming months. "Lebanon could see a surge of layoffs owing to an uncertain political future and lack of agreement on reconstruction issues," he told AFP. Fellow economist Marwan Iskandar said: "In the short term, over the next six months, 50,000-55,000 people are going to lose their jobs. " more.. Lebanon to compensate residents Jerusalem Post 8/30/2006 Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said Wednesday that his government would pay US$33,000 per house to compensate residents whose homes were destroyed by Israeli attacks. Saniora said 130,000 housing units had been destroyed or damaged in more than a month of Israeli airstrikes and ground fighting with Hizbullah guerrillas, mostly in south Lebanon. He did not give a breakdown of the destroyed houses. Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah made a similar offer two weeks ago after the cease-fire went into effect, promising to help the Lebanese rebuild and pledging money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture. Nasrallah did not say where the money would come from, but Iran historically has been the group's primary source of finance and weapons. more.. IDF troops kill eight Palestinians in fighting in Gaza City Ha'aretz 8/30/2006 Israel Defense Forces troops killed Wednesday eight Palestinians, including a 14-year-old, in Gaza City. Two of those killed were identified as Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militants. Five of the dead were killed on Wednesday morning when IDF troops shot at a group of Palestinians who were firing anti-tank missiles at them. Two other Palestinians were killed on Wednesday afternoon: Nidal Dachduch, 14 and Iad Sarsak, 30. At least five other Palestinians were wounded in the attack, including a female youth. An eight Palestinian identified as a 31-year-old Hamas militant was killed on Wednesday afternoon in Gaza. On Wednesday morning, the IDF and the Shin Bet security services announced they had managed to prevent a terror attack at Karni crossing in Gaza. The forces dug up a 150-meter-long tunnel, which was 13 meters deep. more.. 8 Palestinians killed in Gaza Jerusalem Post 8/29/2006 Eight Palestinians were killed in clashes with IDF troops in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, military sources said. There were no IDF casualties. Two Palestinians were killed and five others, including a four-year-old boy, were wounded on Tuesday in two separate incidents in Gaza City. The IDF said the men were armed Palestinian terrorists. One Palestinian was killed in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood in Gaza City when a tank fired a shell at a group of people laying wire on the ground near IDF soldiers, apparently preparing a bomb. A second Palestinian was killed in the same area by a sniper. The army confirmed shooting the man and said he was trying to plant a bomb. Soldiers from the Shaked Battalion of the Givati Brigade have been operating in Shajaiyeh since Saturday night and have killed at least 20 Palestinians during raids. more.. Israeli forces kill two Al Aqsa members in clashes in Balata, Nablus Ma'an News 8/29/2006 Nablus – Ma'an - Two Al Aqsa Brigades' members were killed, and a third was seriously injured, during armed clashes with Israeli forces in Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus early on Tuesday morning. A contingent of reinforced Israeli troops stormed that camp at 5. 30 am and clashed with Palestinian armed men in the area of the cemetery. The Israeli soldiers killed Ibrahim An Naidah, 25, and Hani Hashash, 20, and injured a third man. The men are reported to be active members of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah. Palestinian medical sources in Rafidia Hospital in Nablus said that the killed men were shot in the head and the stomach. They said that the injured man is suffering from serious injuries in the stomach. more.. Saraya Al Quds leader survives assassination attempt and arrives at a Jordanian hospital Palestine News Network 8/30/2006 After surviving an Israeli assassination attempt in the northern West Bank, a leader of the armed resistance arrived in the Jordanian capital of Amman Tuesday night. Thirty-five year old Hussam Jaradat is the West Bank leader of Saraya Al Quds, an armed resistance wing affiliated with Islamic Jihad. Speaking on behalf of Islamic Jihad, Mahmoud Al Sa’adi said that Jaradat's condition has continued to deteriorate since Israeli forces shot him in an assassination attempt in Jenin Refugee Camp last Wednesday. Due in part to the efforts of Palestinian medical professionals, Jaradat's trip to Jordan was coordinated with several parties, including the International Red Cross. A Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance brought him to the West Bank border crossing with Jordan. more.. Palestinian security forces arrest colloborator Ma'an News 8/29/2006 Bethlehem -- Bethlehem - Ma'an – Palestinian security forces have arrested a Palestinian man on charges of collaborating with the Israeli occupation authorities, an official source has revealed. In a press statement, an official source in the Palestinian preventive security forces reported that the forces arrested a Palestinian citizen in one of the northern West Bank governorates on charges of collaboration with the Israeli intelligence in 2001. The accused was transferred to a Palestinian jail in the West Bank city of Ramallah while the legal measures against him are completed in advance of his trial. According to the source, the accused citizen admitted that he submitted reports to the Israeli intelligence about the activities of members of the Palestinian resistance in addition to guiding Israeli forces... more.. Israeli infantry enters the Palestinian-controlled Old City of Hebron Ma'an News 8/29/2006 Hebron -- Israeli infantry entered the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday for the first time in years. The Israeli forces entered the old city of Hebron on foot, in clear violation of the 1997 Hebron agreement which split Hebron into Palestinian and Israeli-controlled areas and deployed the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) in order to promote stability and observe misconduct in the two areas. The Israeli army re-occupied the city in 2002 but this is the first time that foot soldiers have entered the old city of Hebron, an area under Palestinian control, since the agreement. At the time of the agreement, Israel removed their soldiers from the Palestinian-controlled districts. [end] more.. Palestinian security officer, killed by Israeli forces, given an official funeral in Ramallah Ma'an News 8/29/2006 Ramallah was at a standstill for the funeral -- The citizens of the twin West Bank cites of Ramallah and Al Bireh, and the town of Deir Ghassanah, participated on Tuesday in the funeral of Rami Ar Rabi, 24, a member of the Palestinian security forces who was killed by Israeli Special Forces in the city of Ramallah on Monday night. Ar Rabi was given an official funeral by the security forces in the governorate of Ramallah; the funeral procession began from the Ramallah hospital and, as many participants fired shots into the air, toured the streets of the city before heading towards Deir Ghassanah, the home town of Ar Rabi. A total commercial strike took place in Ramallah and Al Bireh on Tuesday for the funeral. [end] more.. Palestinians: At least 9 people hurt in IAF air strikes in Gaza Ha'aretz 8/25/2006 An Israel Air Force aircraft attacked two buildings in the Gaza Strip early Friday, wounding at least nine people, Palestinian officials said. The first air strike targeted the home of a local militant leader in the northern town of Jabaliya. Relatives of Salim Thabet, an activist of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the northern town of Jabaliya, said the army told him to evacuate the home about 15 minutes before the air strike. The relatives said they were told to remain out of the area because more attacks were possible. Hospital officials said the five people in a nearby house were moderately wounded. The second air strike hit a two-story home in Gaza City, setting the structure on fire and causing heavy damage. Several nearby homes were damaged, and four people were moderately wounded, officials said. " more.. Map: Gaza Disengagement = West Bank Engagement (PDF) PLO Negotiations Affairs Department-Negotiations Support Unit 8/23/2006 Total settler population before disengagement: Approximately 400,000. After disengagement: Approximately 420,000 more.. Israeli forces kill 17 Palestinians in one week Ma'an News 8/23/2006 Gaza -- The Palestinian National Information Center has released a report detailing Israeli aggressions against Palestinians from 15 August 2006 to 21 August 2006. The report cited the Palestinian death toll for the week as 17, with 61 injured and 99 arrested. 920 human rights violations were recorded during the week documented by the report. The human rights' violations included the Israeli forces shooting at unarmed Palestinians, invading Palestinian areas, shelling Palestinian residential buildings, sealing off Palestinian cities and villages and confiscating Palestinian land. [end] more.. Lebanon's Development 'Annihilated' Palestine Chronicle 8/23/2006 The overall economic losses for Lebanon from the month-long conflict totalled "at least 15 billion dollars, if not more". -- BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon's 15-year economic and social recovery from civil war was wiped out in the recent Israeli offensive against Hezbollah, the UN development agency has said. "The damage is such that the last 15 years of work on reconstruction and rehabilitation, following the previous problems that Lebanon experienced, are now annihilated," said Jean Fabre, a spokesman for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday. Lebanon's relatively healthy progress towards the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, which cover a range of social and economic targets, "have been brought back to zero," he told journalists. "Fifteen years of work have been wiped out in a month. " more.. Israeli forces attack north and south of Gaza Strip from air and ground, causing injuries, panic, fear Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Again Tuesday Israeli forces invaded the northern Gaza Strip, this time from the eastern border at dawn. Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses reported that some 50 Israeli military vehicles penetrated the Nahal neighborhood, east of Gaza City. According to Israeli sources, the military vehicles are stationed and on the ready at an overtaken gas station, east of Gaza City. Israeli warplanes flew overhead simultaneously opening heavy machine gun fire on houses in residential neighborhoods. An F16 warplane completely destroyed one house and damaged its neighbors. Medical sources report injuries from that moment of this morning’s attacks.... Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses confirm that Israeli bulldozers destroyed the Palestinian National Security building, in addition to many olive and citrus trees... more.. Israeli forces kill three members of the armed Palestinian resistance in the mid-Gaza Strip Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Palestinian medical sources reported Tuesday that ambulances retrieved the bodies of three members of the Palestinian armed resistance movement affiliated with Islamic Jihad, Saraya Al Quds. The men were in the mid-eastern Gaza Strip near the Kissufim Commercial Crossing. The medical sources indicated that the deaths occurred east of Deir Al Belah City sometime around dawn this morning. An Israeli military spokesperson told Israeli Radio that Israeli soldiers occupying the eastern border between the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory opened fire on the three men who were allegedly approaching the border fence. Palestinian security sources reported the Israeli military informed them that three Palestinian bodies were lying on the ground in the area. more.. Schools to struggle with post-war trauma Ha'aretz 8/23/2006 Six-year-old Liel Gato of Haifa will be starting first grade in two weeks, after spending a summer filled with air-raid sirens. "I was very scared in the war," she says. "Once, I was at a friend's on a high floor, a siren sounded and I began to cry and get nervous. The whole building shook. "On her birthday, Liel went with her family to the mall, and when sirens went off, they had to look for a shelter. By now, she says, she's calmed down. Her mother, Nina, sees matters differently. "Since the war started and to this day, she does not sleep alone," she says. "Every unusual noise frightens her and she starts shaking. "During the war, Liel refused to stay alone for a minute, and when Nina would pop down to the supermarket, she would cry and plead with her to come back. more.. Lebanon may try to break blockade Jerusalem Post 8/22/2006 A Hizbullah Cabinet minister on Tuesday said the government may attempt to break the Israeli naval and air blockade of Lebanon by calling on ships and aircraft to travel to Lebanese ports without prior Israeli approval. The government has condemned the blockade, saying it violates the UN cease-fire resolution, and the foreign minister Tuesday called on the international community to force Israel to end the blockade. The Cabinet met late Monday but did not publicly challenge to the blockade, although it called the siege one of Israel's "terrorist practices. ""Entry to Lebanon by sea and from air is a matter of sovereignty," Tarrad Hamadeh, minister of Labor said on Hizbullah television. Hamadeh, one of two Hizbullah Cabinet ministers, said the Lebanese "must have be free to enter their country at will. We cannot accept the siege and blackmail. " more.. Israeli army invades Bethlehem’s Aida Refugee Camp & force Palestinians into the narrow camp streets Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses report that Israeli forces invaded Bethlehem’s Aida Refugee Camp early Tuesday. With the Israeli Wall now lining the northern edge of the camp and Rachel’s Tomb military installation to the east, Aida Camp has suffered numerous Israeli raids during the past several years. The United Nations Girls’ School is riddled with bullet holes, and children are accustomed to inhaling noxious gas and throwing stones. Today six military patrols invaded the camp after blocking its entrances to Bethlehem and neighboring Beit Jala. Israeli soldiers forces several residents from their homes after breaking in, conducted searches and tampered with personal property.... Israeli soldiers fired gas and rubber bullets at the youth and children as they threw stones with no severe injuries reported. more.. Soldiers fresh from war on Lebanon return to replace reservists occupying Nablus’ Checkpoint 17 Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Now Palestinian citizens in the northern West Bank Nablus District must accustom themselves to navigating new restrictions at Checkpoint 17, north of the city. It is the only outlet for several northern Nablus villages. Drivers told PNN Tuesday that a new group of Israeli forces have been brought in to replace the reserve forces that occupied the area during the war against Lebanon. The new soldiers are preventing any Palestinian that does not have identification indicating that he is from one of four northern villages from using the checkpoint. Additionally, no cars are allowed through unless drivers possess particular “permission” to pass through checkpoints. Eyewitnesses said this afternoon that the soldiers at Checkpoint 17 prevented a local official from returning to Nablus City after he visited a village summer camp. more.. Israeli forces take 15 young men from the southern West Bank to unknown locations at dawn Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Israeli forces arrested 15 Palestinians from the southern West Bank Tuesday. The raid was far-reaching from southern Bethlehem to southern Hebron. The southern Hebron village of Dura lost nine residents after a quick home raid and search. At dawn Israeli forces also stormed southwestern area villages, with four people arrested at the specific behest of Israeli intelligence. Officials at the Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoner Society were able to report some of the names of the currently missing.... To the north of Hebron, Israeli forces conducted similar dawn raids, awaking households upon breaking open doors. Sources from the Joint Security Operations room in Hebron announced three more arrests of 21 year olds. more.. Palestinian from Jabalia refugee camp abducted Ma'an News 8/22/2006 Gaza -- Anonymous gunmen kidnapped a Palestinian man from Jabalia refugee camp in the north of Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said on Tuesday. Palestinian security forces have started searching for the kidnappers of Fayiz Abu 'Ukal based on descriptions of the three cars used in the operation as described by eyewitnesses. [end] more.. Jewish Coloniser Runs over 2 Citizens in Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/22/2006 HEBRON, August 22, 2006 (WAFA)- A Jewish extremist coloniser on Tuesday deliberately ran over two citizens in the West Bank (WB) City of Hebron. Hebron Governmental Hospital sources said that Fayez Abu Hussein 16, and Ali Abu Hussein 15, were transferred to the hospital to receive treatement as they suffered from wounds and fractures as the Jewish extremist coloniser ran over them near Hajai Jewish colony, south of Hebron. [end] more.. Israeli forces arrest nine Palestinians Tuesday morning Ma'an News 8/22/2006 Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Israeli army announced they arrested nine Palestinians early on Tuesday morning in cities and villages across the occupied West Bank. Israeli media sources quoted the Israeli army saying that, of the nine, they arrested three 'wanted' Palestinians, allegedly belonging to Fatah, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and another three, also allegedly Fatah members, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. [end] more.. Israeil forces raid Jericho Ma'an News 8/22/2006 Jericho -- Nearly 30 military vehicles broke into Jericho onTuesday morning. The surrounded the town and fanned out into the streets. They surrounded the government hospital and arrested two youth, both members of the Islamic Jihad movement. The Israeli forces arrested Subhi Waled Al-S'ud , 21 an Islamic Jihad activist and Naser Al 'Anati, 22 from the Palestinian National Security Forces in Jericho, and took them to an unknown location. [end] more.. Hamas-linked Brigades shoot an Israeli soldier in Gaza City Ma'an News 8/22/2006 Gaza – Ma'an – The Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have claimed responsibility for shooting an Israeli soldier in the east of the Al -- Gaza – Ma'an – The Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have claimed responsibility for shooting an Israeli soldier in the east of the Al-Shaja'iyyah district of Gaza City on Tuesday morning. The Brigades told Ma'an in a statement that this operation is part of "Operation Loyalty of the Free" which they say is aimed at confronting the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. [end] more.. Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades fire shells at an Israeli military post in the Gaza Strip Ma'an News 8/22/2006 Gaza - Ma'an – The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have claimed responsibility for firing two mortar shells at an Israeli military post in the east of Al-Magazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. In a statement, they said that the operation is in retaliation for the Israeli crimes in Gaza and commemorates the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the PFLP secretary general, Abu Ali Mustafa. [end] more.. Joint group of Fatah and PFLP-affiliated Brigades launch projectiles at Nahal Oz Ma'an News 8/22/2006 Gaza -- Two Palestinian armed groups have claimed responsibility for launching three home-made projectiles at the Israeli town of Nahal 'Oz, just north of the Gaza Strip. The two groups are called Ayman Juda, a group believed to be part of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades, and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed group of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In a joint statement, they said the operation was "in retaliation for the Israeli crimes in Gaza" and commemorates the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the PFLP secretary general, Abu Ali Mustafa. [end] more.. Gunmen attack a PA Officer and steal his car, two guards injured International Middle East Media Center 8/21/2006 Major Haitham Sha'ban, Palestinian security top officer was attacked by unknown gunmen who also stole his car and injured two of his bodyguards, Monday at noon. Palestinian security sources reported that the unknown gunmen ambushed Sha'ban while he was on his way to work. Palestinian police chased the gunmen and clashed with them. After a short gun fight, police officers managed to retrieve the car while the gunmen escaped unharmed, leaving behind some machineguns, a Palestinian police source reported. The two injured bodyguards were moved to a nearby hospital and suffered moderate wounds, while Sha'ban escaped the attack unharmed. [end] more.. Army closes the main Nablus road International Middle East Media Center 8/21/2006 The Israeli army troops closed the main Nablus road on Monday at noon, which connects the southern West Bank cities together. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli soldiers closed the road near the Howwara checkpoint and the Intersection of Yetshar Israeli settlement in the area. There were sounds of shouting and army movement in the area but it's hard to know what is happening due to scores of cars and civilians forced to stop there, eyewitnesses added. Yesterday, Israeli soldiers chased and killed one Palestinian worker and injured three after shooting at their car when they were using the nearby farm road. [end] more.. IDF soldier lightly hurt by shrapnel during Gaza arrest raid Ha'aretz 8/22/2006 Also Tuesday, Palestinian medics said they found the bodies of three Palestinian men near Kissufim, another Israel-Gaza crossing. -- An Israel Defense Forces soldier was lightly wounded by shrapnel from an anti-tank missile fired during an IDF oepration in Gaza City on Tuesday morning. IDF troops, backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and armored personnel carriers, moved Tuesday into areas near Karni - the main Israel-Gaza cargo crossing, conducting house-to-house searches and arrests. The IDF said soldiers surrounded a house and exchanged fire with wanted Palestinian militants, including two Hamas members, who were inside. One of the militants was wounded and all five were arrested, the IDF said. Palestinian medics put the number of wounded at five. more.. Three Palestinians Killed in Southern Gaza as Two Houses Demolished International Press Center 8/22/2006 GAZA, Palestine, August 22, 2006 (IPC + WAFA) - - Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip, as Israeli warplanes pounded two houses in northern and southern Gaza, destroying them completely. Medical sources at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces in the town of Al Qarara, north of Khan Younis province. The sources identified the victims as Saleh Abdel Ghafoor, 26, Abdel Khaleq Al Farra, 21, and Bassam Shurrab, 20, all residents of Khan Younis. Local sources asserted that the bodies of the three citizens were found torn apart near the eastern borders of Gaza, due to being directly hit by Israeli shells. Medical sources in northern Gaza mentioned that a citizen was moderately injured when Israeli warplanes bombed a house owned by the Asaliya Family... more.. The 37th anniversary of the Israeli attempt to torch Al Aqsa mosque Ma'an News 8/22/2006 Jerusalem - Ma'an – Arabs should put more pressure on their governments to rid the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem of the occupation and confirm it as a pure Muslim property, the deputy head of the Islamic movement in Israel, Sheikh Kamal Al Khatib, said on TuesdaySheikh Al Khatib issued this call on the 37th anniversary of the Israeli criminal attempt to set fire to the Al Aqsa mosque, which is considered the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was flown through the heavens on a fabled winged creature, called Al Buraq, from Mecca to Al Aqsa (considered to be Jerusalem) in 632 AD. Muslims are also commemorating this "Night Flight" on 22 August 2006. more.. Troops install cameras at the Gaza International Airport International Middle East Media Center 8/21/2006 Monday, Israeli troops occupying the Gaza International Airport in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, installed surveillance cameras in the airport's high buildings, the Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported. Palestinian security sources told WAFA that soldiers also installed cameras aground the airport while military bulldozers uprooted residents farmlands in the area. The Rafah International Airport was closed by Israel after the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada late 2000. Israeli troops occupied the airport after shelling it in June 2006. [end] more.. Truce takes another hit as Israelis kill 3 resistance fighters The Daily Star 8/22/2006 Israeli troops in South Lebanon shot and killed three Hizbullah fighters Monday evening, as UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said he was optimistic that a fragile truce ending 34 days of warfare would hold. Troops spotted a group of armed fighters who looked threatening and opened fire on them, an Israeli Army spokesman said. Israel's privately run Channel 10 television said three Hizbullah fighters were killed in the incident. Four Israeli soldiers were wounded. The reports could not be independently confirmed. But in Jerusalem, Roed-Larsen told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem: "We discussed all matters of Resolution 1701," referring to the text which laid the ground for a cessation of hostilities that took effect on August 14. more.. Lebanese Villagers Hostage to Israeli Troops Islam Online 8/21/2006 IslamOnline. net & News AgenciesAn AFP correspondent said Israeli troops were still occupying at least nine parts of Lebanon close to the border. (Reuters)BEIT LIF, Lebanon — A week after a UN-brokered truce ended a month-long onslaught and thousands of Israeli troops withdrew from south Lebanon, residents some borders villages remain hostage of Israeli soldiers. "They were hiding behind the olive groves and the trees of this hill," Zeinab Ali Merei of the tiny border village of Beit Lif old Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday, August 21. An AFP correspondent said that Israeli troops were still occupying at least nine parts of Lebanon close to the border. More than 250 Israeli troops, backed by about 30 armored vehicles, were seen at the nine positions. more.. Unexploded cluster bombs prompt fear and fury in returning refugees The Guardian 8/22/2006 Four dead as mine-clearing teams fear death toll from Israeli weapons could soar - ".. what did these children ever do to them? " -- When the guns went silent in Aitta Shaab, a war-ravaged village close to the Israeli border, three children skipped through the rubble looking for a little fun. Hurdling over lumps of crushed concrete and dodging spikes of twisted metal, Sukna, Hassan and Merwa, aged 10 to 12, paused before a curious object. Sukna picked it up. The terrifying blast flung her to the ground, thrusting metal shards into her liver. Hassan's abdomen was cut open. Merwa was hit in the leg and arm. "We thought it was just a little ball," said Hassan with a hoarse whisper in the intensive care ward at Tyre's Jabal Amel hospital. In the next bed Sukna, a ventilator cupped to her mouth and a tangle of tubes from her arms, said even less. more.. Israeli reserve soldiers accuse government of 'cold feet' over conflict The Guardian 8/22/2006 Brigade signs letter calling for Lebanon inquiry · Newspaper demands general's resignation -- A brigade of reserve soldiers angrily accused the Israeli government yesterday of fighting a war with "indecision" and "cold feet" as criticism mounted over the handling of the conflict in Lebanon. In the most outspoken acknowledgment of Israel's failings in the war, one retiring senior army officer also admitted that the military felt "a certain sense of failure" after 34 days of combat. Brigadier Yossi Heiman, head of infantry and paratroopers, told a ceremony on Sunday: "We have sinned the sin of hubris. "Critics in the press and now in the military have rounded on the Israeli government for failing to emerge from the conflict with a clear victory over Hizbullah. more.. Medical officials: 2 wounded as IAF strikes militant's house in Gaza Ha'aretz 8/22/2006 An Israel Air Force missile strike destroyed the home of an Islamic Jihad militant in northern Gaza late on Monday, lightly wounding two bystanders, Palestinian medical officials said. About an hour after the attack in northern Gaza, IAF aircraft struck the home of another Hamas militant in southern Gaza. The man also said he had been warned ahead of time to leave the premises. No one was injured. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said that in both cases, the military attacked a building that militants had used to store weapons. Witnesses in the first strike said the military had notified the targeted militant, Hashem Asliya, 45, and his family to evacuate the house, located in the town of Jabalya, and that it planned to attack it in a missile strike. The army spokesman confirmed the report. more.. Israeli forces besiege house of an Al Aqsa youth in Qalqiliya Ma'an News 8/21/2006 Qalqiliya -- Israeli forces are surrounding the house of Ahmad Saqir Ibrahim Salim, 25, in the centre of 'Azzun, a village east of the West Bank city of Qalqiliya. The man is believed to be a 'wanted' member of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah. [end] more.. IDF soldier killed in West Bank shooting attack Ha'aretz 8/21/2006 Another four Palestinians were killed Friday -- An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday at noon by a Palestinian who opened fire at the Bekaot checkpoint in the Jordan Valley, southeast of Nablus. The soldier's comrades from the Haredi Nahal battalion returned fire, killing the shooter, Mohammed Bani-Ouda, 22, from the village Tamoun. In other incidents in the territories, another four Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli forces. Two of them were killed near the perimeter fence along the northern Gaza Strip: In one incident IDF soldiers fired at two Islamic Jihad operatives who approached the fence, killing Mohammed al-Mazar, 19, and wounding his companion. In the second incident a 30-year-old shepherd, Ghanem al-Khatib, was killed near the fence by IDF fire. more.. IDF tank fire wounds four members of Qassam rocket cell in Gaza Strip Ha'aretz 8/20/2006 Palestinian shot dead at checkpoint -- Israel Defense Forces tank fire wounded four members of a Qassam rocket cell near border fence separating Israel and the Gaza Strip on Sunday night. The IDF said the shell was fired at the Palestinians near the Kissufim border crossing, but not before the gunmen managed to fire two rockets at Israel. Israel on Sunday lifted the military closure it placed on the West Bank some three weeks ago. Israel is also permitting some 25,000 Palestinian laborers to enter Israel for work purposes. The closure on the Gaza Strip remains in place. The Israel Defense Forces is looking into an incident at the Hawara checkpoint in the West Bank on Sunday morning in which a Palestinian was shot dead and three others were wounded. more.. Israeli troops shoot two Hizbullah fighters The Guardian 8/21/2006 Israeli troops in southern Lebanon today shot two Hizbullah guerrillas, the Israeli army said, in the latest clash to put pressure on the fragile ceasefire. The Israeli army said the soldiers opened fire after the Hizbullah fighters approached them in a "threatening manner". The army said there were three fighters in the Hizbullah group and gave no information on the condition of the two that were shot. The clash underscored the fragility of a week-old truce that ended 34 days of fighting. Israel is keeping troops in southern Lebanon until Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers take up positions under the UN-brokered truce agreement. Yesterday, Israel warned it would continue covert raids in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire, claiming it had a right to stop Hizbullah rearming. more.. Residents of Southern village rebuild what they can, wait for help with rest The Daily Star 8/22/2006 TYRE: Its inhabitants are calling it "Hiroshima" for a reason: Siddiqine, a small Southern town located in the hills outside Qana, was heavily pounded during the Israeli offensive. Along one of its streets on a lazy afternoon, Hassan Ramez Chahine, a 36-year-old pharmacist, was sipping tea with neighbors and family in one of the few houses still standing. "The Israelis destroyed my home and my pharmacy," said Chahine, who holed up in his neighbor's apartment during the 34-day war. The Chahines and a couple of other families have no choice now but to stay in one house and wait for their homes to be reconstructed. Most of them had to flee during the war but returned as soon as the fighting was over. Today, despite many problems with running water and lack of electricity, some of the people of Siddiqine prefer to remain in their village. more.. Qana residents get little respite from grief The Daily Star 8/22/2006 QANA: With the dust now settled and the guns having fallen silent, the Southern town of Qana and its weary residents have once again been left to their fate and the haunting memories of another Israeli massacre. This small town of 15,000 residents has seen more than its share of the ugliness of war. In fact, road signs here lead the way to the sites of both Israeli attacks for which Qana is now famous. "We are famous because Israel always gives us extra attention," said an elderly woman, fanning herself near the shrine to the first Qana massacre. That attack on a United Nations base in 1996 killed 105 civilians taking refuge under the blue and white UN flag during Operation Grapes of Wrath. more.. As Marwaheen mourns, a question lingers: why? The Daily Star 8/22/2006 SOUTH LEBANON: Israeli tank guns pointed at residents and reporters Monday were not the only signs of Israel's continued presence in the South. Funeral preparations in the town of Marwaheen on Monday provided fresh reminders of one massacre of the month past. In one of the bloodiest incidents in the 34-day Israeli offensive against Lebanon, 26 Marwaheen civilians trying to flee the area died when they were targeted by Israeli strikes. Residents gathered in the town's square Monday to prepare to bury the victims. As reporters continue to travel down to the area, Israeli tanks that have not yet withdrawn from Lebanon sit along roads, with all who pass coming into their line of fire. Several residents warned against the Israeli attacks. "Be careful; the Israelis do not distinguish between children, women and soldiers," a resident told The Daily Star. more.. Qana mothers bury their children By Cilina Nasser, AlJazeera 8/21/2006 Six-year-old Ali Shalhoub pointed at the wreckage of the collapsed three-storey building in the southern village of Qana where his family had sought shelter before an Israeli air strike levelled the structure three weeks ago. He was asleep and was unable to recall the impact of the bombs which hurled him into a wall, knocking him out. Covered in rubble and his face swollen, he regained consciousness to his mother's screams as she dug helplessly into the rubble and debris for his eight-year-old brother Qassem. Hours later, rescue workers recovered his brother's body, along with 26 other people, including 16 children. Two families, the Shalhoub and Hashem, had sought refuge in the basement of the building which later came to make world headlines. The Lebanese government called the Israeli air strike a massacre... more.. Beirut vows to compensate victims of war The Daily Star 8/21/2006 The Lebanese government announced Sunday that it would provide financial compensation to victims of Israel's punishing offensive, one day after Qatar offered to rebuild the battered border town of Bint Jbeil. Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora also called on a donor conference in Stockholm later this month to "work hard" to help Lebanon recover. On Saturday, the official Qatari News Agency said Doha has pledged to rebuild Bint Jbeil and repair damaged public utilities, but gave no further details. Siniora issued a decree on Sunday saying that the family of each deceased victim aged over 10 years would receive LL20 million in compensation. Families of deceased victims under the age of 10 will receive LL10 million pounds, it said. Victims with permanent disabilities will be granted LL15 million. more.. MAP - Lebanon's Devastated Infrastructure Islam Online 8/21/2006 Flash map detailing extent and locations of Israeli destruction. more.. MAP - Israel's Unilateral Borders...What's Left? Islam Online 8/21/2006 Flash map detailing Israeli land grabs. more.. At least five Palestinians hurt in mystery explosion in Gaza Strip Ha'aretz 8/21/2006 At least five Palestinians were wounded Monday in a mysterious explosion in the southern Gaza Strip, security officials and medics said. The group were in a former settlement in southern Gaza, apparently scrounging for scrap metal, when an explosion occurred, injuring four people, the security officials said. Medics said five people, aged three-40, were wounded in the explosion. Officials said they were investigating whether the blast was caused by unexploded ordnance, possibly an old artillery shell. [end] more.. Senior IDF officer killed, 2 wounded following Beqaa commando raid Ha'aretz 8/21/2006 Sources in Lebanon said the commandos traveled in two Lebanese vehicles and were dressed in Lebanese Army uniforms. -- A senior Israel Defense Forces officer was killed yesterday, another officer was badly wounded and a third officer was lightly wounded in a firefight with Hezbollah men in the Bekaa area of Lebanon. All three officers were from Sayeret Matkal, the General Staff's elite special-operations unit. Hezbollah apparently sustained several casualties in the incident, which came at the end of a commando operation in the area. The IDF declined last night to confirm or deny reports that the commando force returned from Lebanon with two Hezbollah hostages, but maintained that the operation accomplished its objectives, despite the discovery of the force at the extraction stage. more.. Israel Strikes Deep in Lebanon Washington Post 8/20/2006 Premier, U. N. Chief Condemn Attack as Violation of Truce -- BEIRUT, Aug. 19 -- Helicopter-borne Israeli commandos raided a Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley early Saturday, setting off a fierce gun battle. Lebanon called the attack a "flagrant violation" of a fragile six-day-old cease-fire and threatened to halt troop deployments in protest. Hezbollah, which battled the Israeli military for 33 days until the truce took hold Monday, said its fighters encountered the Israeli commandos in a field near the town of Boudai, about 20 miles from the Syrian border. The Israeli military, confirming the raid, said its commandos carried out the operation to interdict shipments of weapons and munitions to Hezbollah from Syria and Iran. The military said one Israeli officer was killed and two soldiers were wounded, one seriously. more.. IDF officer: Israel committed to hunting down Nasrallah Ha'aretz 8/20/2006 Israel is committed to hunting down and killing Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and will do its best to ensure that the militant group does not receive fresh weaponry from Syria and Iran, a senior Israel Defense Forces officer told The New York Times over the weekend. The newspaper quoted the unnamed officer as saying that, "There's only one solution for him," and "This man must die. "The officer told the Times that "International commitments to exclude the Hezbollah militia from southern Lebanon and to disarm it already seem hollow," but insisted that Israel had notched up several key achievements in the month-long conflict in Lebanon. "We believe it was important to stop the war with Hezbollah understanding that we can beat them anywhere, any time, and we did that," he told the paper. more.. Security cabinet rejects uniting Lebanon border village under IDF control Ha'aretz 8/20/2006 The security cabinet on Sunday rejected a proposal to implement new security arrangements in Ghajar that would improve humanitarian conditions in the northern border village. The security cabinet asked the Israel Defense Forces to alter and resubmit its proposal. Residents of Ghajar, which is split by the Israel-Lebanon border, expressed disappointment with the decision. Over the past few years, the village has been the scene of high tension and numerous gun battles between the IDF and Hezbollah fighters. During the recent war, IDF troops took over the Lebanese side of the village. According to the defense establishment's proposal, Israel would seek to maintain security and civil responsibility for the village's entire territory "including the Lebanese side" without altering the border. more.. Israel bans reporting of use of "unique" weapons in Lebanon Redress Information & Analysis 7/25/2006 Israel has issued new censorship guidelines banning reporting of the "use of unique kinds of ammunition and weaponry" in Lebanon. This comes amid reports that Israel is using chemical weapons against civilians in Lebanon. Below is the text of the guidelines, sent to international and local news organizations by the chief Israeli military censor, Colonel Sima Vaknin-Gil, on 23 July. -- Subject: Military Operations in the North -- Censorship Guidelines Regarding Ground Operations.... 6. There is a special emphasis on matters regarding the activity of special forces and the use of unique kinds of ammunition and weaponry... more.. Belgian doctor: Israel using chemical weapons Expatica 7/20/2006 BRUSSELS — The Israeli military is using chemical weapons during its bombing of Lebanon, a Belgian-Lebanese professor claimed during a press conference in Brussels on Thursday. The press conference was organised by the secretary of the Tripoli archbishop, Monsignor Jean Abboud. The Belgian professor of Lebanese origin, Bachir Cham, is the head of a hospital in Lebanon. "The bodies don't look like they normally do. After an explosion there were no traces of blood loss or subcutaneous haemorrhages [bruises]," Cham said via mobile phone direct from Beirut. "The hair and sometimes the beard and the moustache remained intact. I found no traces of the pressure wave by theexplosion. The colour of the skin was black like a shoe, but the skin was not carbonised or burnt. " more.. Israel Discovering Transformation's Limits? Defense Industry Daily 7/20/2006 DefenseTech brings us reports that American and Israeli intelligence seriously underestimated the amount and quality of weapons Hezbollah's state sponsors have managed to smuggle to them, including advanced anti-ship missiles and an arsenal of rockets from Iran that include weapons considered SRBMs. Intelligence is always imprecise, however, and slip-ups like this are to be expected on occasion. Recent events may have put a more serious dent, however, in some implementation doctrines around military transformation and "the Revolution in Military Affairs. " DID has talked about both transformation's value and its limitations, as expressed in case studies and situations like the US military's encounter at Objective Peach in 2003. more.. Palestinian farmer killed in Gaza; Friday's death toll rises to seven Ma'an News 8/18/2006 Gaza -- Palestinian medical sources have reported that the farmer Ghanim Al-Khatib, 30, from Al-Khusa in the northern Gaza Strip has died of his wounds, sustained in an Israeli attack, raising Friday's death toll to seven. Earlier this morning, one Palestinian fighter from the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, was killed and another was injured, while a third fled away after an armed clash with Israeli forces in the eastern Gaza Strip. In a statement, the brigades stated that Muhammad An-Nathir, 19, was killed while trying to undertake an operation, the details of which remain unrevealed. In addition, five Palestinians were killed in the West Bank on Friday morning: Three members of the Izzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, a military wing of Hamas, and two further members of the Al-Quds Brigades. more.. Report: IAF attacks Hezbollah stronghold Ha'aretz 8/19/2006 Israeli aircraft fired several rockets at a target in a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon early on Saturday morning, a Lebanese security source said. It was not immediately clear what the Israeli aircraft were firing at in the village of Bodai. An Israeli army spokesman said the army was checking the report. Such an attack would be the first since a UN truce ended 34 days of fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. On Friday night Lebanese security sources said Israel Air Force drones and jets were crisscrossing the skies above Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley near the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek. [end] more.. Israeli forces assassinate two members of Saraya Al Quds near Bethlehem, area in mourning Palestine News Network 8/18/2006 Targeted assassinations contravene international law however that did not stop Israeli “special forces” who dressed in civilian clothes and killed 24 year old Khalid Mohammed Shlaith and 32 year old Slaman Shlaith. At around 5:00 am the undercover soldiers entered the village and were followed shortly thereafter by 15 military vehicles, with helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft circling over head. The assassination took place at dawn Friday in the town of Obaidiyeh, south east of Bethlehem. Israeli forces targeted the two men claiming that they were affiliated with Saraya Al Quds, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad. One of the bodies was described by village residents as “turned into pieces by a missile fired from the direction of the cave. ” more.. Report: Israeli warplanes fly over Lebanon YNet News 8/18/2006 Israeli jest crisscross skies above Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, near Hizbullah's stronghold in Baalbek. Lebanese officials report of anti-aircraft fire against warplanes, but say no weapons fired by drones, jet fighters. IDF denies reports. Lebanon PM calls UN secretary-general to protest sorties -- Israeli drones and warplanes were crisscrossing the skies above Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on Friday night, near the Hizbullah stronghold of Baalbek, security officials said. The reporter said military jets, helicopters and drones had circled over the area and had come under anti-aircraft fire but had not been hit and had not opened fire themselves. The officials had not reported any bomb or missile strikes although the Voice of Lebanon radio said the aircraft had opened fire. more.. Two Lebanese farmers killed by land mine in south Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/17/2006 BEIRUT - Two Lebanese farmers were killed Thursday when one of them stepped on a land mine in a banana plantation in south Lebanon, security officials said. The two were killed instantly in the banana grove north of the coastal border town of Naqoura, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give information to reporters. Experts from the United Nations have identified 10 places where Israel used cluster bombs in its air strikes on southern Lebanon and fear there could be many more, a human rights group said on Thursday. At least 16 people have been killed or wounded by munitions which exploded long after they were fired, and the casualty figure could rise, U.S. -based Human Rights Watch said, citing UN de-mining teams in southern Lebanon. -- See also: Israel - Lebanon Conflict and Lebanon: Cluster Bomb Photos - Israeli Cluster Munitions Threaten Civilians more.. Lebanon’s environmental woes begin AlJazeera 8/19/2006 At first sight, the peaceful scene at a west Beirut fishing harbour seems far removed from the conflict that has raged in Lebanon for the past five weeks. Small boats line the side of the rocky quay, fishermen relax drinking coffee under parasols and stray cats lounge in the hot sun. But take a step closer to the water and you realise that something is very wrong. A thick coat of oily sludge covers the sea’s surface and there is a noxious smell caused by the fumes that make your eyes water. The sludge is just a small part of the largest oil spill ever seen in the Mediterranean caused by Israeli air strikes on the fuel tanks at Jiyeh power station south of Beirut in the first week of the war.... there is increasing evidence that the conflict will leave greater long-term legacies in addition to the huge loss of life and material damage. more.. Israeli jets fly over Lebanon AlJazeera 8/19/2006 Israeli warplanes have flown over Lebanon's Bekaa valley and the north of the country but did not launch an attack, according to a security source in the area. The source said that the Israeli jets and drones had come under anti-aircraft fire but had not been hit and had not opened fire themselves. An Israeli army spokesman said no attack had taken place: "We haven't attacked in Lebanon since the start of the ceasefire. "Military jets, helicopters and drones had circled over the area, 60km (35 miles) east of Beirut, according to a Reuters reporter. Fragile peace: Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the UN, said on Friday that Israel objects to the inclusion of countries that do not have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state in a planned UN force for southern Lebanon. more.. Elite police force kills two Islamic Jihad men in West Bank Ha'aretz 8/19/2006 An elite police unit killed two wanted Palestinian militants near the West Bank city of Bethlehem after a nearly two-hour standoff on Friday, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said. An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said the two Islamic Jihad members were shot and killed after they resisted arrest and opened fire on the soldiers. Palestinian security sources and witnesses said more than 50 soldiers were involved in the operation. They said the militants were hiding in a cave outside a village east of Bethlehem when the Israeli force surrounded them. They were armed with assault weapons and hand grenades, the IDF said. more.. Many Israeli soldiers are critical Yahoo! News 8/18/2006 METULLA, Israel - Israeli soldiers returning from the war in Lebanon say the army was slow to rescue wounded comrades and suffered from a lack of supplies so dire that they had to drink water from the canteens of dead Hezbollah guerrillas. ADVERTISEMENT"We fought for nothing. We cleared houses that will be reoccupied in no time," said Ilia Marshak, a 22-year-old infantryman who spent a week in Lebanon. Marshak said his unit was hindered by a lack of information, poor training and untested equipment. In one instance, Israeli troops occupying two houses inadvertently fired at each other because of poor communication between their commanders. "We almost killed each other," he said. "We shot like blind people. ... We shot sheep and goats. " more.. Gaza: Islamic Jihad member, shepherd killed by IDF YNet News 8/18/2006 Islamic Jihad member killed, another injured in fire exchanges with troops near Gaza's border. In separate incident, 30-year-old shepherd shot to death by troops near Beit Lahiya -- Israeli troops on Friday fired at a group of Palestinian gunmen near Gaza's border with Israel , killing one gunman and wounding a second, Palestinian medical officials said. Palestinian security officials said the men were members of Islamic Jihad, a group that has carried out numerous attacks against Israel. Islamic Jihad confirmed that a 19-year-old member was killed. In a separate incident, a 30-year-old Palestinian shepherd was killed by IDF fire in the northern Strip, near the town of Beit Lahiya. The army said it fired at two Palestinians who were engaging in "suspicious activity" Near Gaza's border fence with Israel. more.. Funeral in Jenin for three armed resistance members Palestine News Network 8/18/2006 Jenin residents buried three Palestinians from the armed resistance wing affiliated with the Hamas party, Al Qassam Brigades, Friday. Speakers from the Al Qassam Brigades said that the resistance “will continue until the occupation is defeated. ” They also called for steadfastness and unity among the Palestinian people “who are facing such a barrage of pressure. ”The men died at dawn in a Jenin District village in the northern West Bank while preparing weapons, according to an Al Qassam statement. The funeral procession began at the Dr. Khalil Suleiman Memorial Hospital and moved loudly through the Jenin streets. Shouts were heard demanding that “the resistance strike the enemy. " more.. Reservists: Officers stopped us from attending anti-war protest Ha'aretz 8/18/2006 Some 160 infantry reserve soldiers are accusing their commanders of preventing them from participating in a demonstration against the war in Lebanon, which they called a "debacle. " The soldiers said they had been used as "sitting ducks. ""I've been in the army and reserves for 26 years and what happened this time was not merely a fiasco, it was a complete debacle. We felt like tin soldiers in a game of Olmert and Peretz's assistants and spin masters," said Avi, a soldier in the brigade. At noon Thursday 160 brigade soldiers signed a request to take part in the demonstration that would call on the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz. However, their release was put off until Friday, preventing them from reaching the protest. " more.. Three Fatah activists injured after Israeli car chase in Tulkarem Ma'an News 8/18/2006 Tulkarem -- Ma'an's correspondent has reported that three activists from the Fatah movement were injured when the Israeli forces chased their car, causing them to lose control and roll their vehicle at the Al-Jarad farm in eastern Tulkarem. The three youths were travelling in a Mitsubishi car when an Israeli military jeep chased them near the Jarad farm. When they reached Tulkarem, the car rolled, causing severe injuries to Basim Al-Baja', 19, and Majid Sa'ada, also 19. The third passenger, Mahdi Al-Khatib, 20, sustained moderate injuries. more.. Palestinian injured near Sufa crossing, east Rafah Ma'an News 8/18/2006 Gaza -- Palestinian medical sources have confirmed that Iyad Abu Ma'bar, 32, received an injury to his leg on Friday near the Sufa crossing in eastern Rafah. Earlier on Friday an Al-Quds Brigades activist was killed during an armed clash with Israelis force in the eastern Gaza Strip. Today's death toll rises to six. [end] more.. Israeli Army shells a blacksmith workshop in Gaza International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2006 Israeli army war planes fired one missile at a blacksmith workshop located in central Gaza city, on Friday at dawn. The missile destroyed the workshop completely, several cases of shock were reported among neighbors. [end] more.. Two Palestinian youths arrested in Nablus during Israeli raid Ma'an News 8/18/2006 Nablus -- Israeli forces arrested two Palestinian youths during a raid upon the city of Nablus early on Friday morning. Ma'an's correspondent reported that a number of Israeli military vehicles entered the city of Nablus and broke into several houses in the Ras Al Ain region of the city, before arresting Muhammad Finno, 20, and Amjad Abdul Rahman, 19. In addition, Israeli forces raided several districts in the city and the refugee camps of Askar and Balata in the east of the city, before their eventual withdrawal from the city. [end] more.. Israeli forces tighten their grip around Nablus Ma'an News 8/18/2006 Nablus -- Israeli forces set up a temporary military barrier at the entrance to Beita, a village south of the West Bank city of Nablus for the third consecutive day. The Ma'an correspondent reported that the Israeli forces were checking all Palestinian vehicles entering the villageThe Israeli forces also set up a temporary barrier at the southern entrance of Huwwara, a village close to Beita, amid tightening security measures. [end] more.. Security and Defense: Cause for pause Jerusalem Post 8/17/2006 Generals differ on how to stop Syrian arms from reaching Hizbullah. -- Northern Command headquarters in Safed looks almost like a vacation village. Small colored brick buildings, offices with dark oak paneling and vast green lawns watered by electronic sprinkler systems are scattered throughout the base, perched on a hilltop overlooking the old city. But inside is the "bor" (bunker). Built in 1995, the fortified - and air-conditioned - underground command center is the newest in the IDF, equipped with the most advanced network and communication systems available on the market. Each department has an office there - intelligence, operations, logistics and communications. The chief of staff even has his own office right next to the regional commander. more.. Palestinian resistance shells Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip International Middle East Media Center 8/17/2006 Palestinian resistance fired one homemade shell at the Eretz crossing in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The Iz Ed-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, issued a press released claming responsibility for firing the homemade shells and said that it comes in retaliation to the Israeli agression and crimes in Palestine and Lebanon. [end] more.. Five residents taken prisoner in Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/17/2006 Israeli army forces invaded Al Arrooub refugee camp and Shiokh Al Arroub village near the West Bank city of Hebron and took five residents prisoners on Thursday. Troops stormed the tow areas, searched several houses and ransacked them before taking Tamer Sarhan, 24, Yasser Banat, 38, Ghassan Al Karnaz, 24, Yousif Warasnah, 35, and Saber Al Warasnah, 46, to unknown locations, local sources reported. [end] more.. Ministry of Health: Israeli forces killed 378 Palestinians in Gaza Strip since withdrawing last year Palestine News Network 8/17/2006 The Palestinian Ministry of Health issued a statement today reading in part, “During a period of time when the world was under the illusion that Israel had withdrawn from the Gaza Strip, it continued its attacks using warships, tanks, and air missile attacks. The bombing and destruction, killings and massacres, against the Palestinian people have not stopped. ”A Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesperson released the latest statistics Thursday indicating that since Israeli forces withdrew from inside the Gaza Strip at the end of last summer, they killed 378 Palestinians. Among those killed are 91 children under 18 years of age. Israeli forces injured 1,385 Palestinians, including 494 children. A Ministry statement reported that since that same time Israeli forces killed 135 Palestinians in the West Bank. more.. Israeli forces took 27 Palestinians from Hebron into its interrogation & prison system in August Palestine News Network 8/17/2006 The Israeli raids on the southern West Bank have not subsided for even a day. Pre-dawn is the most horrifying time of each 24 hour period for Hebron District residents. Early Thursday Israeli forces took five Palestinians from the District to unknown locations as reported by officials in the Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoner Society. Including these five people now somewhere in the Israeli prison system, currently undergoing investigation in unknown locales, the number of Palestinians arrested from Hebron during this month alone has now reached 27. During this morning’s attack, Israeli forces stormed Ash Shuyukh Refugee Camp northeast of Hebron City. Israeli soldiers broke into several homes and conducted invasive raids. more.. Israeli forces occupying Hebron severely beat Palestinian teenager near Ibrahimi Mosque Palestine News Network 8/17/2006 Israeli forces seriously injured a Palestinian teenager in Hebron this afternoon. Seventeen year old Lu’ay Fawzi Al Razim was in the Old City near the Ibrahimi Mosque. Both Israeli settlers and soldiers are infamous for attacking the Palestinians of the southern West Bank Hebron District. Israeli soldiers occupying Hebron beat him severely, causing bruises and internal injuries, as reported by officials at Hebron’s Government Hospital. The teen resides with his family in the southeastern Mount Jawhar neighborhood of Hebron. Israeli soldiers at a military road block near the Mosque beat the boy nearly to death Thursday afternoon with no excuse offered. [end] more.. Two Palestinian boys injured during clashes with Israeli military east of Qalqilia Ma'an News 8/17/2006 Qalqilia -- Two Palestinian boys were injured during a confrontation between Palestinian youths and Israeli military forces in the town of 'Azzun, east of the city of Qalqilia, on Thursday morning. Ma'an's correspondent reported that the clashes took place after the Israeli forces had made an incursion into the town. The two boys injured were, Qusai Raqwan, 17, and Ahmad Huwarri, 12, sustaining light to moderate wounds. [end] more.. Toxic air a major health hazard in Lebanon Ma'an News 8/17/2006 BEIRUT, 16 August (IRIN) -- Nahar newspaper. "Even while wearing face masks, my colleague and I struggled to breathe. In fact, she has not stopped coughing since our return to the office several hours ago. "The Israeli military campaign in Lebanon followed the capture on 12 July of two Israeli soldiers by the armed wing of the Lebanese political party Hezbollah. After 34 days of conflict, a United Nations-brokered cessation of hostilities came into effect on Monday morning. During the conflict, Israel's air force carried out approximately 7,000 aerial attacks throughout Lebanon while its navy conducted more than 2,500 bombardments of the Lebanese coast, according to the Israeli military. more.. Hizbullah encourages Palestinian "terror" Jerusalem Post 8/17/2006 Palestinian "terror" cells operating in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in conjunction with Hizbullah are under orders by the Lebanese-based "terror" group to escalate their attacks against Israel, a high-ranking IDF officer has told The Jerusalem Post. On Sunday, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two Grad-type Katyusha rockets at Israel, just hours before a UN-brokered cease-fire went into effect bringing 34 days of hostilities between Israel and Hizbullah to an end. Since the cease-fire went into effect in the North, there has been an increase in the number of Kassam rockets fired at Israel. On Thursday, several IDF jeeps were attacked by Palestinian "terrorists" as they patrolled the Gaza Strip security fence. "There is an effort to step up attacks within the Palestinian territories now that there is a cease-fire in the North," the high-ranking officer said. more.. Palestinians anxiously wait in Damascus to return to Lebanon Ma'an News 8/17/2006 DAMASCUS, 17 August (IRIN) -- Quds school on the outskirts of Damascus would be empty, its pupils enjoying their summer break. But this year it is playing host to dozens of Palestinian families who fled the conflict in Lebanon. As thousands of Lebanese refugees return home from Syria, the Palestinians here remain cautious. "We will wait a few days to see what the situation is. It's too early to go back yet," said Fadi Hussein Khalil, who is staying at Al-Quds with 22 members of his extended family. The conflict began on 12 July after the armed wing of the political party Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers, and Israel responded a large-scale offensive and a blockade. more.. Explosion heard in Bethlehem on Wednesday night Ma'an News 8/17/2006 Bethlehem – Ma'an – An explosion was heard on Wednesday around midnight in the village of Al Khader in the Bethlehem region of the occupied West Bank. Gunshots were also heard shortly before the explosion. According to the Israeli army, "one of its military patrols was exposed to the throwing of an explosive device by a Palestinian group; no casualties were reported". The sources added that "the Israeli forces fired at the Palestinian group; no casualties were reported. [end] more.. Israeli forces fire missiles into Khan Younis home, leaving Palestinians dead & injured in rubble Palestine News Network 8/16/2006 Palestinian medical and security sources reported that at dawn Wednesday Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the southern Gaza Strip’s Khan Younis, killing at least two Palestinians. In the air-to-surface missile attack, at least another three Palestinians sustained immmediate injuries, while other injured and dead are still being pulled from the rubble. Israeli forces fired several into a four story house in the eastern city’s Sheikh Nasser neighborhood. Eyewitnesses report that several injured were taken to the hospital for treatment, and the one who had received the most critical injuries died shortly after arrival. Doctors at Al Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said that a 70 year old man from the Sha’ath family died after surgery, while a younger man arrived already dead, in addition to several injured. more.. Tyre postpones mass burial as army fixes bridges The Daily Star 8/17/2006 Lebanese hospital workers struggled to deal with an overflowing morgue as more bodies were found in the ruins of buildings and other corpses remained unclaimed. UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, meanwhile, said they had recorded three breaches of the cease-fire over the past 24 hours which left four Hizbullah fighters dead. Meanwhile, Lebanese troops worked to rebuild roads and bridges in the first serious moves to deploy in the South. In the coastal city of Tyre, a temporary mass grave was dug in the city for more than 100 civilians, but burial was postponed so relatives had more time to claim bodies. In the Southern village of Srifa, rescue workers pulled 32 bodies from the rubble in the past two days, Mayor Afif Najdeh told The Associated Press on Wednesday. more.. Palestinian Child killed in Fateh-Hamas clashes in Gaza International Middle East Media Center 8/17/2006 Palestinian medical sources in Gaza reported on Wednesday evening that one child was killed, four other residents were injured during in crossfire during clashes between Hamas and Fateh gunmen in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The child, Suleiman Abu Al Nasser, was shot in his stomach, the sources stated. One of the injured is Khaled Abu Anza, leader of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in Khan Younis. Abu Anza was injured in his foot. The father of the child was moderately wounded on Wednesday's clashes. A Palestinian security source reported that the clashes took place during a funeral of Mo'tasim Qdeih, a Palestinian fighter killed on Tuesday by an Israeli air strike. more.. Clashes between Fatah and the Executive Force leave one child dead, four injured Ma'an News 8/16/2006 Khan Younis -- The Palestinian child, Sulaiman Abu Nasr, 14, has been killed and four more citizens were injured on Wednesday during a clash between members of the Fatah movement and members of the Executive Force of the Ministry of Interior. The incident took place at Abasan Al-Kabira in Khan Younis, near the mourning place of the Al Quds Brigades activist, Mu'tasim Qdaih, who was killed on Tuesday by Israeli shelling of his home. Khan Younis is the area of highest tension between the Hamas and Fatah movements. This is the first incident after the last reconciliation between the parties, in which political and military leaders of both factions participated. [end] more.. Brigades unify in clashes with Israeli troops in Qabatia Ma'an News 8/16/2006 Jenin -- A joint statement from three resistance groups announces that fighters from the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the Izzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, and the Al Quds brigades have commenced a series of clashes with an Israeli force of some 25 military vehicles which tried to invade the Palestinian town of Qabatia, south of Jenin, on Wednesday. In the statement received by Ma'an, the militant wings of the Popular Resistance Commitees, Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced that they hit a number of the Israeli vehicles and forced them to back off in retreat. [end] more.. Hamas: Mossad assassination bid fails AlJazeera 8/16/2006 Mishaal survived an attempt on his life in 1997 -- Israeli intelligence services planned to assassinate Khalid Mishaal, the head of the political wing of Hamas, last month sources in the group say. Israel's intelligence and special operations force, Mossad, sent a team to the Syrian capital in July to carry out the killing, Hamas sources said on Wednesday quoting "Western intelligence sources". Khalid Mishaal is living in exile in Damascus. Mossad agents allegedly posed as volunteers for relief organisations visiting Syria to help refugees from the war in Lebanon, the sources added. Aljazeera has learnt that Mishaal has stepped up his personal security since the plot. Shimon Peres, the Israeli vice-prime minister, has accused the exiled Hamas leader of ordering the raid during which an Israeli army reservist was captured. more.. Israeli forces arrest 5 Palestinians from Hebron City and southern Yatta Village Palestine News Network 8/16/2006 Israeli forces took five Palestinians at dawn Wednesday from Hebron City and the town of Yatta in the southern District to unknown locations. The Israeli invasion was wide-scale after yesterday’s in which Israeli forces took another several, including brothers, into its interrogation rooms and prison system. Israeli forces have been attacking this southern West Bank district on a regular basis, confiscating land, breaking into homes, and arresting its population. They even a arrested a female doctor yesterday. Wednesday’s raids came pre-dawn as they normally do. The Palestinian security joint operations room reported that the Israeli military launched searches within minutes of one another throughout Yatta and the Hebron City. more.. Israeli bulldozers raze Palestinian farm land in northern Gaza Strip for military installations Palestine News Network 8/16/2006 Palestinian security sources reported Wednesday that several Israeli military vehicles invaded the northern Gaza Strip at dawn. Israeli forces penetrated into Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun while opening heavy and random fire. Eyewitnesses report that the Israeli military came in a kilometer while shooting heavily, again in a completely random manner. Israeli forces imposed a military installation for itself east of Beit Lahia in the Abu Safia neighborhood, with another imposed on East Street between Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun. In order to impose that latest Israeli military installation to occupy inside the Gaza Strip and just at its borders, Israeli forces bulldozed yet more Palestinian farm land in the two towns. more.. Israeli forces invade Jenin area and arrests 3 Palestinians while armed resistance puts up a fight Palestine News Network 8/16/2006 When Israeli forces invaded the Jenin District’s Qabatia Village at dawn Wednesday, members of the armed Palestinian resistance did not accept it for one moment. Major resistance activities broke out at as Israeli forces invaded the northern West Bank village with random fire. Once the Israeli fire was heard, members of Al Nasser Salah Addin and Al Quds Al Qassam brigades joined together to fight the 20 Israeli military vechiles. It is believed that the Israeli forces were coming for the standard pre-dawn raids in which they break into homes, destroy contents, and arrest people, claiming that some among them are on the so-called “wanted” list. Israeli forces did in fact take three Palestinians to unknown locations during this particular attack this morning... more.. Four Palestinians abducted from villages near Jenin Ma'an News 8/16/2006 Jenin -- Israeli occupation forces have entered the Palestinian villages of Al Yamun and Az Zababida, in the Jenin governorate in the north of the West Bank, and abducted four Palestinians. Those arrested were: Yahia Bassam Khamaysa, 23, Ja'far Ahmad Sammar, 22, and Hardan Mahmoud 'Abahrah, 21, from Al Yamun. Also arrested was Ahmad Fathi Sa'id, 15, from Az Zababida. The invading force has forced shopkeepers to close their shops for the day, as a punishment to residents for throwing stones towards Israeli patrols in the area. [end] more.. Khiam Residents Return to 'Armageddon' An Nahar 8/16/2006 Abbas Saadik feared the worst as he headed back to his home in the tiny hilltop town of Khiam in southern Lebanon but nothing had prepared him for the devastation he found. "We were expecting damage, but this is Armageddon. There's no other word to describe it," said the young engineer, dumbfounded after discovering his family home, windows smashed and walls pocked with holes. Yet, compared with some of the town's other residents, he can consider himself one of the lucky ones. His neighbor, Nadia Abu Ghaida, 33, has just discovered that in her absence the top floor of her home has disappeared. "I lost one floor. I don't need the staircase anymore," she added.... "It's insane. It don't think the Israeli people realize the crimes committed by their government... " more.. Was the war in Lebanon a blueprint for Iran? By Jim Quilty, The Daily Star 8/17/2006 Investigative journalist contends Us colluded in air attacks -- BEIRUT: This week, Seymour Hersh, one of America's most-respected investigative journalists, published a piece in The New Yorker asserting that the higher echelons of the White House and Pentagon colluded with the Israeli military in formulating a plan to attack Lebanon - well in advance of Hizbullah's 12 July kidnap of two Israeli soldiers. Vice President Dick Cheney supported Israeli plans to attack Lebanon, Hersh contends, after Israel's military command encouraged him to view it both as a blueprint for a massive US air attack upon Iran and a pre-emptive strike against Hizbullah's capacity to respond to such an attack... The major ramifications of Hersh's claims apply to America and Iran. Clearly, though, his assertions will have an impact in Lebanon as well... -- See also: Watching Lebanon: Washington’s interests in Israel’s war and The Iran Plans more.. Palestinian man arrested in Beit Rima; seven others arrested from cities in the West Bank Ma'an News 8/16/2006 Bethlehem -- The Israeli army claimed that its forces arrested a member of a "Palestinian terrorist cell" in the village of Beit Rima, north west of the city of Ramallah. The arrest was made early on Wednesday morning. The Israeli military have announced that the arrested man was conspiring to kidnap Israeli citizens. The website of the Israeli newspaper, "Yedioth Ahronoth" said that, according to the Israeli army, "the member who was arrested did not reveal his identity, and was transferred to the security bodies for investigation. "Also on Wednesday morning, the Israeli army arrested seven wanted men belonging to the Hamas movement and the Fatah movement, from the cities of Ramallah, Jenin and Bethlehem. Their identities have not yet been released. [end] more.. Displaced stream back to South - with army to follow The Daily Star 8/16/2006 Plans to deploy troops in South Lebanon gathered pace on Tuesday as a fragile cease-fire held and thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians jammed bombed-out roads in the hope of returning home. The Lebanese Army will begin its deployment south of the Litani River on Thursday in line with a UN-brokered truce that halted fighting between Israel and Hizbullah, a senior political source said on Tuesday. The source said the 15,000-strong force had started to assemble at various army bases. The arrival of Lebanese and UN troops in the war-battered South is seen as a key step toward easing fears that the truce that took effect Monday could unravel at any time and trigger renewed battles. ... the Israeli Army said it killed at least three Hizbullah fighters and that a dozen rockets targeted Israeli positions in the region but that soldiers did not return fire. more.. Sad task of searching the rubble begins The Daily Star 8/16/2006 BEIRUT: The Lebanese Civil Defense pulled over 10 bodies from the rubble in the Dahiyeh Tuesday as witnesses claimed they still heard screams from under the demolished buildings. The Lebanese Red Cross confirmed that another 61 bodies had been found in the South and 18 people had been injured in rubble-related accident. "I'm looking for my friend," said 15-year old Ali Serhan, scrunching his nose because of the putrid smell of dust, rubbish and rotting bodies, as he stood outside Mojamaa al-Hassan, a compound of eight buildings where his friend used to live. "I haven't seen him since the start of the war. Before, we used to sit and play games right here and go to the barber shop so we could look nice. "So far, all Serhan had found was a soccer ball and a Koran. more.. Four Palestinians injured in an unidentified explosion Ma'an News 8/16/2006 Gaza -- Four Palestinians were injured on Wednesday when an explosion tore through the house of a Hamas activist. Ambulances hurried to evacuate the injured people to the Shifa' hospital in Gaza. According to eyewitnesses, the source of the explosion, which left huge damage, was not known. [end] more.. IDF commander: Olmert ordered us to stop YNet News 8/16/2006 Ynet correspondent joins paratroopers for 48 hours on Lebanese soil, provides an account of operation that was stopped after Hizbullah hit chopper; did hesitation and panic led to loss of momentum? Could it be done differently? -- Last Saturday at dusk, the huge transport helicopters began landing at a field somewhere in northern Israel. The dozens of Blackhawk choppers were organized in one row, their engines working, clouds of dust rising from the ground and painted red by the setting sun's rays. The nearby area where troops were gathered looked like a central bus station. Hundreds of regular and reserve paratroopers applied black, brown, and green camouflage face paint on each other, while sharing macabre jokes and exchanging friendly slaps. more.. Brigades launch two projectiles at Nahal 'Oz Ma'an News 8/16/2006 Gaza -- Aqsa brigades, the main military wing of Fatah and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have announced in a joint statement that they have launched two advanced home-made projectiles at the Israeli town of Nahal 'Oz, east of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. The joint group said this launching comes in retaliation for Israeli atrocities and assassinations in Gaza, culminating in the destruction of a house in Khan Younis, killing a father and his son. [end] more.. Lebanese general arrested for drinking tea with IDF Jerusalem Post 8/16/2006 A Lebanese general was ordered arrested Wednesday for appearing in a videotape drinking tea with IDF soldiers who had occupied his south Lebanon barracks during their incursion of the country. Adnan Daoud was summoned and ordered held for questioning, Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat said in a statement. Daoud is commanding officer of the 1,000-strong joint police-army force that had positions in southern Lebanon and was based in Marjayoun. IDF troops seized the barracks there last week and held him and 350 soldiers for a day before allowing them to leave the occupied zone. The Lebanese garrison, which is lightly armed, did not resist the Israeli force which moved in armor into the base. more.. Israel continues to evacuate Gazans to demolish their homes Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Gaza -- Israeli warplanes bombarded the home of a member of the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces gave Hussein Oudah's family an hours' warning before they demolished their home. One person was lightly injured when the house was demolished. Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli warplane fired a missile directly at the two-storey building. Missile shrapnel hit the homes nearby causing some damage to them. In related news, at least 14 Palestinians were injured on Monday night when an Israeli F16 bombed the home of an Islamic Jihad Movement activist, Said Shanan, in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip. more.. IDF says free to hit Syrian arms convoys Jerusalem Post 8/16/2006 Despite the cease-fire between Israel and Hizbullah, the IDF is allowed to destroy Syrian weapons convoys that cross into Lebanon to reach Hizbullah guerrillas, a top IDF officer said Tuesday. At the same time, the officer said, the IDF will do its best to uphold the cease-fire until the newly upgraded UNIFIL deploys in southern Lebanon together with the Lebanese Army. "We see ourselves allowed to strike at convoys moving into Lebanon," the officer said. During the 34 days of fighting, the IAF attacked such convoys on an almost daily basis. On Tuesday, the cease-fire that went into effect a day earlier held, except for two incidents in which five Hizbullah gunmen were killed. The IDF said in both cases soldiers were defending themselves... more.. Israeli forces invade Nablus area refugee camps, bulldoze a shop & family home after arresting six Palestine News Network 8/15/2006 Israeli forces invaded eastern Nablus City’s Askar Refugee Camp early Tuesday. Israeli soldiers incurred without discovery and surrounded several homes. Eyewitness reports indicate that at least 20 military vehicles followed the soldiers just moments later. Israeli forces took three brothers from the Nadi family to unknown locations, adding to the approximate 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. A member of the administrative services of Askar Refugee Camp told PNN Tuesday afternoon that Israeli forces left the Nadi family home in rubble, with five brothers and many children homeless. Israeli soldiers also took the young Murad Abu Sir to an unknown location. All are residents of Askar Refugee Camp. Eyewitnesses report that Israeli bulldozers razed the Abu Se'da shop and the Nadi family home... more.. Palestinians in Gaza Strip have held at least 196 funerals since the end of June Palestine News Network 8/15/2006 The latest campaign of Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, coined “Summer Rain” killed 196 Palestinians and injured 795 since the end of June, as indicated by Palestinian Ministry of Health Statistics. The Ministry issued its report Tuesday, covering the period of 26 June through 14 August focusing only on the Gaza Strip. Among the 196 Palestinians killed, 59 were children under the age of 18. Twenty-five women were also included in what many refer to as a massacre. The report broke down the causes of death, including 28 killed by live bullets, 75 killed by Israeli missiles from air attacks, and 85 killed by artillery shrapnel from tanks. The Ministry continued to report that 70 of the Palestinians Israeli forces killed arrived to hospitals “torn to pieces. ”... among the 795 injured, 285 are children under 18 years old. more.. Israeli forces destroy 3 homes and injure 15 Palestinians during air attacks on northern Gaza Palestine News Network 8/15/2006 After killing three members of a family yesterday who have already lost 14 family members to Israeli attacks, eyewitnesses report Tuesday morning that Israeli F16 warplanes completely destroyed two family homes in the northern Gaza Strip. In the pre-dawn attack Israeli forces fired the first missile into a house and then moments later fired the next missile into a second home. Amazingly no injuries were reported in this latest attack on Beit Hanoun. In the middle of the night Israeli warplanes fired missiles at a home in the town of Jabaliya, just northeast of Gaza City. In that bombardment, Israeli forces completely destroyed the home and injured 15 Palestinians in the area. The home owners had apparently received a warning via telephone from an Israeli military officer, telling them to leave the house before hitting it from the air. [end] more.. Elderly Palestinian woman dies of heart attack when Israeli forces fire on Palestinian refugee camp Palestine Monitor/Maan News 8/15/2006 Nablus-Ma'an-Israeli forces surrounded the Askar refugee camp in the east of Nablus and used bulldozers to demolish a house in the camp. They surrounded a housed arrested four members of one family, claiming that they are "wanted. " An elderly woman died of a heart attack because of the intensive shooting in which two other Palestinians were also injured. According to medical sources in Nablus hospital, the 70-year old woman, Um Khalil, died following a heart attack brought on by the severity of the Israeli shelling and gunfire around her house. A Palestinian youth, Omar Al Ordoni, 18, was injured by a rubber bullet during the confrontation in the camp while a young girl was injured by shrapnel from a missile. more.. Israeli forces bulldoze Palestinian land to build separation wall in West Bank Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Qalqilya -- Israeli forces used bulldozers to flatten large areas of Palestinian land in the village of Kufur Laqif, east of Qalqilia, as a prelude to construction of the third phase of the separation wall, which will be built deep inside Palestinian territory in the West Bank. Secretary of the Azzoun municipality, Majid Odwan said that Israeli bulldozers bulldozed 250 dunums of land in Azzoun and Kufur Laqif. He went on to say that the new path of the separation wall will separate the villages from hundreds of dunums of their land. He said that the two towns will also lose 250 dunums of land which will be be completely destroyed because the wall will be built on them. [end] more.. Israel arrests "wanted" Palestinians in the West Bank Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Bethlehem -- Israeli sources said that the Israeli army arrested 12 "wanted" Palestinians from several cities and villages in the West Bank. The sources added that the activists that were arrested were members of the Fatah movement, the Hamas Movement, the Islamic Jihad movement, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Israeli source did not give the names of those that there arrested. In related news, Israeli forces claimed that members of the Palestinian resistance opened fire on an Israeli military patrol in Nablus. No casualties were reported. [end] more.. Palestinian dies after a month of injury Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Jenin -- Osamah At-Tubasi, 27, a member of Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah movement died of wounds he recieved month from and Israeli attempt to assassinate the leader in the brigades, Zakariyya Az-Zubaydi. The family of At-Tubasi announced the death of her son in a Jordanian hospital after a journey of agony from Ar-Razi Hospital in Jenin, to Nablus Hospital and finally to Jordan. The deceased suffered from a serious shot in the flank. He is the father of a year old baby girl. [end] more.. Israel Targets Palestinians in Lebanon Palestine Media Center 8/14/2006 Five Palestinians Killed in Ein el-Hilweh, Gaza -- The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) were not distracted by their 34-day war on Lebanon to suspend their killing of Palestinian children, women, men, but exploited the war to expand Israel’s six-year onslaught on the Palestinian people into Lebanon. Early Monday, hours before a ceasefire took effect in Lebanon at 8:00 am, Israeli war planes launched two air strikes in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, near Sidon, at dawn, killing at least one person and wounding three others. One of the raids hit an office of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General-Command (PFLP-GC) just outside the camp. One person, the guard, was killed as well as a 16-year-old youth asleep in an adjacent house, and three civilians who live near the office were also wounded. more.. U.S. & Israel Selecting Targets For Cruise Missile First-strike Attack By Bruce Gagnon, Space4Peace 8/6/2006 Multiple military sources have told the Global Network that Pentagon personnel responsible for selecting targets for cruise missile first strike attacks have been sent to Israel. This indicates that U.S. and Israeli military strategists are now likely meeting to plan a joint attack on Syria and/or Iran. The Persian Gulf war and the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq both began with cruise missile attacks by the U.S. from Naval ships. U.S. military satellites were used to guide the missiles to their targets. It would be wise to recognize that Bush has decided to expand the current war and chaos into the entire Middle East region. The implications for the U.S. will be enormous. more.. U.S. Expands Missile Defense Dialogue with Israel Middle East Newsline 7/11/2006 WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The Bush administration has expanded efforts for missile defense cooperation with Israel, a report said. A report by several leading national security think tanks asserted that the United States has sought to expand missile defense cooperation with Israel to include Turkey. Entitled "Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century," the report said the administration has been examining Israeli proposals to augment a planned multi-layered missile defense system. "The United States has continued to expand its missile defense dialogue with Israel -- a partnership that now includes, in addition to the highly-successful jointly-developed Arrow theater missile defense system, substantial work on next-generation missile defense concepts such as high-energy lasers and boost-phase interception... " more.. Two killed in Gaza airstrike AlJazeera 8/16/2006 Two people have been killed and at least ten wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza early on Wednesday. The strike blew up a house in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The attack completely destroyed the two-storey house, killing two men who were inside and wounding at least ten, some in the house and some from neighbouring homes damaged by the explosion, medics said. Residents identified the dead as a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and his father, who they said was not a member of the group. The Israeli army said that the house was used to store weapons and that the residents were warned to leave before the attack. Late on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers fired at two Palestinian men... but it was not immediately known if the men were dead or wounded, Palestinian security officials said. more.. Israeli forces abduct Palestinian police officer Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Tulkarem -- Israeli forces abducted a drug-enforcement sergeant of the Palestinian police, Fikri Abu Al-Hayja, 27, from the Palestinian refugee camp Nur Shams, east of Tulkarem, on Tuesday. Palestinian sources said that the Israeli soldiers at a flying checkpoint on Bal'a crossing stopped the sergeant's car, tied his hands, and took him to an unknown location. [end] more.. Fatah: We will name Al Mussa's assassins today Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Gaza -- Fatah leaders have denounced those responsible for the assassination of Palestinian military intelligence commander in the northern Gaza Strip, Mohammad Al Mussa. The Fatah sources said that they will announce the names of the perpetrators of the assassination during a march after the afternoon prayer on Tuesday. The march will begin at the the Al Awda mosque in the Jabalya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip. March organisers said that Fatah members and supporters from the camp and the northern gaza governorate will take part in the march. Al Mussa was killed a week ago as he returned to his home in the camp at night. A group of armed men shot him near the Abu Sharkh Square at the southern entrance to the camp. He was seriously injured and and died several hours later. more.. Palestinians launch anti-tank missiles at Israeli military post Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Gaza -- Israeli sources said that armed Palestinians had launched anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military post near the Erez checkpoint north of the Gaza Strip. No casualties or damages were reported. The same sources added that the Israeli forces discovered four explosive devices in the centre of the Gaza Strip which they exploded near the electronic fence surrounding the Gaza Strip. [end] more.. Brigades launch home-made projectiles Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Gaza -- The Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, claimed responsibility for the launch of two home-made projectiles into Nahil Ouz early on Tuesday morning. In a statement, the brigades said that the launch was in response to the ongoing Israeli massacres against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They pledged to continue their resistance against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land until the end of the occupation. In related news, cccording to the Israeli sources, "Palestinain resistance fighters launched one home-made projectile from north Gaza at Kissufim kibbutz in the east of the Gaza Strip. No casualties or damage was reported. [end] more.. Brigades launch projectiles against Sderot Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Gaza -- Al-Aqsa Brigades, an armed group related to Fatah, and the National Resistance Brigades of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine launched two advanced home-made projectiles towards Israeli city of Sderot, on Tuesday afternoon. The brigades said in a joint statement that they will continue to bombard and resist until they achieve either victory or martyrdom. [end] more.. IDF: Hizbullah may infiltrate Lebanese army YNet News 8/15/2006 Northern Command chief warns Knesset members terrorists may join Lebanese military; Major General Udi Adam says 'Hizbullah's spirit cannot be broken' -- IDF Northern Command Chief, Maj. Gen. Udi Adam, expressed his concern Tuesday over the prospect of Hizbullah fighters joining the Lebanese army. Adam said such infiltration could take place as southern Lebanon is handed over to Lebanese control. Meanwhile, six Hizbullah members were killed Tuesday during clashes with IDF forces, despite the ceasefire that has largely been respected by both sides. The army said the clashes ensued after Hizbullah members constituted a danger to IDF troops. In a briefing to members of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee touring the north, Major General Adam explained the phases in the upcoming IDF withdrawal from Lebanon. more.. Israeli soldiers unsure how to evacuate Ma'an News 8/15/2006 Bethlehem -- Israeli reserve soldiers from the Alexandria brigade have complained that they are stuck in a very bad psychological state. They say that they are stationed on the front lines and believe that they are surrounded by Hezbollah fighters. They added that they are not sure how to evacuate because they do not believe what their commanders have told them about the evacuation plan. The Israeli paper, Yedioth Ahronoth, quoted high ranking officers in the Israeli army who expressed their fears that Hezbollah will make use of the floods of returning people to move fighters into the region and improve its position. [end] more.. 'Budget behind equipment shortage' YNet News 8/15/2006 IDF Logistics Directorate head, Major General Avi Mizrahi responds to criticisms of severe shortages in equipment: 'If there was more money I would take more war rations' -- The IDF is dealing with serious criticism from soldiers returning from the front, and especially from reserve soldiers, of shortages in equipment, food, and water, which made fighting in Lebanon even more difficult. Speaking to Ynet on Tuesday evening, Logistics Directorate head, Major General Avi Mizrahi, responded to complaints, saying that "a shortage in budget is behind the equipment shortage. There were units which we did not get to, but that's because of difficulties in fighting. " Despite the wide-spread criticism, Major General Mizrahi claims that on the ground, there were not many errors, and that the incidents reported on in the press were rare. more.. IDF: Troops killed top Hezbollah man minutes before cease-fire Ha'aretz 8/16/2006 Israel Defense Forces troops killed a senior Hezbollah leader just before the UN cease-fire took effect, the army said Wednesday. GOC Northern Command Udi Adam said IDF forces killed the head of Hezbollah's special forces, identified as Sajed Dawayer, during clashes in Bint Jbail. There was no immediate confirmation from Lebanon. The IDF said Dawayer was killed moments before the cease fire went into effect at 8 A. M. Monday morning. Both sides continued attacks right up until the last minute. A Hezbollah official in the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon dismissed the IDF report as "baseless," saying he had not heard of a Hezbollah military leader named Sajed Dawayer.... Earlier Tuesday, a senior Hezbollah official said that no member of Hezbollah's top leadership was killed in Israeli attacks against Lebanon during the war. more.. Hezbollah border-line fighters mastered Hebrew Ha'aretz 8/16/2006 Hebrew-speaking Hezbollah fighters were stationed at outposts along the border with Israel before the war broke out, according to documents retrieved by the Israel Defense Forces while destroying the organization's line of outposts. The documents contained transcripts in Hebrew of soldiers' conversations on IDF communications networks and other subjects. IDF soldiers who had been stationed along the Lebanese border before the war told Haaretz that Hezbollah fighters used to call out to them in Hebrew.... "The Hezbollah men on the other side recognized us and asked us, shouting, where our company commander was. They used the company commanders' radio code name, and we understood from this that they hear and understand everything we say on the radio. " more.. Israeli air strike on north Gaza kills three Palestinian farmers Ma'an News 8/14/2006 Gaza -- Israeli fighter planes hit and killed three Palestinian farmers while they were working on their farms in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli bombing hit a group of farmers near the town's agricultural school. Medical sources at the Kamal 'Odwan Hospital said that Othman Hassan Alba, 55, Zuhair Shehada Al Kafarneh, 50 and Ahmad Ashour Al Kafarneh, 17 were killed in the Israeli air strike. The Israeli army claimed that they targeted an armed Palestinian group that had fired rockets at Israeli towns in the western Negev. The army spokesman said that three Palestinians were hit. [end] more.. Cluster bombs await returning Lebanese AlJazeera 8/14/2006 One person has been killed and at least 12 others injured when cluster bombs exploded as Lebanese returned to their homes after the ceasefire announcement. An Israeli cluster bomb exploded in the southern village of Ansar on Monday, killing one person and wounding six, Lebanese police said. Six people were also wounded, including a rescue worker, when another cluster bomb exploded in the Nabatiyeh area. In a joint statement, the UN and the Lebanese government "urged the population to exercise extreme caution, due to the large quantities of unexploded artillery and mortar shells strewn across the countryside". The UN's ceasefire resolution... calls on Israel to provide "all remaining maps of land mines in Lebanon in Israel's possession". Israel laid more than 400,000 mines during its previous occupation of south Lebanon from 1978 to 2000. more.. Mortar fire in south Lebanon YNet News 8/15/2006 Ceasefire agreement breached as Hizbullah terrorists fire four mortar shells toward south Lebanon; no injuries reported. Target may have been IDF soldiers -- The ceasefire agreement that went into effect at 8 a. m. Monday was breached early Tuesday when Hizbullah terrorists fired four mortar shells were toward south Lebanon. No injuries were reported in the incident. The IDF confirmed the report. IDF forces are still operating inside Lebanese territory, and the mortar fire may have been aimed at them. Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly threatened in his recent speeches that the fighting will rage on as long as IDF soldiers remain on Lebanese soil. Israeli security and government officials estimated that Hizbullah would try to attack IDF forces ahead of their expected withdrawal in the coming days. more.. Troops shell a house in Jabalia, at least twelve residents injured International Middle East Media Center 8/15/2006 Palestinian Medical sources and eyewitnesses in Jabalia town, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, reported that at least twelve residents were injured when an Israeli fighter jet fired at least one missile at a Palestinian house in the town. The sources added that the Israeli air force shelled the house of Sa'id Joudah, one of the leaders of the Al Quds brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad. The house was leveled by the blast, and at least twelve residents were hospitalized. A doctor a Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said that some of the injured residents suffered serious injuries. Eyewitnesses reported that the residents living in the house received a phone call from someone who identified himself as an Israeli military officer, and ordered them to evacuate the house within 15 minutes. more.. Israel strikes two Gaza houses AlJazeera 8/15/2006 Israeli aircraft have carried out two air strikes in Gaza, injuring eight Palestinians. The first strike, in the Jabalya refugee camp, targeted the home of a member of Islamic Jihad, a group which earlier on Monday fired at least two rockets into Israel, the army said. Residents of the building were told to leave before the strike, but medics said eight people were injured. Many of the wounded were bystanders, though the house's owner and his wife and children were outside the building during the attack and were also wounded, hospital officials said. A vehicle parked outside the building was set ablaze. The second strike, in the Bait Hanoun district of northern Gaza, hit a house where a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of resistance groups, was living, residents of the area said. more.. Stunned families return to shattered homes in devastated suburbs The Daily Star 8/15/2006 BEIRUT: "Incredible. All this destruction is incredible. " Salwa Hammoud, 37, was looking from her balcony in Haret Hreik at a neighborhood that has been almost wiped out by a month-long Israeli onslaught. "I can barely recognize my neighborhood," she said a few hours after the cease-fire went into effect, pointing at flattened buildings where people she knows - or knew - once lived. Behind her, the kitchen floor was full of shattered glass; doors were dismantled, but a cabinet full of porcelain dishes and teacups was miraculously intact. On the sink lay rotten portions of cheese that had been left there when Hammoud's family left the apartment two days after Israel started bombarding the southern suburbs. more.. VIDEO - Seymour Hersh: U.S. Helped Plan Israeli Attack Information Clearing House/Democracy Now! 8/14/2006 Cheney "Convinced" Assault on Lebanon Could Serve as Prelude to Preemptive Attack on Iran - In this week's issue of the New Yorker, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports Israeli officials visited the White House earlier this summer to get a "green light" for an attack on Lebanon. The Bush administration approved, Hersh says, in part to remove Hezbollah as a deterrent to a potential US bombing of Iran. A government consultant said the Bush administration also saw the attack on Lebanon as a "demo" for what it could expect to face in Iran. more.. Child injured in Rafah, two brothers taken prisoners east of the city International Middle East Media Center 8/15/2006 The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported on Monday at night that one child was injured after the Israeli tanks stationed near Arafat International Airport shelled several houses in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Two brothers were taken prisoners in a separate attack in the town. A medical source at Abu Yousef Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah reported that the child, Abdul-Hamid Es'efan, 14, was hit by several rounds of live ammunition in his right leg; his injury was described as moderate. Eyewitnesses reported that tanks stationed around Arafat International Airport fired at dozens of houses east of Rafah. In a separate attack also on Monday at night, soldiers took two brothers prisoners after invading Al Shouka area, in Rafah, and breaking into several houses. more.. Lebanese army to begin deployment within two days Ha'aretz 8/14/2006 A vanguard United Nations force will begin deployment throughout southern Lebanon within 24 to 48 hours, Israel Defense Forces sources assessed on Monday night. Immediately following the UNIFIL force's arrival, Lebanese army units will also begin moving into southern Lebanon, even if Israel and Lebanon have yet to hold any contacts to coordinate the transfer of control over the territory. The first day of the cease-fire in southern Lebanon passed with relative calm Monday. Hezbollah ceased its rocket attacks against northern Israel, and no offensive operations by the air force were undertaken against Lebanese targets. Despite the cease-fire, Hezbollah has said it will still attack Israel Defense Forces in southern Lebanon. more.. Israeli intelligence may be planning Gaza incursion to retrieve captured soldier Palestine News Network 8/14/2006 After fierce Israeli aggression against Lebanon and a win in the United Nations, Israeli forces are reported to be planning their next victory. This time the target is one of their own; the Israeli soldier captured while he was invading the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. An Al Qassam Brigades armed resistance leader in Khan Younis said Monday this is the likely scenario and that the Hamas resistance movement will move the soldier and fight back if need be. The predominant thought is that Israeli forces will take advantage of the moment, believing that with talks under way to obtain his release through a prisoner exchange for Palestinian women and children in Israeli jails, Israeli intelligence has something else in mind. more.. Ramallah Palestinians considering moving due to more checkpoints & roadblocks as settlers speed past Palestine News Network 8/14/2006 After closing the Qalandia Checkpoint in southern Ramallah, converting into a “border terminal,” and opening it for passage months ago, Israeli forces re-imposed the checkpoint. Under the rays of hot sun, hundreds of Palestinian cars stretched for several kilometers throughout the past week, awaiting passage to or from home and work. Hundreds of people have been turned away as dozens of Israeli soldiers cover nearly every square inch of cement. The roads all the way through southern Ramallah are closed, with Israeli soldiers inspecting identification, personal belongings, and bodies. Within the cars and buses, hundreds of Palestinians are waiting with their backs stuck to the seats in the heat.... The nightmare is getting ever worse in the West Bank as Israeli forces encircle Jerusalem, Ramallah, and cities to both the north and the south. more.. IDF to begin withdrawal by end of week Jerusalem Post 8/15/2006 Israel's war with Hizbullah seemed to come to an end on Monday, the first day of quiet after a UN-brokered cease-fire went into effect at 8 a. m. following more than a month of fighting. Senior officers told The Jerusalem Post the IDF planned to begin withdrawing troops from Lebanon by the end of the week and to begin releasing thousands of reservists back to their homes. On Monday, high-ranking IDF officers met with officials from UNIFIL at the Rosh Hanikra crossing and discussed the planned handover of southern Lebanon to the multinational force - made up of an upgraded UNIFIL and the Lebanese army - set to begin gradually by the end of the week. As the cease-fire took effect, the IDF suspended all air strikes and artillery shelling of Hizbullah targets. more.. IDF: Logistics chief didn't say looting of Lebanese shops okay Ha'aretz 8/15/2006 The IDF Spokesman's Office said Monday that comments attributed to Brigadier General Avi Mizrahi, the head of the army's logistics branch, to the effect that soldiers deep inside Lebanese territory without food could break into local stores, had not been made by him. Earlier Monday, Army Radio's website had quoted Mizrahi saying, "If our fighters deep in Lebanese territory are left without food or water, I believe they can break into local Lebanese stores to solve that problem. "Mizrahi did tell Army Radio that if the army was "at war and there is a danger that the soldiers will not be able to carry out their operational mission like they should, and what they need to do is to take water from a store, then yes, they can take it. " more.. Released: 2 troops killed in Lebanon Sunday YNet News 8/15/2006 It has been cleared for publication that two more soldiers were killed Sunday by anti-tank missile in south Lebanon, bringing number of IDF fatalities in war to 118 -- It has been cleared for publication that two IDF soldiers were killed when an anti-tank missile struck an Engineering Corps vehicle they traveling in near the south Lebanese village of Kantar, thus raising the IDF fatalities in the war to 118. One of the soldiers killed was identified as Yevgeny Timofayev, 20, of Rishon Letzion. He will be laid to rest at 7:30 p. m. at Rishon Letzion’s military cemetery. The other soldier was reserves Staff Sergeant David Amar, 24, of Kiryat Shmona. Seven more IDF troops were killed and 25 were injured Lebanon Sunday. more.. What happened during the last battle? YNet News 8/15/2006 An anti-tank missile hit a D9 bulldozer operating near the building. Its heavy armor didn't stand up and its two-man team was immediately killed. -- The battalion's medical company set up its equipment on the ground floor of one of the houses. The company, commanded by the battalion's doctor, was comprised of about 20 soldiers, half of them medics and the other half the evacuation platoon, whose job it is to stretcher out the wounded and dead. Two other platoons from the support company occupied the second floor. The battalion had seen its first action on Friday, when two of its soldiers were badly wounded. It was taken out for a short rest of 10 hours on Shabbat and went back in again that night. According to the procedure designed not to expose the troops to anti-tank missile fire, they went in on foot... more.. All-Druse Herev Battalion returns after 32 days without single casualty Jerusalem Post 8/15/2006 They hiked over 40 kilometers, killed close to 20 Hizbullah guerrillas and spent 32 days in Lebanon without a single casualty. But on Monday, soldiers from the Herev Battalion emerged from battle, sweaty, dusty and tired making history twice - as the first battalion to enter Lebanon and the one to spend the longest amount of time deep in enemy territory under Operation Change of Direction. The battalion, consisting strictly of Druse soldiers from northern Israel, was on its way to take control of the northern border with Lebanon on July 12, when Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were kidnapped in a cross-border Hizbullah attack. Commanded by Lt. -Col. Wajdi Sahran, the battalion secured the area of the kidnapping and assisted in the evacuation of the dead soldiers from the scene of the attack. more.. Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in latest air attack on northern Gaza Strip Palestine News Network 8/14/2006 Palestinian medical sources reported Monday morning that Israeli forces killed three Palestinian civilians in Beit Hanoun. The bodies were identified, in spite of being severely dismembered. The northern Gaza Strip Israeli air raid came at pre-dawn. An Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a house, killing the three Palestinians and injuring three others. Eyewitnesses say that members of the armed resistance had placed a homemade projectile east of Beit Hanoun, and then went to the Al Kavarnh family home where the Israeli missile struck. Doctors at Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip released the names of the deceased as, 18 year old Ahmed Ashour Al Kavarnh, 70 year old Alba Osman Al Kavarnh, and 50 year old Zuhair Al Kavarnh. Medical sources described the bodies as arriving “in pieces. ” more.. Anti-Hizbullah comment sparks W.Bank 'riot' Jerusalem Post 8/14/2006 Two Palestinian families went after each other with knives and clubs at a wedding after one guest cursed the leader of Lebanon's Hizbullah guerrilla group, Palestinian security officials said Monday. Seven people were seriously wounded, they said. It took police three hours to break up the brawl that erupted Sunday night in the village of Aqada near the West Bank town of Jenin after a critic called Sheik Hassan Nasrallah "a dog," they said. Nasrallah's Hizbullah touched off a five-week war with Israel by killing eight Israeli soldiers and capturing two in a cross-border raid. A cease-fire that went into effect early Monday was designed to halt the violence. [end] more.. Army detains PA police officers in Tubas International Middle East Media Center 8/14/2006 Israeli troops detained several police officers and the commander of a police in the West Bank city of Tubas on Monday at dawn. Palestinian security forces in Tubas reported that early on Monday morning Israel soldiers stormed the police station in the city and took all officers, including the police commander in the city to a nearby military checkpoint, then all were released after interrogation. [end] more.. Two residents taken prisoners from a town near Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/14/2006 Troops took two residents prisoners during a predawn invasion to the town of Halhoul, near the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday. The arrestees were identified as Sameh Al Atrash, 23 and Ali Al Baba, 18, both were taken when troops searched several houses; they were taken to an unknown location. [end] more.. Israeli Troops Target Palestinian Cars International Middle East Media Center 8/14/2006 Palestinian vehicles were targeted by Israeli soldiers Monday as they tried to enter the West Bank town of Arrabah. Soldiers fired at vehicles coming from the West Bank town of Ya’abad and the nearby city of Jenin and other Palestinian villages, according to eyewitnesses, who also stated that five Israeli patrols fired rounds into the air as they entered Arrabah. Three soldiers were left behind to man the checkpoint at the entrance. [end] more.. Israel to maintain blockade of Lebanon while Israeli forces begin withdrawal The Daily Star 8/14/2006 JERUSALEM, Aug 14, 2006 (AFP) - Israel said Monday it would maintain its air and sea blockade of Lebanon despite a ceasefire on the ground to end more than a month of fighting. "The maritime and aerial blockade will be kept in place until a mechanism is put in place to control smuggling of arms" to Hezbollah, a military source said. The statement came less than an hour after a UN-brokered ceasefire in fighting between Israel and the Shiite militant group took effect at 0500 GMT. Israel says that Hezbollah receives arms from Syria and Iran, a charge denied by the two countries. Israeli forces begin to withdraw from Lebanon: Some Israeli forces began withdrawing from southern Lebanon Monday after a UN-brokered ceasefire to end more than a month of warfare went into effect. more.. Army takes two prisoners from Kofer Ra'ee and invades Al Yamon International Middle East Media Center 8/14/2006 Israeli forces took two prisoners on Monday morning from the village of Kafer Ra'y, and invaded the nearby village of Al Yamoun, west Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank. The prisoners were identified as Othman Melhem, 18 and Mohamed Melehm, 18, both were taken to unknown locations after troops searched their houses and ransacked them, eyewitnesses reported. Also, local sources reported that troops invaded AL Yamoun village and searched dozens of houses. Soldiers fire tear gas and concussion grenades at the houses, no injuries were reported. [end] more.. Islamic Jihad mob kills alleged collaborator Jerusalem Post 8/13/2006 Five gunmen shot dead an alleged collaborator in front of hundreds of people in a public square in the Jenin refugee camp on Sunday, accusing him of giving information to Israeli authorities, witnesses said. The gunmen, who identified themselves as members of Islamic Jihad, accused the victim of helping Israel killed two terrorists last week in a targeted attack, said witnesses and Islamic Jihad members. Sunday's killing came in response to a helicopter attack on the homes of the two last Wednesday, said an Islamic Jihad official. The victim was identified as Bassem Malah, 22, who worked in Umm el-Fahm. He was due to be married next week. Islamic Jihad said he also worked for the Israeli security services. more.. IAF drone strikes refugee convoy; 7 reported dead, 36 wounded Ha'aretz 8/12/2006 An Israeli Air Force drone fired missiles Friday night into a convoy of refugees fleeing attacks in the southern town of Marjayoun, killing at least seven people and wounding 36 others, an Associated Press photographer traveling with the convoy said. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident. The convoy, consisting of more than 100 civilian vehicles and those carrying a detachment of 350 Lebanese soldiers and police from the area around Marjayoun, was hit near Chtaura on the west side of the Bekaa Valley. Later Friday, IAF aircraft bombed two electricity transformers in south Lebanon, plunging the port city of Tyre into darkness, security sources said. Two armored UN peacekeeping vehicles had led the convoy out of Marjayoun on Friday afternoon, but it was not known if they were still accompanying it when the attack occurred. more.. Senior officers: Operation to continue as planned YNet News 8/12/2006 Sources in Jerusalem say no contradiction between UN move, war in field; note ceasefire will anyway wait for multinational force's arrival. On Sunday, Olmert to recommend cabinet accept outline; meanwhile, air strikes continue, IDF prefers for massive ground entry -- While an agreement on a ceasefire in the Middle East was being formed at the United Nations Security Council, senior Israel Defense Forces officers said that the wide-scale operation – approved by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz in accordance with the cabinet decision – will be launched as planned. The goal: Arriving at the Litani River, a move which according to the army's estimates will take a week, and another four to six weeks to establish the line and mop up the area. more.. Gaza crisis deepens while spotlight on Lebanon ReliefWeb 8/11/2006 GAZA CITY, Aug 10, 2006 (AFP) - The month-old international crisis sparked by Israel's devastating offensive in Lebanon has stolen the spotlight from the Gaza Strip, which continues to be pounded daily by Israeli forces and is suffering a major humanitarian crisis. At least 171 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have been killed since Israel launched its "Summer Rain" operation against the Palestinian territory on June 28. The largest Israeli offensive in Gaza since the withdrawal of troops and settlers a year ago was ordered following the June 25 capture of an Israeli soldier by militants. One of the three groups that nabbed the 19-year-old corporal is the armed wing of the Hamas movement, which shocked Israel and the West when it won Palestinian elections in January and took the helm of government in March. more.. Israelis hit heart of Beirut, warn of new suburbs to be targeted The Daily Star 8/11/2006 BEIRUT: Israel hit Beirut's historic lighthouse in the densely populated western section of the capital Thursday - and warned residents in three southern suburbs to get out immediately. The lighthouse attack was the first to hit the heart of Beirut since Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned a week ago that he would fire rockets on Tel Aviv, if Israel hit the Lebanese capital. "If you bomb our capital Beirut, we will bomb the capital of your usurping entity. We will bomb Tel Aviv," Nasrallah said in a taped television speech on August 3. The attack on Beirut damaged the top of the French colonial-era lighthouse, which was no longer in use because buildings have risen around it and blocked it from the sea. more.. Rocket strikes 11-story building Jerusalem Post 8/11/2006 120 rockets were fired at northern Israel on Friday. A katyusha rocket directly hit an eleven story building in Kiryat Shmona Friday afternoon. Rescue workers said that no major damage had been done to the building and there was no danger that the building could collapse. A number of rockets hit Kiryat Shmona earlier Friday, wounding one woman who had been directly hit by shrapnel, while another person was lightly wounded. At least three rockets hit Safed on Friday afternoon, lightly wounding two residents who were taken to Ziv Hospital. Several people in both locations were taken to hospital for shock. One home in Haifa sustained a direct hit from several rockets on Friday morning. Rescue forces were rushing to the scene. more.. Israeli warplanes attack Gaza City neighborhood Palestine News Network 8/11/2006 At dawn Friday an Israeli F16 warplane fired missiles into two homes near Jabaliya Refugee Camp north of Gaza City. The targeted assassination attempt against two leaders of the Popular Resistance Committees failed, yet destroyed several homes on Al Younis Street. Eyewitnesses reported that residents received warning 15 minutes before the attack and evacuated. A state of fear and panic reportedly overtook the entire neighborhood as people began running. Earlier Israeli warplanes bombed another armed resistance leader’s home, destroying it and parts of his neighbors’. The three-story house was new to the leader, having just bought it for 100,000 Jordanian Dinars. Hospital sources report that two people were severely injured, one with a head wound. [end] more.. Hezbollah fighters sink a further Israeli warship Ma'an News 8/11/2006 Bethlehem – Hezbollah fighters have targeted an Israeli naval warship opposite to shores of Tyre. Pictures of that warship have been broadcast; appearing to confirm that at least one rocket has directly hit it, causing it to sink with 12 crew members on board. The pictures were transmitted on Al-Jazeera satellite news channel. [end] more.. Mother and her son abducted by Israeli military from Jerusalem suburb Ma'an News 8/11/2006 Jerusalem -- Late on Thursday evening, Israeli forces broke into the house of Salim Qre in the Palestinian town of Al Azarea, searching it and destroying its contents, on the pretext that the house contained weapons. The Israelis abducted Salim Qre's wife and son and took them to the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adummim for interrogation. In related news, on Friday, the Israeli authorities released the Jerusalemite youth, Jamal Dandan, 19, having been imprisoned for 3 and a half years, in addition to a 6000 NIS fine. In the same regard, Muhammad 'Umar Abu Da'mos was also released after he had served 20 months in an Israeli jail on the charge of membership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. [end] more.. Gaza hopes in ruins a year after pullout began ReliefWeb 8/11/2006 By Nidal al-MughrabiBEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip, Aug 11 (Reuters) - As Palestinian farmer Hassan Abdel-Dayem looks across his fields to the rubble of former Jewish settlements, he sees an Israeli armoured vehicle trundling past. A year ago, optimism soared in the Gaza Strip as Israel began its withdrawal of Jewish settlers after 38 years of occupation. Now, depression has rarely been deeper. Hopes that Gaza could become a shining example of a future Palestinian state have been sunk by renewed violence with Israel as well as internal squabbles that set factions on the brink of war in the poor territory of 1. 4 million people. "How close are we to a state? It is impossible," said Abdel-Dayem as he kneeled to work in his eggplant plot beside his wife and daughter. "Nothing changed except for the worse. " more.. New Israeli gate blocks traffic between Tulkarem and Nablus Ma'an News 8/11/2006 Tulkarem -- The Israeli military have installed an iron gate across the main road between Tulkarem and Nablus governorates. Eyewitnesses told Ma'an that yesterday when they passed in the morning there was no gate and on their way back they found a new gate. Taxi drivers who use the road regularly told our correspondent that the gate prohibits citizens from travelling to Nablus after 7:00pm, when it closes. In addition, the gate causes extensive traffic congestion, even when it is open. [end] more.. Israeli warplanes target homes of Palestinian activists in air strikes on Gaza Ma'an News 8/11/2006 Gaza -- Israeli warplanes launched two air strikes early on Friday morning, targeting a number of homes of Palestinian activists. Ma'an's correspondent reported that the Israeli F-16 warplanes bombed a single storey house belonging to Younis Muhisin in the Ash Shuja'iyyah district, in the east of the city of Gaza. Although the building was completely destroyed, no casualties were reported. Earlier, Israeli warplanes destroyed the three-storey home of Jameel Al Habibi, in the Jabalia refugee camp, without advanced warning. Again, no casualties were reportedInitial reports indicated that the house of Naim Abu Al Foul, one of the leaders of the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, was heavily shelled, causing serious material damage. [end] more.. Abduction of a Palestinian Ma'an News 8/11/2006 Qalqilia -- The Israeli occupation forces have, on Friday afternoon, abducted a Palestinian from the town of 'Azzun, east of the West Bank city of Qalqilia. Our correspondent stated that the Israelis entered the town during Friday prayers and threw tear gas grenades amongst the worshippers in the main mosque in the middle of the town, before abducting Ghazi Suwedan, 17. [end] more.. Israeli troops arrest Fadi Abu Tal'at in Jericho Ma'an News 8/11/2006 Jericho – Early on Friday morning, Israeli forces arrested Fadi Abu Tal'at after they besieged his house in the city of Jericho. 13 Israeli military vehicles invaded the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp in the city of Jericho early on Friday morning, and surrounded Fadi Abu Tal'at's family home. Using loudhailers, troops demanded he surrender himself. After seizing him, the troops withdrew without any resistance. Fadi, 27, is a father of 3 children, a previous detainee and works at the Jawwal telephone company. [end] more.. Resistance groups target Israeli towns east and north of the Gaza Strip Ma'an News 8/11/2006 Gaza -- Palestinian resistance fighters have launched a number of homemade projectiles into Israeli towns along the edge of the Gaza Strip, early on Friday morning. The Al Aqsa Brigades and the Al Mujahideen Brigades, both military wings of the Fatah movement, and the National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), have claimed joint responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles into the city of Ashkelon early on Friday morning, stating that "they will continue their resistance against the Israeli occupation". In addition, the Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, along with The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles... more.. Photo Story: 'Gaza lit on fire by taxes paid by the civilized world' Rafah Today 8/10/2006 The attack on Gaza is still ongoing. Rafah border opened for just three hours allowing Palestinians to leave, then it closed again because of Israeli threats. Last night was an awful nigh in Gaza city. There have been multiple attacks and incursions in the Gaza Strip. 3 Palestinian were killed, one of them a 5 years old child [a girl]. A Palestinian car which was bombed by Israeli F16s belonged to the Popular Resistance Committee—civilians were injured and killed in the attack. Blood, legs, arms and fingers are all scattered across Palestinian streets after an Israeli helicopter strike. This is not new for Gaza. Israeli public opinion against Olmert is rising, and the media is ignoring Gaza.... Gaza is still the same. It is lit up on fire by the taxes paid for by the civilized world... more.. At least six killed, 15 injured by Israeli missile fired at convoy of fleeing refugees in Lebanon International Middle East Media Center 8/12/2006 A group of Lebanese civilians attempting to follow the Israeli instructions to evacuate southern Lebanon had formed a convoy of 600 civilian vehicles, accompanied by 350 Lebanese soldiers and police. The convoy was attempting to make its way north from the Christian city of Marjayoun Friday night when an Israeli war plane dropped a missile on the group. This is not the first time that Israeli forces have struck a convoy heading north for safety - practically every convoy has taken casualties -- leading many of the estimated 80,000 Lebanese civilians remaining in southern Lebanon to decide they'd rather not risk it. An Associated Press photographer, Lutfallah Daher, was with the convoy when it was hit near the Bekaa Valley town of Chtaura, about 30 miles north of the Litani River. more.. Despite an international ban, Israeli Foreign Ministry claims their use of cluster bombs not illegal Palestine News Network 8/11/2006 Without a real explanation, the Israeli Foreign Ministry declared that it is not illegal for Israeli forces to use internationally banned cluster bombs. After Israel declared war on Hezbollah on 12 July within the context of years of struggle during Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah then killing eight soldiers, Israeli forces began using cluster bombs. Internationally recognized as illegal and therefore banned, the Israeli air forces use them anyway. The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement Friday to explain why. After being questioned on Israel’s use of prohibited weapons, the Foreign Ministry wrote, “Concerning the use of cluster bombs by the IDF are described as illegal, it should be noted that these methods of combat are not prohibited under the International Charter on Conventional Weapons, which Israel is a signatory. ” more.. "Hot air pushed me off my chair. I was on the ground. I thought I was dead' The Guardian 8/12/2006 A third of those killed were children under 13 -- Thirteen-year-old Hassan al-Rai lies on a bed in Beirut's Hayat hospital, his eyelids heavy, dark red wounds covering his face and torso. "I was sitting with my cousins and my brothers, we were listening to music, hanging out. Then there was fire and smoke. I looked down and I saw blood all over me. My brother and cousins were hurt; my brother had blood coming from his head. I don't know what has happened to him. " Hassan doesn't yet know that his brother is dead. He was killed on Monday night in an Israeli missile strike on a residential building in the Shiyyah district of southern Beirut. Yesterday morning rescue workers were still searching for bodies among the rubble. The attack, which claimed the lives of at least 61 people, has become the single greatest loss of life since the conflict began. more.. Midday Roundup: Israel Renews Strikes on Southern Suburbs as US Envoy Returns to Beirut An Nahar 8/11/2006 Israel renewed its air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs Friday as a high-ranking U.S. envoy held talks with Prime Minister Fouad Saniora for the second time in 48 hours on a possible compromise plan to end the month-long hostilities in Lebanon. In the south, UNIFIL troops awaited word on a safe passage to evacuate 350 members of a joint Lebanese army and police force from the southwestern town of Marjayoun as Hizbullah reported fierce battles with Israeli forces in the central sector. Israeli warplanes pounded the southern suburbs at midday firing three missiles within half an hour at the districts of Bir el Abed and Hay Madi, LBCI television said. Loud explosions reverberated throughout the capital as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch arrived unexpectedly to meet with Saniora... more.. Israeli warplanes plunge Tyre into darkness YNet News 8/11/2006 Electricity transformers in southern Lebanon city hit; Israeli drone rockets refugee convoy fleeing southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, killing and wounding as many as 15 people -- Israeli warplanes bombed two electricity transformers in south Lebanon on Friday night, plunging the port city of Tyre into darkness, security sources said. The attack came as Israel said it was expanding its ground operation in southern Lebanon. An Israeli drone fired missiles into a convoy of refugees fleeing attacks in the southern town of Marjayoun, killing and wounding as many as 15 people, witnesses and security officials said. The convoy, consisting of more than 100 civilian vehicles and those carrying a detachment of 350 Lebanese soldiers and police from the area around Marjayoun, was hit near Chtaura on the west side of the Bekaa Valley. more.. IDF: It'll take week to reach Litani YNet News 8/11/2006 According to timetable IDF presented to cabinet, it would take troops additional 4-6 weeks to defeat Hizbullah terrorists after reaching Litani -- One month after the outbreak of the war in Lebanon, during which the Israeli army has established a security zone along the border and reached a depth of 12 kilometers into Lebanese territory, the IDF got a 'green light' Friday night to continue north up to the Litani River. The order was given against the backdrop of a fervor of international diplomatic talks hoping to reach a ceasefire agreement as soon as Friday night. The aim of the operation is to distance Hizbullah terror cells, especially those responsible for rocket attacks on Israeli, as far north as possible, thus widening the buffer zone along the border. IDF officials assessed this week that the completion of such a mission could take two months. more.. Morning Roundup: Israeli Warplanes Pound Beirut's Southern Suburbs and Two Border Crossings, Killing 11 An Nahar 8/11/2006 Israeli jets pounded Beirut's southern suburbs and two border crossings in north and east Lebanon early Friday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 11 others as diplomats at the U. N. wrangled for an agreement to end the hostilities. The casualties were near the Abboudiyeh border crossing into Syria where Israeli jets struck twice at a busy bridge, security officials said. At least 20 explosions also reverberated in central Beirut as thick black smoke rose from the suburb of Dahieh, a Hizbullah stronghold already devastated from previous Israeli attacks.... Israeli fighter bombers shot missiles at the Haita bridge leading to the Abboudiyeh crossing in the Akkar plain, near the border with Syria, and returned for a second strike when residents had gone onto the bridge to inspect the damage. more.. Khaibar-1 missile fired at Haifa YNet News 8/11/2006 Hizbullah launches multiple rocket barrages at northern Israel: Khaibar-1 missile fired at Haifa, 2 people injured by shrapnel in Safed, Kiryat Shmona. Between 10 and 10:30, 16 rockets fall on Haifa and Krayot: 2 people lightly injured by shrapnel, 12 suffer shock. Rockets fall in Nahariya, damage caused. Sirens heard in Binyamina -- Day 31: Hizbullah fired a Khaibar-1 rocket at Haifa on Friday, police confirmed. The explosion of the 302 mm rocket echoed as far south as Hadera, residents said. A barrage of several long-range Katyusha rockets landed in the city on Friday, with one of the rocket slamming in the midst of the coastal highway, which was reopened in the afternoon. In Kiryat Shmona, a man was moderately injured by shrapnel from a rocket that hit a building Friday afternoon, paramedics said. more.. Nahariya, Akko targeted by rocket barrages YNet News 8/11/2006 Residents of the western Galilee woke to sounds of air raid sirens, two rockets land close to 7:00 in the morning -- An air raid siren was heard shortly after 7:00 on Friday morning across the western Galilee, and two rockets fired by Hizbullah landed in the Nahariya area and in Akko. There were no injuries and damage was caused. In a deadly barrage fired on Thursday afternoon in Israel , Maryam Asadi, 26, and her five year old son, Fathi Ahmed Asadi, were killed when a rocket directly hit their house in Dir el-Asad, near Carmiel. The woman's three year old son, and his grandmother who was also in the home, were both severely injured. Additionally, three people were lightly wounded and dozens were treated for shock. more.. Palestinian youth stabs guard in Hasharon prison YNet News 8/11/2006 Palestinian prisoner in juvenile wing of Hasharon prisoner stabs guard in the back with 15 cm knife -- Friday morning, a prison guard was moderately injured after being stabbed in the back by a prisoner from wing 8 in the Hasharon prison – the wing housing underage Palestinian prisoners. The incident took place when the guard visited the prison wing to perform a routine a prisoner count. Upon entering one of the cells, a seventeen year old youth, originally jailed for throwing Molotov cocktails, attacked him, wielding a makeshift knife 15 cm in length. The youth managed to stab the guard twice in the back, before being restrained by another prison guard. MDA paramedics were called immediately. They transferred the officer to the Meir hospital in Kfar Saba, upon identifying that he had sustained moderate injuries. more.. Palestinian teenager stabs Israeli prison guard as guards begin attacking political prisoners Palestine News Network 8/11/2006 At noon Friday 100 Israeli soldiers stormed the Palestinian prisoner cells of Hadarim Prison, as reported by human rights sources. The soldiers fired tear gas throughout the Palestinian sections, with special attention paid Section 8. Several prisoners fainted due to gas inhalation, while all scheduled visits were cancelled. The day was described as “lonely” because Friday is a major day for families. Israeli prison administrators forced all waiting visitors to leave. At the same time inside the prison Israeli guards took some 10 political prisoners to solitary confinement and confiscated all televisions, radios, and the personal affects of others. Trained military dogs also searched the cells while the Palestinians were forced to wait outside in the heat of midday. The situation was described as, “difficult and tense. ” more.. Sharon's Sons Reportedly Called up for Lebanon Offensive An Nahar 8/11/2006 The two sons of Israel's comatose former prime minister Ariel Sharon have been called up as reservists for the offensive in Lebanon, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday. Omri, 42, and Gilad, 39, who have been taking turns at their father's bedside after he suffered a massive brain hemorrhage in January, must join their paratrooper intelligence reserve units, according to the Maariv daily. Sharon, 78, who presided over Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, left public life as one of Israel's most popular premiers in early January. His successor Ehud Olmert launched the Jewish state's ongoing offensive on Lebanon July 12 after Hizbullah seized two soldiers in a cross-border raid. (AFP). [end] more.. Peace activist murdered by Palestinian YNet News 8/11/2006 Angelo Frammartino, a 24 year-old Italian student, planned to set up summer camp for Palestinians; He was attacked and murdered by Arab knifeman -- Angelo Frammartino, a 24 year-old student from Italy who arrived in Israel as a human rights organization activist, was stabbed to death Thursday by an Arab knifeman. "He believed in what he did and was always ready to help others," a friend described him. The website of Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported that Frammartino was working for the setting up of a children's supper camp for Palestinians in Jerusalem's Old City, and was supposed to return to Italy on Friday. The youth was stabbed in the back while walking with four friends in the Sultan Suleiman street in the capital, near the Prahim Gate. more.. Photos - CRIMINAL DESTRUCTION Al-Ahram Weekly 8/10/2006 Israeli air strikes have systematically targeted civilian infrastructure in a campaign that amounts to illegal collective punishment. Over 100 bridges have been destroyed in aerial bombing by Israeli war planes in the last month, including the Airport Bridge in the southern suburbs of Beirut (top left), the Damur Bridge in the south (top right), the Fidar Bridge in Halat (bottom left) and a bridge in Akkar in the north (bottom right). Because of the destruction, critical supplies of humanitarian aid are not reaching displaced civilians. A humanitarian disaster is gathering pace that could lead to a greater loss of life than Israel's brutal military offensive. more.. Palestinian deaths rise amid fear of worse to come The Guardian 8/11/2006 Last month was the deadliest in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, a Palestinian research group said yesterday, as Israel's six-week offensive against militants in the territory led to a surge in killings. The Palestinian Monitoring Group said 151 people were killed in the strip in July, the highest total since October 2004, when 166 people died. The majority of those killed were civilians. "The spiralling civilian casualties caused by Israeli actions throughout the region serve to strengthen extremists, weaken peace advocates and exacerbate the conflict," said the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, commenting on the findings. From late June, when Israel launched its offensive, until August 8, at least 170 Palestinians were killed, of whom 138 were civilians and a quarter children, the monitoring group said. more.. UNRWA targeted while delivering aid to Palestinian camps in Southern Lebanon Ma'an News 8/10/2006 A UN vehicle transporting aid to Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon narrowly escaped being hit by an Israeli missile on Monday, a senior official in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) told the UN news service. Mr. Sven Berthelsen, Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, was travelling with an aid convoy to UNRWA's Rashidieh Camp outside the southern town of Tyre on Monday when a vehicle due to meet them was hit by a missile and skidded across the road. "If we had been three seconds faster our front vehicle would have crashed into the car that had just been hit" Mr. Berthelsen told UN reporters.... "They have all the details on where we are going, who we are in the convoy, our names, addresses and then this happens. To me it is almost like intimidation... " more.. Israeli forces kill 2 year old girl and 2 members of armed Palestinian resistance in Gaza City Palestine News Network 8/10/2006 Last night Israeli forces were at it again, this time killing a Palestinian girl and two members of the armed resistance in Gaza City. The assault has been ongoing for nearly two months now, with children being a major target, in addition to the resistance and the citizens of the Strip from the north to the south. This week Israeli forces concentrated most of their killings on Rafah, the besieged southern Gaza Strip town that can take no more pain. However last night's assault was on the north. Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses report that Wednesday night Israeli warplanes fired missiles in northern Gaza City, killing a two year old girl, two Palestinian armed resistance members and injuring three more Palestinians. The Israeli target was a Popular Resistance Committees “training site” just north of the city. more.. IAF renews attacks on Beirut's southern Dahiyeh suburb Ha'aretz 8/11/2006 Israel Air Force strikes killed seven people and wounded one in northern Lebanon on Friday, medical sources said. They said Israeli planes struck the area of Balenat al-Hissa, near Lebanon's northern border with Syria. IAF aircraft renewed attacks on Beirut's southern Dahiyeh suburb at daybreak Friday. Eight powerful explosions were heard in central Beirut within a span of 20minutes, but the exact target of the attacks were not known. The Voice of Lebanon said several fires erupted and thick smoke rose from the area. There were not immediate reports of damage or casualties. VOL and LBC TV said a bridge was also attacked by the Israeli jets at Heitsa in the Akkar province in north of Lebanon. Both stations said initial reports from the area indicated there were casualties. [end] more.. Gaza deaths in July highest since '04, report says ReliefWeb 8/10/2006 GAZA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Last month was the deadliest in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, with Israel's offensive against Palestinian militants in the territory leading to a surge of killings, a Palestinian research group said on Thursday. The Palestinian Monitoring Group said 151 people were killed in the coastal strip in July, the highest total since October 2004, when 166 people died. The group, which describes itself as internationally funded as well as a "supportive institution" to the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said most of the Gazans killed last month were civilians, but gave no precise number. Separately, figures compiled by the Israeli human rights watchdog B'tselem showed the army killed 163 Palestinians in Gaza in July, 78 of whom were not involved in hostilities. more.. Computerised weaponry and high morale The Guardian 8/11/2006 Israeli forces have been astonished at the discovery of networks of bunkers and computerised weapons in Hizbullah positions, according to officials. Troops have found air-conditioned bunkers 40 metres (125ft) below the ground and anti-tank weapons that originate in France, the US and Russia in southern Lebanon. Many of the tactics and weapons employed by Hizbullah have neutralised Israel's military superiority and made a complete victory difficult to achieve. Hizbullah's use of rockets to attack Israel was not unexpected but the Israeli armed forces have been repeatedly surprised since they went on the offensive a month ago. The first major shock was when Hizbullah narrowly missed sinking an Israeli destroyer with a Chinese shore-to-sea missile. Four were killed in the attack. more.. Hezbollah's lack of structure its strength Asia Times 8/11/2006 Interview -- As Hezbollah resists almost four weeks of Israeli air and ground operations, many analysts are calling it the most effective Arab force the Israeli army has yet faced. The militia has stockpiles of missiles and light arms and, perhaps most important, a highly mobile command structure that allows it to conduct a classic hit-and-run guerrilla war of attrition. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondents Charles Recknagel and Dominik Breithaupt spoke with Timur Goksel, the former spokesman of the United Nations monitoring force in south Lebanon, to learn more about Hezbollah's organization and tactics. Goksel now teaches at the American University in Beirut. more.. Hizbullah exacts price for enemy advance The Daily Star 8/11/2006 Hizbullah fighters battled Israeli troops pushing further into southeast Lebanon on Thursday, though an Israeli Cabinet minister said plans for a deeper ground assault were on hold to give diplomacy a chance. Israeli troops earlier seized control of the Christian town of Marjayoun - 8 kilometers inside the border - before pulling out and later returning to occupy the Lebanese Army barracks in the town. Police said Israeli forces and Hizbullah fighters were engaged in fierce clashes at the western edge of Khiam as the invaders sought to take hold of the town. Hizbullah claimed it had killed 14 Israeli soldiers in Thursday's fighting, while the Israeli Army said 50 fighters were hit. The United Nations force stationed in the South said intense ground exchanges had also taken place around the villages of Qulayaa and Bourj al-Maluke... more.. Violent clashes in Marjayoun, southern Lebanon Ma'an News 8/10/2006 Ma'an- Eight Israeli tanks were destroyed by Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon on Thursday morning, claimed Hezbollah in press statements. The Israeli army are continuing to suffer further losses on Thursday. In battles with Hezbollah fighters in the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, at least two Israeli soldiers have been reported to have been injured, one very seriously, and eight Israeli tanks were destroyed, according to the Hezbollah statements. Media sources, including the pan-Arab satellite channel of Al Jazeera, reported that the Israeli tanks withdrew from Marjayoun after fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters. However, according to the Lebanese police, the Israeli army took control of the Christian majority town of Marjayoun on Thursday... more.. In an army operation in Ramallah: two residents injured three taken prisoner International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 Two Palestinian residents were injured and three were taken prisoners in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Rammallah which started Thursday morning and lasted until the afternoon hours. According to Maan news agency, the three prisoners are members ofAl Aqsa martyrs brigades, the armed wing of Fatah. Local sources said clashes took place between the activists and Israeli troops who surrounded them in the Al Murjan building in the Am Asharayit area in the city. The building is located near the headquarters of the Palestinian intelligence. Mahmod Jabarein sustained a hand injury during clashes between Israeli soldiers and local youth. He was rushed to the city's public hospital for treatment, medical sources reported, the other one injured remains unknown. more.. Army takes four prisoners from Tulkarem International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 The Israeli army took four residents prisoner from the West Bank city of Tulkarem and neighboring villages during a morning invasion Thursday. In Kofer Zeid, troops stormed the residents houses, searched and then ransacked them. Ahmad Ghaniem, 35 and his brother Maher, 30, both working for the Palestinian Authority security forces, were arrested, local residents reported. Meanwhile, troops stationed at Beit Iba military checkpoint at the entrance to Tulkarem took Montaha Boshnak, 21, and Hia Mazen, 20, prisoner while trying to cross the checkpoint to go to their university in the West Bank city of Nablus. [end] more.. Army invades Jenin and the nearby Al Yamon village International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 The Israeli army invaded the west Bank city of Jenin its refugee camp and the nearby village of Al Yamon, early Thursday morning. Army jeeps and bulldozers stormed the area, soldiers fired tear gas and live rounds randomly at residents houses, then searched several homes and farm lands. The army took no prisoners, eyewitnesses reported. [end] more.. Army invades Rammallah and imposes curfew International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 The Israeli army forces invaded the West Bank city of Rammallah Thursday morning, surrounded several buildings and imposed a curfew in the city. Troops stormed Al Murjan building near the headquarters of the Palestinian general intelligence in the city, allegedly searching for 'wanted' men. Also local sources reported that troops imposed a curfew on the Om Asharayit area in the city where the besieged building is located. Soldiers prevented ambulance crews from entering the area and threatened to bomb the building in an attempt to force the residents out of their homes, local sources added. The military operation is still taking place. [end] more.. Two girls found dead in central Gaza in mysterious circumstances Ma'an News 8/10/2006 Gaza --Two girls were found dead in mysterious circumstances in the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning. The Palestinian police discovered the two dead bodies in the central Gaza Strip and said the girls had been shot dead by bullets fired at their heads. Police sources told Ma'an that the two dead bodies were found in an open area west of the Gazan town of Az Zawaydah and belonged to two girls in the 20s. The source explained that the two girls had been killed in the same way. The police confirmed that they had launched an investigation into the incident in order to determine the circumstances and to track down the perpetrators of this crime. The motives are not yet known. [end] more.. Tulkarem: Two members of Palestinian security services and two female students arrested by Israeli military Ma'an News 8/10/2006 Tulkarem-- Tulkarem - Ma'an – Early on Thursday morning, Israeli forces arrested two brothers who work in the headquarters of the Palestinian security services. Troops also arrested two female students of An Najah University from the city of Tulkarem. Palestinian security sources reported to our correspondent that a number of Israeli military vehicles raided the village of Kudur Zibad to the south of the city of Tulkarem, and arrested Maher Ganayim, 30, a Palestinian policeman, and his brother Muwaffaq, a member of the Palestinian Preventive Security forces, after troops broke into the brothers' homes. At the same time, Israeli forces stationed at the Beit Iba checkpoint, to the west of the city of Nablus, arrested two female students on their way to An Najah University from Tulkarem. more.. Two houses demolished in Israeli shelling of Beit Hanoun Ma'an News 8/10/2006 Gaza --Israeli warplanes bombarded early on Thursday morning two houses in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. The owners of the houses received telephone calls from the Israeli forces shortly before the bombardment warning them to evacuate the building. The destroyed houses belonged to Hussein Al Kafarna, an activist in the Islamic Jihad movement, and Osama Abu Amsha, an activist in the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades. Medical sources confirmed that there were no casualties as a result of the shelling. Three houses in Beit Hanoun have been completely destroyed recently. [end] more.. IAF air strike in Jabalya refugee camp destroys home of militant Ha'aretz 8/11/2006 An Israel Air Forces missile fired from an aircraft destroyed the home of a Palestinian militant on Friday some 15 minutes after he received a telephone call warning him to get out, local residents said. No one was hurt in the strike on the three-storey house belonging to Naim Abu al-Foul, a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, in Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp. "We attacked a site used by the Popular Resistance Committees to manufacture and store weapons material," an army spokesman said. "Prior to the attack, residents of the area were told to leave for their personal safety. "Later, a house in a suburb of Gaza City was destroyed in an air strike after its owner, from a clan with links to the militant Hamas movement, was instructed by telephone to flee, local residents said. No one was hurt. more.. IAF destroys Gaza home of Jihad militant after warning residents Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 An Israel Air Force air strike destroyed a Palestinian militant's house in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after residents said they received a telephone call from the military giving them 15 minutes to evacuate. Neither the Islamic Jihad member nor his relatives were hurt in the air strike on Beit Hanoun, a town on Gaza's northern border with Israel that has seen intense fighting during a more than 5-year-old Palestinian uprising. A military spokesman confirmed the Beit Hanoun home was targeted, saying it contained a weapons cache. The air strike was part of a wider offensive launched by Israel after Palestinian gunmen captured a soldier in a cross-border raid on June 25. On Wednesday, an IAF helicopter gunship fired at least one missile into a Palestinian militant training camp in the Gaza Strip, killing three people, including a 5-year-old girl. PCHR is Concerned over the Policy of Prior Warning to Palestinian Civilians Used by IOF in an Attempt to Justify Bombarding Civilian Houses more.. Army detains scores of civilian cars between Jenin and Nablus cites International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 Israel army troops stationed at a military checkpoint on the main road connecting the West Bank city of Nablus with Jenin, and stopped scores of civilian cars on Thursday. Two military jeeps blocked the road and installed a military checkpoint, then started to search civilian cars, and checked the Identity cards of the residents. Eyewitnesses reported that soldiers forced some young men to remove their T-shirts while searching them. Local sources said that the area of Jenin and Nablus and the surrounding villages witnessed an intensive military activity since Thursday morning. [end] more.. Army invades shepherds huts in the Jordan valley International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 Israeli army troops stormed shepherds' huts is Al Maleh and Ein Al Helwa areas in the Jordan valley late Wednesday night. The shepherds reported that soldiers searched their huts and forced the farmers and their families out. [end] more.. Israeli settlers divert Nablus village water for their own use Palestine News Network 8/10/2006 The environmental situation continues to deteriorate in the northern West Bank. Not only have Israeli settlers, and even the Israeli government from the other side of the Wall, used the Nablus District as their own garbage dump, now the water supply is in peril. Southwest of the Nablus City the water supply has been at a standstill for five days. An Israeli settlement nearby is diverting southern Nablus village water for itself. A Nablus engineer told PNN Thursday that the problem began five days ago after the water supply for 4,000 Palestinian village residents was stopped. This was a common occurrence in the Gaza Strip before the settlers were withdrawn last summer. The water lines were laid long ago, before the Israelis built a settlement atop them. more.. Resistance shells army post near Gaza International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 Palestinian resistance fighters shelled four home made shells at an Israeli army post in Kerem Shalom crossing south of the Gaza strip on Wednesday. The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, announced responsibility of the launch and said that this action comes as a response to the Israeli army aggression against the Palestinian people and promised to continue the resistance. [end] more.. Police: Tourist stabbed to death in possible terror attack in J'lem Ha'aretz 8/11/2006 Jerusalem police said a tourist was stabbed to death by an Arab youth near one of the gates to the Old City on Thursday in what they suspected was a terror attack. The foreign ministry in Rome has identified the victim as a 25-year-old Italian, Angelo Frammartino, who had travelled to Israel last week to do volunteer work. The incident occurred after three or four tourists walked down Salah a-Din street, in East Jerusalem. When they reached the Flowers Gate, the assailant stabbed one of the tourists in the back with a knife, and then fled the scene. Police officers who arrived at the scene found the knife, and began searching for the perpetrator. more.. One Palestinian injured and three members of Al Aqsa Brigades arrested south of Ramallah Ma'an News 8/10/2006 Ramallah--At least one Palestinian citizen has been injured and three activists from the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah, were arrested, during an Israeli military operation lasting over three hours in the southern suburbs of the West Bank city of Ramallah. Ma'an's correspondent reported that "clashes took place between Palestinian activists and the Israeli forces that besieged them in the Al Murjan building in the Am Ash Sharayit district, near the headquarters of the Palestinian cabinet and the Palestinian intelligence services in Ramallah". According to informed sources, the three activists who have been arrested are: Ramzi Obeido, Iyad Al Froukh and Murad Al Malhi, on the charge that they belong to the Al Aqsa Brigades. more.. Checkpoints surround Jenin governorate Ma'an News 8/10/2006 Jenin-- Jenin - Ma'an – On Thursday afternoon, troops from the Israeli army set up a number of temporary barriers, surrounding the Jenin governorate, where they checked citizens' IDs and inspected vehicles. Eyewitnesses report that the Israeli troops set up a temporary barrier in the Khirbat Al Mansour region, south of the city of Jenin, one at the As Switat region to the east of the city of Jenin, one at the entrance of Az Zababida town, one at the main entrance of Arraba town, one at the entrance of Fahma town, one on the road between Kafr Ra'i town and 'Illar town, south west of Jenin, and a further one at the entrance of Sanur town. Eyewitnesses added that hundreds of citizens and dozens of vehicles were delayed at the barriers waiting to be allowed to pass. [end] more.. Relative calm in north day after boy, mother killed in rocket attack Ha'aretz 8/11/2006 Relative calm prevailed in northern Israel Friday morning a day after a monther and her child were killed in a fierce rocket attack by Hezbollah. Only three rockets landed in Nahariyah Friday morning, causing no casualties or damage. A barrage of some 185 rockets fired by Hezbollah on Thursday left dead five-year-old Fathi Assadi and his mother Miriam, 26, in the western Galilee village of Dir al-Assad. Eleven other people were wounded in the attack, including Faris, the three-year-old brother of the boy who was killed, who sustained serious injuries. The dead woman's mother-in-law was also seriously hurt. One other person was moderately hurt and eight suffered light wounds. Village residents wounded in the attack were evacuated to hospital in Nahariya. more.. Israeli strikes deal major blow to Bekaa's working class By Jim Quilty, The Daily Star 8/11/2006 TANNAYEL: "I took a technical diploma in Sidon, then came back to work here. That was 41 years ago. " Salah Barake surveys the ruin before him. "They destroyed it in two minutes. Millions of dollars wasted. " Barake is, or rather was, the SPI (Shift Plant In Charge) at Tannayel's Maliban Glassworks. Maliban has been something of a rarity in Lebanon. In an economy where the tertiary-sector rules, Maliban was an industrial success story - both in the Bekaa and the region. The region's second-biggest glassworks, Maliban shipped glass products around the region, with customers in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. Its customers included such A-list brands as Coca Cola. The factory had so many orders, it worked 24 hours a day. Production came to some 200 tons a day. more.. Israeli soldiers seize Lebanese barracks AlJazeera 8/11/2006 Israeli forces have faced heavy resistance in southern Lebanon -- Israeli soldiers have occupied a Lebanese army barracks in southern Lebanon holding about 350 troops. Two hundred Israeli soldiers, supported by two tanks, seized the barracks in the mainly Christian town of Marjayoun but a senior Lebanese officer told Aljazeera that there were now signs that they were planning to leave. Ahmad Fatfat, the acting Lebanese interior minister, said: "It appears from the ongoing contacts, which included the US secretary of state [Condoleezza Rice] and senior French officials... there is a big hope they will leave the barracks without harming any of the security personnel. " Earlier on Thursday, Israeli troops had searched the armoury at the barracks for rockets and other heavy weapons but left after finding none. more.. Israel warns of new strikes on Beirut The Guardian 8/10/2006 Israeli soldiers today consolidated strategic positions in southern Lebanon and warned of new attacks on Beirut and the north of the country. The development came after a planned major invasion of the country was temporarily called off under apparent pressure from Washington. Israeli troops took control of the town of Marjayoun, five miles north of the border, and soldiers were seen patrolling the streets. Hizbullah claimed to have destroyed 11 Israeli tanks in the area. Heavy fighting continued across southern Lebanon as Israeli troops attempted to secure their current occupation zone, which stretches around four miles north of the border. more.. Israeli jets strike Beirut and Bekaa AlJazeera 8/10/2006 Israeli warplanes have continued their raids on Lebanon, hitting a historic lighthouse in densely-populated west Beirut and killing one man in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The disused lighthouse in the heart of the Lebanese capital was hit by Israeli strikes on Thursday, damaging the top of the French colonial-era structure. Local television showed live video of the damage, with part of the tower's roof blown off. The strike was the first on Beirut proper since Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, issued a warning to Israel on August 4, saying that his fighters would fire rockets at Tel Aviv if Israel hit the Lebanese capital. An Israeli drone also fired a missile into a minibus driving in the eastern Bekaa Valley, killing one person and wounding 12, residents said. more.. Latest on Israeli offensive in Lebanon The Daily Star 8/11/2006 BEIRUT, Aug 10, 2006 (AFP) - Events on 30th day of Israelioffensive in Lebanon and conflict with Hezbollah: -- Columns of Israeli tanks thrust into Lebanon, enter bordertown of Marjayun in southern Lebanon and move in on nearby Khiam. ... Two people, including an Arab-Israeli infant, killed byHezbollah rocket in northern Israel. -- Lebanese police say four Israeli tanks destroyed and burntnear Marjayun after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warns Israelsouth Lebanon will become a "graveyard" for the Middle East's mostpowerful army if it invades. -- One Israeli soldier killed and eight reported wounded infighting with Hezbollah. .... Medical relief agency Doctors Without Borders vows to defyIsraeli ban on vehicle movements south of Lebanon's Litani river. -- Disused lighthouse in heart of Beirut hit by Israeli strikes. more.. Shebaa Farms – nub of conflict YNet News 8/10/2006 Strategic analyst: If Hizbullah gains control over Shebaa Farms, it will have strategic control over Israeli cities and communities like Qiryat Shmona, Metula, She'ar Yeshouv, and Beit Hillel. Also in the range of fire will be the Israeli army's emergency storages in the area -- Shebaa Farms is a small area of no more than 10 square miles on the border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Overlooking the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, this area is located on a mountain some 5,000 feet above sea level. Since the 1967 Six Day War, Israel has been holding this relatively high area, which provides it with certain advantages from the intelligence and strategic points of view. A recent proposal by the US suggested that Israel would withdraw from the Shebaa Farms as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hizbullah. more.. Two Bedouin men charged with spying for Hezbollah during war Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 The Nazareth District Court on Thursday received a charge sheet against an Israeli citizen suspected of spying for Hezbollah in wartime. Riyad Mzarib, 30, of the Bedouin village of Beit Zarzir in the Jezreel Valley was charged with conspiring to assist the enemy in wartime, holding contacts with a foreign agent, delivering information to the enemy and conspiring to smuggle and sell drugs. The initial contact between Mzarib and his Lebanese partner was established last June by an Israel Defense Forces tracker who is also a resident of Beit Zarzir. The tracker has been arrested and is being interrogated. Valleys District Police arrested Mzarib three weeks ago. According to Commander Yaakov Zigdon, the suspect confessed to having delivered to Lebanese drugs dealer reports on the movements of IDF forces... more.. IAF drops leaflets over downtown Beirut threatening 'painful' response to Hezbollah attacks Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 Israel Air Force warplanes dropped leaflets over downtown Beirut on Thursday, threatening a "painful and strong" response to Hezbollah rocket attacks and warning residents of three southern suburbs to evacuate immediately. "The Israel Defense Forces intend to expand their operations in Beirut," the single-page leaflet read. It said the move came after statements from "the leader of the gang" - an apparent reference to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who made a taped television address the night before. "To the residents of Hay el-Sulloum, Bourj el-Barajneh and Chiah: For your own safety, you must evacuate those neighborhoods immediately, and evacuate every place where Hezbollah members or aides exist or carry out terrorist operations," it read. more.. Midday Roundup: Israeli Missiles Hit Historic Lighthouse in Beirut and Leaflets Threaten to Expand Operations in the Capital An Nahar 8/10/2006 Israeli missiles hit a historic lighthouse in a densely-populated upscale Beirut neighborhood Thursday and jets dropped leaflets over the capital threatening a "painful and strong" response to Hizbullah rocket attacks on Israel. In the south, columns of Israeli tanks thrust into Lebanon and battled Hizbullah fighters in a push to widen their hold on border areas before a possible drive deeper into the country. At midday, four loud explosions rocked the residential Ras Beirut area when Israeli missiles hit a French colonial-era lighthouse in the Koreitem neighborhood blowing off part of the structure's top. Two people were slightly injured in the blast that shattered windows of cars parked nearby. A senior security official told AFP that the old lighthouse included a relay for the Radio Liban state station. more.. Israel tells south Beirut residents to get out The Daily Star 8/10/2006 BEIRUT, Aug 10, 2006 (AFP) - Israeli forces hit the heart of the Lebanese capital for the first time in three weeks Thursday,dropping warning leaflets that sent thousands of residents of southern suburbs fleeing their homes. Hundreds of families were leaving the area, a Hezbollah stronghold, after the warning, some in cars and others onstate-owned buses to the Armenian quarter of Burj Hammud further north. Loudspeakers urged panicked residents of the Shiyah district --where 32 people were killed in an air strike earlier this week --without access to private transport to gather at a nearby square toboard the buses. Once in the Armenian quarter, the displaced were shunted furthernorth to the coastal town of Junieh and further northwards again to El-Qura, an AFP correspondent said. more.. Israeli radio show telephones Lebanese PM's office posing as Tony Blair Ma'an News 8/10/2006 Bethlehem --An Israeli radio presenter almost succeeded to talk directly with Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday, according to Israeli and Arab media sources. An Israeli radio presenter telephoned the Lebanese prime minister's office and asked to speak to the premier while posing as a secretary from the office of British prime minister Tony Blair. When Siniora realized a member of the Israeli media was on the line, he quickly hung up.... Siniora's information office described this telephone call as being part of Israel's psychological warfare against Lebanon, its leaders and people, through dropping leaflets and exploiting the television networks, radio waves and telephone calls. more.. Material damage to private sector put at $200 million The Daily Star 8/10/2006 BEIRUT: The Israeli offensive against Lebanon, now in its fourth week, has destroyed more than 900 small- and medium-size enterprises, officials say, with an estimated $200 million in material damage. In Beirut's southern suburbs, which have borne the brunt of the Israeli air strikes, traders said that over 300 shops and establishments have been razed. "Nearly all shops and establishments in all the villages in the South that are close to the Israeli border received direct hits from the artillery and planes," one merchant said. The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) said in its second report on the subject that the total cost of material damages were close to $2. 5 billion, including bridges, roads, public utilities, industrial plants and private establishments. more.. Israeli Cows 'Invade' South Lebanon An Nahar 8/10/2006 The grass is greener in Hizbullah-controlled territory. Literally. Dozens of hungry cows whose pasture land in northern Israel has been reduced to ashes by the daily rain of rockets found a hole in the border fence and moved to Lebanon for healthier grazing, the Yediot Aharonot reported Thursday. According to the daily, the more than 3,000 rockets that have been fired by Hizbullah have set fire to 100 sq km of pasture where cows used to graze. The cows used a breach made in the border by Israeli units who have been battling the group since the start of a massive offensive in Lebanon on July 12. [end] more.. 15 soldiers killed Wednesday in south Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 Fifteen Israel Defense Forces troops were killed on Wednesday, the IDF announced late Wednesday night, as fierce fighting with Hezbollah guerillas raged in the southern Lebanon villages of Ayta al-Shaab and Debel. The 15 IDF soldiers were killed in a series of firefights across the front. In the most serious incident, nine reserve paratroopers were killed and 11 wounded by antitank missiles fired on a house in the village of Debel, in the central sector. Four reservists from an armored brigade were killed in a tank explosion, apparently caused by antitank missiles, in the town of Ayta al-Shaab.... Twenty-five soldiers were wounded in Wednesday's actions, six seriously. Two of the seriously wounded were members of the standing army; the rest of the wounded were reservists. more.. Saray Al Quds Commander of Jenin Assassinated and His Assistant International Press Center 8/9/2006 JENIN, Palestine, August 9,2006 (IPC+ Agencies) - -Key commander of the military wing of Islamic Jihad, Saray Al Quds, in the West bank survived an attempt on his life perpetrated by the Israeli jetfighters in Jenin refugee camp but the Al Sary's leader in Jenin was extra- judicially assassinated and his assistant, one wounded. Islamic Jihad sources asserted that Hussam Jaradat,43, commander of Saray Al Quds has gone unscathed and could managed to flee the scene during the air raid targeted an abandoned house in Al Sumran quarter in Jenin refugee camp. The raid killed Mohammed Al Ateeq, 28, from Burqeen village nearby Jenin , commander of Saray Al Quds in Jenin and his assistant Amjad Al Ajami,20, from Ateel town nearby Tulkarem. more.. Three Palestinians, including a three-year old child, killed in an Israeli air strike International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 Palestinian medical sources in Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza reported on Wednesday at night that three Palestinians, including a three- year old child were killed, and three other residents were injured, in an Israeli air strike in Al Nafaq neighborhood in Gaza City. The two killed residents were identified as Ahmad Hussein Al Mishal, 17, and Ramadan Al Majdalawy, 22, while the child was identified as Raja' Abu Sha'ban, 3. A local source in Gaza reported that an Israeli military helicopter fired at least two missiles at a training location that belongs to the Salah Ed Deen brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, killing the two fighters and moderately injuring three others. Dr. Moawiya Hassanen, head of the Emergency Unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, reported that the head of the three year old child was decapitated as a result of the blast. more.. More Homes Destroyed In Gaza International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2006 Israeli war planes targeted and destroyed two homes in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip after warning residents with a phone call to evacuate. The planes struck in the early hours of Thursday morning on the assumption that they contained weapons caches, according to a military spokesman. The homes belonged to two members of Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Neither the Palestinian fighters nor their families were injured. The houses were demolished, one which was three stories high, and neighboring homes endured blast damage. [end] more.. Israel seizes south Lebanon town BBC 8/10/2006 Israeli troops have seized the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, a day after the cabinet decided to expand ground operations, eyewitnesses say. Troops entered the town, 9km (5. 5 miles) into Lebanon, as well as nearby villages overlooking the Litani river. On Wednesday the Israeli cabinet backed a push towards the river, which lies up to 30km (18 miles) from the border. Israeli forces also advanced on the southern town of Khiam, in a move to quell Hezbollah rocket fire there. Israel says the objective of its planned wider offensive is to destroy Hezbollah positions in the region and prevent the group from firing rockets into Israel. Wednesday saw fierce fighting in southern Lebanon, with 15 Israeli soldiers killed in action - the highest number in a single day since the conflict began almost a month ago. more.. Israel conducts targeted assassinations in Jenin Refugee Camp, again contravening international law Palestine News Network 8/9/2006 In spite of international law, Israeli forces assassinated two Palestinians Wednesday in an air attack on Jenin Refugee Camp in the northern West Bank. The victims are 28 year old Al Quds Brigades leader, Mohammad Maji Ahmed Ateeq from Barqan Village, and 20 year old Amjad Said Ahmed Al Ajami from ‘Atil Village. Israeli forces took aim on a house in the center of Jenin Camp. An Israeli Apache fired three missiles into the home at 8:40 am. The attack destroyed a major portion of the home and killed two of the young men in a targeted assassination. Other armed resistance leader from Islamic Jihad’s Saraya Al Quds, Mahmoud Sa’adi and Hussam Sa’adi survived. They were suffered minor injuries as did others in the house. more.. UNIFIL Warns Fuel Shortages May Put its Positions at Risk of Closure An Nahar 8/9/2006 The UN force in Lebanon warned Wednesday that the continued operation of some of its forward positions could be at risk if they are not re-supplied with fuel in the next 48 hours. "UNIFIL forward positions in the eastern sector are facing critical shortages of fuel and the ability to re-supply them in the next 48 hours is vital to maintaining these positions," said the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. All of Lebanon faces chronic fuel problems, owing to the Israeli sea blockade of the country. Two ships anchored off Cyprus carrying crucial supplies have not docked in Lebanon. On Saturday, an Israeli army spokesman denied Israel was blocking their entrance, saying "they decided to remain off the coasts apparently because they were afraid to be targeted by Hizbullah fire. " [end] more.. Israel in new deadly strike on grieving Lebanon village The Daily Star 8/9/2006 TYRE, Lebanon, Aug 8, 2006 (AFP) - A deadly Israeli bombing raidstruck a southern Lebanese village Tuesday close to the funeral forthose killed in an attack a day earlier as its army and Hezbollahfighters remained locked in bloody clashes inside the border. At least six people were killed and 28 wounded in two raids onthe village of Ghaziyeh, close to the city of Sidon, 500 metres(yards) away from the funeral procession of 14 people killed there aday earlier, police said. Five other civilians were killed and four wounded when Israelijets later fired missiles on a convoy of trucks carrying fruits ineastern Lebanon, near the border with Syria, police said. Although there was a relative lull in bombardments around theregion of the port city of Tyre, the Israeli air force carried outdozens of raids in 20 different locations across the border region. more.. Israeli air strike in Gaza kills three, including 3 year old girl Ma'an News 8/9/2006 Gaza--Three Palestinians, including a 3 year old baby girl, have been killed and four others injured, when Israeli fighter jets targeted a training ground belonging to the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, in the An Nafaq neighbourhood in the centre of Gaza. Dr Muawiya Hassanein stated that the body of the baby girl Raja' Hasanin, 3, was decapitated when it arrived at the hospital, while Ahmad Al-Mishal, 17, was also killed in the attack. A third death remained anonymous, in addition to 4 injuries ranging from moderate to critical. [end] more.. Israeli strike on Palestinian refugee camp kills two, wounds 15 ReliefWeb 8/9/2006 SIDON, Lebanon, Aug 9, 2006 (AFP) - An Israeli strike on the southern Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp of Ain Al Hilweh killed at least two people and wounded 15, including five children, medics said early Wednesday. It was the first time Israel has bombarded the Palestinian refugee camp, the largest in Lebanon and home to some 50,000 people, since the start of the four-week-old conflict. Two shells fell on the area around the home of Colonel Munir Maqdah, a radical military chief of the Fatah movement in Lebanon, Palestinian sources said. The victims were pulled out of a house destroyed by the strike in the north of the camp near Sidon, the main city of south Lebanon, and taken to three hospitals as rescue efforts continued to try to find any others trapped inside. more.. Haifa's Arabs: We won't leave city YNet News 8/10/2006 Former MK Issam Mahoul rejects Nasrallah's call to Haifa's Arab population to evacuate city; 'We have nothing to do outside of Haifa, and we refuse to be refugees,' Mahoul asserts. Haifa Mayor: Nasrallah won't succeed in uprooting Arab residents -- Former Knesset Member and Haifa resident Issam Mahoul on Wednesday categorically rejected Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah's call to Arab residents of Haifa to evacuate the city. "We have nothing to do outside of Haifa, and we have no reason to panic. The Palestinian people are especially unwilling to be refugees of any kind again," Mahoul told Ynet. In response to the National Security Cabinet's approval of a widened offensive in south Lebanon, Nasrallah addressed Israel in a recorded speech broadcast on al-Manar Wednesday night. more.. Hezbollah gunners fire rockets at Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 Hezbollah gunner renewed their attacks on northern Israel on Thursday morning, firing four rockets at Nahariya and two at Kiryat Shmona. There were no reported casualties. Some 160 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon on Wednesday, with 66 landing in the area of Kiryat Shmona. According to military sources, six long-range rockets landed in open fields west of the town of Beit She'an, causing no injuries but sparking a blaze that was extinguished by firefighters from the Jezreel Valley. In total, eight long-range rockets were fired Wednesday, of which one landed in the Palestinian Authority, close to the village of Faquah, which was also hit by a Hezbollah rocket last week. Haifa was also targeted by at least one long-range rocket, a piece of which was found in the city. more.. Friendly fire kills one IDF soldier, may have caused other fatalities Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed Wednesday by friendly fire from a tank in the eastern sector of south Lebanon. The IDF will also be investigating whether one of the two paratroopers killed on Tuesday in Bint Jbail was also hit by friendly fire. Wednesday's incident took place in the village of A-Taibeh. A reserve paratroopers force had taken up position in a home in the village and was mistakenly identified by an IDF tank crew as a Hezbollah cell. The tank then opened fire on the house, killing one of the soldiers. A second soldier was seriously wounded in the incident; one other soldier sustained moderate wounds and eight were lightly hurt. The wounded were evacuated to Israeli hospitals during the course of the day. more.. IDF arrests would-be female suicide bomber en route to Israel Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 Security forces on Wednesday night foiled an attempted suicide bombing after arresting two Palestinian women at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus. The two women were making their way into Israel to carry out the attack. The women are believed to be members of the Fatah-linked Tanzim militant group. The successful operation is the ninth time security forces have curbed attempted terror attacks since the military conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon broke out. According to the Shin Bet security service, these operations prevented the attacks "at the last minute," after terrorists had already left for their targeted destination. In addition to these foiled attacks, security forces arrested twelve other Palestinians who were in the planning stages of carrying out suicide bombings. more.. Midday Roundup: Israeli Bombardment Unabated Amid Lack of Diplomatic Progress An Nahar 8/9/2006 Israeli bombardment pummeled Lebanon Wednesday as a high-ranking U.S. State Department official arrived on a surprise visit to Beirut amid intense but slow diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the four-week conflict. Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said after meeting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch that there was still no progress in the negotiations. Meanwhile, additional bodies were pulled out from under the rubble of a building in Beirut's southern district of Shiah, destroyed Monday by an Israeli airstrike, raising the death toll to 41, security officials said. The number of wounded in that attack are 61, they added.... Another statement on Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV said guerrillas fired a barrage of Khaibar-1 rockets at Beit Shean, deep inside Israel. more.. VIDEO - Off the Battlefield, Hezbollah Provides Aid Washington Post 8/9/2006 Video by: Travis Fox -- A huge international aid effort is beginning to take shape to assist people displaced by the war in southern Lebanon. But one of the largest aid operations is already underway. It comes from the same group currently fighting Israel, Hezbollah. more.. Photos - Panoramas from Qana, Lebanon Washington Post 8/9/2006 Panoramic photo viewer -- Deadly Attack in Qana | Israeli Airstrikes Hit Qana | Bint Jbeil Attacked | More from Lebanon |From Gaza -- Qana, LebaPanoramic Composite by: Travis Fox / washingtonpost. com. more.. IDF's new weapon: Snipers who fought in Cechnya YNet News 8/9/2006 Golani fighters joined by snipers hailing from states that fought in Chechnya, Afghanistan -- Fighters of the 51st Battalion of Golani received aid from an unusual source Tuesday. A group of snipers hailing from states that had fought in battles in Chechnya and Afghanistan the joined the battalion as it entered Bint Jbeil for the second time after it suffered a serious blow two weeks ago when eight of its soldiers, including the deputy battalion commander, were killed. The snipers were called up in an emergency draft to the war.... They were active in the past in operational activity in the Gaza division, but at a certain point finished their service in the division once the impression was created that they were "trigger happy". more.. Photos - Emerging From Rubble Washington Post 8/9/2006 Flash presentation, vivid photos -- Traumatized Lebanese emerge from their shelters after nearly three weeks of bombardment. -- [FireFox users: Use Internet Explorer or Netscape to view this presentation. Alternatively, advance to the next photo by changing the end of the URL (page address) from "startat=1" to "startat=2", "startat=3", etc. , ending with "startat=12". - Ed. ] more.. Israeli forces invade Nablus’ Balata Refugee Camp at 3:30 this morning, attack Abu Ayash home Palestine News Network 8/9/2006 The screeching demands came through loud speakers at 3:30 am. The Abu Ayash family was asleep in their Balata Refugee Camp. Israeli forces wanted them out. This was yet another invasion of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Early Wednesday Israeli forces surrounded the family home of the late Shaker Abu Ayash and began throwing smoke bombs at its colorful façade. Two adjacent homes were destroyed as the attack wore on, concluding with the arrest of brothers Hani Hussein and Jihad Mohammad Abu Aysah. According to statements made by Mrs. Abu Ayash, Israeli soldiers turned the three-story house upside down, vandalizing every corner, tearing apart its contents, and destroying the furniture and personal possessions. The soldiers arrested four from the home. more.. Israeli army bans EU observers from reaching Rafah crossing International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 The spokesperson for the European Union monitors working at Rafah crossing south of the Gaza Strip said that the Israeli army banned them from reaching their work station at Rafah crossing Wednesday at dawn. In a press conference the spokesperson added that the army told them a bomb had been planted on the road leading to the crossing and that it was for their own safety that they stay off the road. He added that there is a meeting scheduled between the Israelis and European Union monitors to discuss reopening the crossing as soon as possible. [end] more.. Army installs a military checkpoint near Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 Israeli army troops detained dozens of Palestinian civilians at a military checkpoint newly installed between Halhool village and the near by West Bank city of Hebron. Soldiers prevented cars and residents from moving between the village and the city, and checked the ID cards of residents while detaining them under the sun for several hours. Eyewitness said that soldiers ordered some civilians to take their shirts off while searching them. [end] more.. Israeli army takes one prisoner and intensifies its military presence in Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 The Israeli army arrested Faudil Dendis from the old town area of the West Bank city of Hebron Wednesday morning and intensified its presence in the city. Local sources said that Dendis has special needs and added that the army strengthened its presence in the entire city since late Tuesday night and followed with a search campaign in the early hours of the morning, which resulted in the arrest of Dendis. [end] more.. Army takes one prisoner from Isebet Jabara village south of Tulkarem International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 Akram Awwad was arrested while crossing a military checkpoint near Isebet Jabara village south of the West Bank city of Tulkarem Wednesday morning. According to eyewitnesses, Awwad was going from his home in the village to work in the city of Tulkarem when soldiers stopped him at the checkpoint, searched him and took him to an unknown location without giving him an explanation. [end] more.. Army takes four prisoners from Balata refugee camp International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 Israeli army troops took four prisoners from Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus Wednesday at dawn. The four arrested are brothers from the Abu Ayyash family and were arrested after troops stormed their house, destroyed their family belongings, fired heavy machine guns inside the house and then took the four brothers to unknown locations. According to neighbors, soldiers surrounded the house and fired gas bombs and tear gas around the exterior of the house before storming it. Nawwaf Abu Ayyash, the owner of the house, described the attack as “barbaric” and added, “soldiers left the house with massive destruction to the house and family belongings. ”The four prisoners were identified as Hani, 35, Mohammad, 28, Hussein, 21 and Jihad, 17. None of them belong to any resistance group the family reported. [end] more.. Israeli Violations Last Week Kill 42 Palestinians, Injures 130 Others, 79 Detainees Palestine Monitor 8/7/2006 A recent report monitoring the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people asserted that Israeli occupation forces have killed forty two Palestinians and injured one hundred and thirty others and arrested 79 Palestinians during the last week, in 1069 violations. The report, which was prepared by the Palestinian National Information Center (PNIC) pointed out that from July 25-31, Israeli forces, used its military arsenal against the Palestinian civilian population, in addition to exercising arbitrary measures and collective punishment policies against them, including the constant closures and economic blockade, shelling of civilian population centers and incursions. Israeli forces also launched 67 arrest campaigns, installation of 151 military roadblocks and checkpoints during the past week... more.. Gaza Facts & Figures Since the Beginning of the Invasion on 28 June 2006 Palestine Monitor 8/9/2006 Facts & Figures until 28 July: Palestinians killed between 28 June–28 July: 164 / Palestinians injured between 28 June–28 July: 601 / 35 children were killed by the Israeli Occupying Force during the month of July in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. / Israelis killed between 28 June–27 July: 2, including 1 soldier killed by friendly fire in the Gaza Strip / Israeli soldiers captured: 1 in Gaza Strip / Artillery shells fired by Israeli tanks, 28 June–27 July : 200-250 per day / Artillery shells fired by Israeli gunboats, 28 June–4 July : 6 / Air strikes conducted by Israel, 28 June-27 july : 191 / Homemade ‘rockets’ fired by Palestinians towards Israel, 28 June-18 July : 177 / Buildings of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National economy, the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister and a number of educational institutions have been destroyed... more.. Gaza youth dies while fiddling with unexploded tank shell Ma'an News 8/9/2006 Gaza -- Imad Abu Shreteh, 22, was killed while fiddling with an unexploded Israeli tank artillery shell which had fallen near his home. He died at home. Medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital said that his body was completely dismembered when he reached the hospital. [end] more.. Hezbollah denies Iranian fighter report AlJazeera 8/10/2006 Hezbollah has denied that Iranian fighters were among its forces battling Israeli troops who have begun to advance deeper into southern Lebanon. Israel's Channel 10 television reported on Wednesday that members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard force had been found among dead Hezbollah members killed by Israeli forces in the south of Lebanon. Citing diplomatic sources, the report said the Iranians were identified by documents found on their bodies, but gave no further details on how many were discovered or when. Hezbollah said in a statement: "Hezbollah categorically denies the lies and claims that the enemy is promoting that Iranian fighters are present in the confrontations with the occupation forces. " more.. 'It's Dangerous, but Hezbollah Is Strong' By Anthony Shadid, Washington Post 8/9/2006 With Litani River's Bridges Destroyed, Lebanese Improvise to Supply the South -- QASMIYA, Lebanon, Aug. 9 -- There are no more bridges along the 90 miles of the Litani River, dividing besieged southern Lebanon and Hezbollah's fighters from the rest of the country. One by one, Israeli forces bombed them all. So a little ways from the Mediterranean Sea, where the river's meandering waters eddy, then empty, about 20 men heaved, pushed, pulled and coaxed -- with appeals to God in between -- two water-logged trucks carrying supplies Wednesday to regions bearing the brunt of Israel's invasion. Over a few hours, Hezbollah's shadowy organization emerged on the banks of the Litani. "Don't take pictures!" one of the men shouted. more.. UNEP: Lebanese Oil Spill Carries Cancer Risk An Nahar 8/8/2006 An oil spill caused by Israeli raids on a Lebanese power plant poses a cancer risk to the people of Lebanon and Syria, an Italian environmental monitoring agency warned Tuesday. "The presence of the fuel oil on the coasts of Lebanon and Syria exposes people in the zones affected to a heightened risk of cancer," said Simonetta Lombardo of Info-Rac, which monitors compliance with the so-called Barcelona Convention. The Convention is a 1976 document drawn up by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) designed to protect the Mediterranean and to which 22 countries have so far signed up. An estimated 10,000 tons of fuel oil spilled from the plant at Jiyyeh, 25 kilometers south of Beirut, after Israeli warplanes attacked it on July 14, according to Lebanese authorities, and a further 20,000 tonnes have subsequently leaked out. more.. At least 10,000 residents to be evacuated from northern towns Ha'aretz 8/8/2006 Some 10,000 to 14,000 residents of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona and its surrounding areas will be evacuated in the next few days, officials decided at a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday. At the meeting, led by Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office Ra'anan Dinur, officials decided the evacuation would be implemented and funded equally by the Jewish Agency and the Birthright program. Though Kiryat Shmona Mayor Haim Barbai had made statements to the contrary, officials planning the evacuation told Haaretz they believed any residents who wish to leave the town would probably be evacuated. The Prime Minister's Office, the Jewish Agency and Birthright have agreed to allocate NIS 2 million dollars to provide for the evacuees' stay in a hotel for one week. more.. Bombing Obliterates Last Route Out of Tyre By Anthony Shadid, Washington Post 8/8/2006 Ambulances, Aid Stranded After Warplanes Strike Strip of Sand Over the Litani -- TYRE, Lebanon, Aug. 7 -- The nine ambulances were parked outside the Lebanese Red Cross. They couldn't leave -- neither by the road north, which was bombed, nor the road south, which was shelled Monday. Blasts thundered across the Tyre sky, and rumors flew with almost equal vigor: No one could walk outside after 10 p. m. , no one should stand in the street in groups bigger than three. That left Qasim Chaalan, a gentle Red Cross volunteer, with a problem: He had promised to take Khadija Tajj al-Din, a 74-year-old woman, in an ambulance from the Jabal Amel Hospital to a school where her relatives had sought refuge, a trip of a couple of miles. more.. Israel Threatens Anew to Liquidate Hizbullah Leader An Nahar 8/7/2006 Israel will not miss a chance to liquidate Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, an Israeli minister warned in an interview published Monday. "Nasrallah is the serpent's head and therefore must be liquidated if possible. I do not think there is anyone on our side who would miss an opportunity like that," Environment Minister Gideon Ezra told the Haaretz newspaper. It is not the first time Israel has threatened to kill Nasrallah, and its forces have bombed both his headquarters and his home in the Hizbullah stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs during its massive offensive against Lebanon. Ezra, a former number two in the Shin Beth internal security service, said that Israel's ground operation should continue until forces reach the Litani river, about 40 kilometers from Israel's northern border. more.. ANALYSIS: IDF still not in control of strip along Lebanon's border By Ze'ev Schiff, Ha'aretz 8/10/2006 What happened in Bint Jbail recurred in Ayta al-Shab. -- The large number and the location of the casualties that the Israel Defense Forces sustained Wednesday indicate that the army does not yet control the narrow strip along the border, although this stage of the ground operation was supposed to have been completed already. The two battles also reveal a great deal about Hezbollah's method of fighting. They took place in two relatively small communities, Ayta al-Shab and Debel, close to the international border, on territory that until May 2000 was in Israel's Security Zone. The ground operation, dubbed "Change of Direction 8," was intended to conquer this border strip. First it was to be a two- to three-kilometer strip. more.. Al Aqsa Brigades launch homemade projectile at Kfar Azza Ma'an News 8/9/2006 Gaza --The Ayman Judah unit of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah has claimed responsibility on Wednesday, for launching an 'Aqsa' homemade projectile at the Israeli town of Kfar Azza, east of Gaza city. They declared that the bombardment comes as retaliation for Israeli atrocities against resistance fighters and, in particular, the attack on Jenin this morning. [end] more.. Resistance shells army post near Gaza International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 Palestinian resistance fighters shelled four home made shells at an Israeli army post in Kerem Shalom crossing south of the Gaza strip on Wednesday. The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, announced responsibility of the launch and said that this action comes as a response to the Israeli army aggression against the Palestinian people and promised to continue the resistance. [end] more.. Israel isolates Tyre with threat to bomb all traffic The Guardian 8/9/2006 No exemptions for humanitarian convoys says military -- Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over Tyre yesterday morning, warning people not to use vehicles south of the Litani river, heightening the city's sense of isolation. All roads north and south of the port city have been cut by bombing in the last few days and Israeli authorities have refused permission for any ships to dock. The travel ban had no time limit and mentioned no exceptions, even for ambulances and humanitarian convoys. Addressed to "Lebanese civilians south of the Litani River", it said: "Read this carefully and follow its instructions. The Israeli Defence Forces will escalate their operations and will strike with force against terrorist elements who are using you as human shields and firing rockets from inside your homes against Israel... " more.. Israeli airforce bombs Lebanese funeral five times, killing 13 International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2006 Thirteen people were killed Tuesday evening in Al Ghazziya, Lebanon, while attending the mass funeral of the fifteen Lebanese people killed just the day before. Local sources reported that 1500 people were attending the funeral procession, praying and mourning, accompanying the fifteen coffins in a procession to the town's cemetery, when the missiles hit. The first missile dropped by Israeli warplanes hit a building quite near the procession, then, about thirty minutes later, four more missiles were dropped among the mourners, killing 13 and wounding 18, according to local hospitals and Mayor Mohammed Ghaddar. An Associated Press report said that Ghaziyeh has been targeted by Israeli forces several times, but the attacks Monday and Tuesday were the heaviest... more.. Israel targets Palestinian camp AlJazeera 8/9/2006 At least one person has been killed in an Israeli strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Over 15 people were wounded in the strike on Ain Al Hilweh camp, including five children, medics said early on Wednesday. Lebanese and Palestinian officials said the strike had come from shells launched by an Israeli gunboat. Israel said it had carried out an airstrike on the camp. It was the first time Israel has bombarded the Palestinian refugee camp, the largest in Lebanon and home to some 50,000 people, since the start of the conflict four weeks ago. Two shells fell on the area around the home of Colonel Munir Maqdah, a senior member of the Fatah movement in Lebanon, Palestinian sources said. Lebanon has 12 refugee camps which accommodate half of the 380,000 Palestinians living in the country. more.. Lebanese dead going unburied AlJazeera 8/8/2006 Mortuaries are struggling to cope with all the corpses -- The bodies of scores of people killed in southern Lebanon are going unburied amid fears of fresh attacks by Israeli warplanes. Many relatives of those who have died have either fled the region or are too scared to conduct funeral services in the middle of the ongoing offensive by Israeli forces. More than 70 bodies, recovered from various southern villages and brought to the Lebanese government hospital in Tyre, are still waiting to be laid to rest. They include victims who died in air strikes on the southern village of Srifa, which has been repeatedly pounded by Israeli warplanes since uly 19. At least 30 people have died in the village and more than 15 buildings levelled. more.. Five soldiers killed in battles in south Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/9/2006 Two IDF paratroopers were killed Tuesday in battles in the south Lebanon village of Bint Jbail, the Israel Defense Forces announced early Wednesday. Earlier Tuesday, three soldiers were killed and at least 14 wounded in southern Lebanon, where heavy battles between IDF troops and Hezbollah militants have been raging since late Monday. One of the paratroopers was treated by medics at the scene, but he could not be extricated due to heavy gunfire from Hezbollah militants. During the rescue attempt, a soldier from the paratroopers' search and rescue force was also killed. The slain paratroopers, both of whom belonged to a reconnaissance battalion, were identified as Staff Sergeant Oren Lifschitz, 21, of Kibbutz Gazit and Staff Sergeant Moran Cohen, 21, of Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov. more.. Two wounded when Hezbollah fires at least 160 rockets at north Ha'aretz 8/9/2006 At least 160 Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah gunners in Lebanon slammed into northern Israel on Tuesday. Two people were wounded, one moderately and one lightly, when a rocket hit a home in the Western Galilee town of Fasouta on Tuesday afternoon. Most of the rockets landed in the northern cities of Acre, Nahariya, Safed and Tiberias. Four rockets landed late Tuesday in Kiryat Shmona and Nahariya. There were no injuries reported in either incident. At least 20 rockets slammed into the hard-hit Upper Galilee town of Kiryat Shmona earlier Tuesday, causing damages to structures and starting a number of fires. Also on Tuesday, four rockets landed in open fields in the northern region of the Golan Heights. No casualties were reported as a result of the rocket fire. more.. Israeli gunboats hit Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon; one reported dead Ha'aretz 8/9/2006 Israel Navy gunboats shelled Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp early Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding three others, Lebanese and Palestinian officials said. The shelling was the first time Israel attacked the camp since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began more than four weeks ago. The Israeli gunboats fired two shells. One landed in the Ein el-Hilweh camp, located on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, and the other slammed into the city's amusement park, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Israel Air Force strikes hit a south Lebanese village twice on Tueday, killing at least six people. more.. Hezbollah ballbearing rockets maximise injuries Electronic Intifada/IRIN 8/8/2006 HAIFA - Doctors are concerned that Hezbollah's use of ballbearings in many of the rockets fired into northern Israel is increasing the number of casualties: 36 civilians have been killed so far, according to Israeli authorities. "These bullets [ballbearings] cause damaging penetrative injuries," said Dr Eran Tal-or, the attending physician at the trauma unit in Haifa's Rambam Hospital. "If the bullet is lodged in the brain, for example, we wouldn't even try to get it out because we would cause even more damage. And if it cuts a major artery, then you will be dead in no time. "Israel began its military offensive against Lebanon on 12 July after the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party with a military wing. In response, Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel. -- See also: Israeli Cluster Munitions Hit Civilians in Lebanon more.. Bombing Stalls Cleanup of Massive Oil Spill Inter Press Service 8/8/2006 UNITED NATIONS, Aug 8 (IPS) - As Israeli bombs continue to fall from the skies across Lebanon, destroying homes, parks, roads, bridges, forests, hospitals and power stations, scientists say the enormous amount of toxic waste unleashed by the attack will continue to affect human lives and the environment long after the fighting is over. "The destruction is so huge that it may take a decade to recover," Zia Mian, a researcher with the Programme on Science and Global Security at Princeton University, told IPS. "The consequences of environmental destruction will be felt for a long time, especially the problem of unexploded bombs and munitions. "In recent days, United Nations officials and environmental groups based in Lebanon have made similar observations... more.. Fuel shortages threaten hospital services Electronic Intifada/IRIN 8/8/2006 BEIRUT - Lebanese officials have said that hospitals are threatened with closure as a result of severe fuel shortages nationwide. "Hospitals are currently functioning properly, but their fuel reserve can [only] last for one week," Lebanese Health Minister Mohammed Khalife told IRIN. Lebanon is tapping into its fuel reserves to supply some hospitals, but the real issue is the difficulty in transporting the fuel around the country, Khalife said. Bombed roads and bridges are making access to some areas of Lebanon almost impossible. Israel launched its military offensive in Lebanon and imposed an air, land and sea blockade after the capture on 12 July of two Israeli soldiers by the armed wing of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party. more.. Reporter: Israel deliberately not destroying launchers YNet News 8/8/2006 Top Washington Post military reporter Tom Ricks severely criticized -- WASHINGTON - Tom Ricks, military reporter for the Washington Post, accused Israel Tuesday of intentionally failing to destroy a number of rocket launchers in south Lebanon, to maintain a moral defense to its striking civilian of targets in Lebanon. Ricks, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in journalism and recently published his new book "Fiasco" on the failure of the American war in Iraq, made the comments during an interview on CNN... "... One of the things that is going on, according to some US military analysts, is that Israel purposely has left pockets of Hizbullah rockets in Lebanon, because as long as they're being rocketed, they can continue to have a sort of moral equivalency in their operations in Lebanon. " more.. Hizbullah equipment surprises IDF YNet News 8/8/2006 Troops discover cutting-edge cameras, gas masks in Lebanon; IDF official: There's no doubt Hizbullah was prepared -- Sophisticated enemy: IDF officials say they were surprised by advanced Hizbullah military equipment recovered by troops in Lebanon that presents Israeli forces with difficult challenges as the fighting continues to rage. After the outbreak of hostilities, IDF officers realized all assessments regarding Hizbullah arms were accurate, while some findings even exceeded predictions. Equipment recovered by Israeli troops includes night-vision equipment, gas masks, cutting-edge radio equipment, dozens of rifles, various types of handguns, silencers, helmets, and protective vests. Soldiers also found computer parts attesting to the fact Hizbullah was acting in an orderly manner and documenting its operations. more.. Army takes one prisoner from Bir Al Bash village near Jenin International Middle East Media Center 8/8/2006 Israeli army troops took, Sami Ghawadra, 20, prisoner during an invasion to Bir Al Bash village near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday. Soldiers searched several houses and farmslands before arresting Ghawadra and taking him to an unknown destination, local sources reported. Also, troops searched farmlands located between the village and the nearby village of Ya'bod and several surrounding villages, and installed a military roadblock at the entrance of Ya'bod. [end] more.. One child injured by Israeli military fire in Beit Lahia International Middle East Media Center 8/8/2006 One child was shot and injured by Israeli military fire in Beit Lahia twon in the northern part of the Gaza Strip Tuesday afternoon. The child was injured when army tanks fired heavy machine guns towards houses in the town. He was identified as Majdi Abu Jarad. Abu Jarad was transfered to Kamal Adwan hospital in the town, medical sources reported. [end] more.. Army takes one prisoner from Qarowwit Beni Hasan village International Middle East Media Center 8/8/2006 The Israeli army took one prisoner during an invasion of Qarowwit Beni Hasan village near Sulfit city in the West Bank late Monday night. The prisoner was identified as Aziz Marai, the General Secretary of Qarowwit Beni Hasan Charitable Educational Society. The organization provides educational and charitable services to the village and has no political activities. Most of the beneficiaries are orphans. [end] more.. Intense fighting in Qabatiya Village as Israeli forces invade and arrest Al Aqsa leader Palestine News Network 8/8/2006 Israeli forces arrested Al Aqsa Brigades leader Mohammad Adib Hanaish while invading Qabatiya Village southwest of Jenin Tuesday. Members of the armed Palestinian resistance began fighting back at dawn as the Israeli invasion began, with several injuries reported as of nearly noon. Israeli forces penetrated the town with at least 25 military vehicles and besieged a home while opening fire and demanding via loudspeaker that Hanaish turn himself in. Not only the Fateh linked Al Aqsa Brigades are defending the town. All local armed resistance wings are out in the streets as of late Tuesday morning, still attempting to fight off the invasion. The situation is reportedly going from bad to worse. [end] more.. Damages to Gaza agricultural sector during latest Israeli attacks Palestine News Network 8/8/2006 The Palestinian Union of Agricultural Work Committees issued a statement on the initial damage to the infrastructure of the agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip following the recent invasions. According to the statement, “Israeli forces left the earth scorched, a design to primarily destroy the livelihood of Palestinians, the infrastructure, and their ability to be economically self-sustaining. The Israelis intend to cut all sources of income for the Palestinian citizen. ”The initial reports indicated that Israeli forces bulldozed another 2,200 dunams of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces also destroyed at least 100 greenhouses, 10 sheep and chicken farms, and irrigation systems for more than 1,500 dunams of land. more.. Army continues to shell northern Gaza Strip International Middle East Media Center 8/8/2006 The Israeli heavy artillery continued shelling northern parts of the Gaza Strip Tuesday morning. The shelling targeted residential areas in Beit Lahya, Jabalia refugee camp and Beit Hanoun. No injuries were reported. [end] more.. Israeli forces withdraw from Shoka in southern Rafah Ma'an News 8/8/2006 Khan Younis -- Israeli forces that invaded the town of Ash Shoka in the south of Rafah have withdrawn from the Palestinian town after the 3-hour invasion. During the invasion the Israeli forces destroyed 8 homes and bulldozed large areas of agricultural land. The town of Ash Shoka has been subject to continuous Israeli offensives because the Israelis claim that they are looking for secret underground tunnels. Last week, Israeli forces invaded the town for 4 days in a military operation which the Israelis called " Horizon" to search for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The Israeli forces killed 17 people and injured more than 50 people and caused massive destruction to Palestinian homes and property. [end] more.. 'We are ready to fight, we are ready to die' The Guardian 8/9/2006 Eleven-year-old Zahra sits on a desk in a crowded corridor of a west Beirut school and explains eloquently why she believes in the need for resistance. "All children now want to grow up to fight Israel. It's shameful how we are being treated. What have we as children ever done to them? Nobody cares what happens to us, nobody will do anything if we don't defend ourselves. "Her friend Howra, also 11 and also a refugee from southern Lebanon now living in the school in Zarif, joins in. "Even if a thousand of our fighters are killed we will remain strong. Even with the Israeli technology, we are not afraid of them; we have the strongest fighters in the world. " Estimates of the number of Hizbullah fighters active in the field range from 1,000 to 10,000, with a potential reserve force as high as 200,000. more.. Israel's Military Invincibility Dented by Hezbollah Inter Press Service 8/8/2006 UNITED NATIONS, Aug 8 (IPS) - Israel's phenomenal victories against collective Arab armies in 1967 and later against Egypt in 1973 firmly established the Jewish state's legendary military superiority in the Middle East. The 1967 war -- called the Six Day War -- was so swift it ended in less than a week, with Egypt losing 264 aircraft and 700 battle tanks; Jordan 22 aircraft and 125 tanks, and Syria 58 aircraft and 105 tanks. The only equipment losses suffered by Israel in the 1967 war were 40 aircraft and 100 battle tanks, according to Dilip Hiro, a Middle East analyst based in London. The war ended with Israel capturing East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, the Golan Heights and Sharm al-Shaikh -- some of which are still under occupation despite U. N. Security Council resolutions seeking Israeli withdrawal. more.. Al Aqsa Brigades launch advanced homemade projectile at military installation south east of Gaza Strip Ma'an News 8/8/2006 Gaza - Ma'an – The Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of the Fatah movement have claimed responsibility for launching two 'Aqsa' advanced homemade projectiles at an Israeli military post near the Kerem Shalom crossing in eastern Rafah in retaliation for the Israeli massacres in the city over the past week. more.. Haifa hospital evacuates 106 patients to basement Ha'aretz 8/9/2006 Rambam hospital in Haifa transferred patients from its cardiology and oncology departments to a makeshift alternative ward on a basement floor on Sunday night, following a barrage of Hezbollah rockets on the city. Three people were killed and more than a hundred injured in the attacks Sunday night. The patients were all moved within two hours. The Rambam maternity ward was moved to the basement two weeks ago. "It's not optimal, nut it's better than nothing, and more secure, said Professor Avraham Koten, head of the oncology department. "We are speaking of patients some of whom are in serious condition with complications in treatment, who cannot be moved elsewhere or sent home. We are manging to give them chemotherapy and radiation treatments. " more.. Israeli children and teenagers have developed fears following war Ma'an News 8/8/2006 Bethlehem -- Despite the preoccupation with the tears of the Lebanese presidents, Israeli newspapers said today that it was an unsuccessful attempt to manipulate the world's compassion so that they would not bring an international force to south Lebanon. The newspapers also said that the phenomenon of involuntary urination among children in Israeli settlements and the use of drugs by adolescents are indication sof the fear and stress caused by Katyusha rockets. In the municipality of Kiryat Shmona, there is a fear that the community would need rehabilation after the end of the war, not only to the destroyed houses but also to children. According to the Israeli newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, most Israeli children refuse to leave the shelters even when the army allows them to do so. more.. Toll of a war that shames the world The Independent 8/8/2006 It is 28 days since Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers, "prompting" a ground and air assault on Lebanon by the Israeli army. In that time, 932 people have been killed in Lebanon, with 75 missing, presumed dead. 29 Lebanese Army soldiers have been killed. 3,293 Lebanese have been wounded. 45 per cent of the casualties have been children. 913,000 Lebanese have been displaced (300,000 of whom are children). 94 Israelis have been killed and 1,867 wounded. 10,000 Israeli soldiers are currently fighting Hizbollah in southern Lebanon. 3,000 rockets have been fired at Israel by Hizbollah. The average number of rockets fired daily by Hizbollah in the first week of the conflict was 90. Over the past five days, it has been 169. Israel has flown 8,700 bombing sorties, destroying 146 bridges and 72 roads. more.. IDF broadcasts Hizbullah's dead on al-Manar YNet News 8/8/2006 VIDEO) Israeli army takes over terror group's TV station airwaves twice daily to show propaganda films presenting Nasrallah as liar, showing Hizbullah operatives fleeing from battle -- VIDEO - While Israel Defense Forces soldiers are fighting brutal battles in the villages of southern Lebanon , the army is also fighting a fierce PR war against Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The IDF took over the airwaves of Hizbullah's al-Manar television network as it showed Nasrallah's last speech and replaced the broadcast with propaganda footage. The video showed the bodies of Hizbullah operatives and asserted that fighters were fleeing from the battlegrounds. Since the beginning of fighting in Lebanon the IDF has briefly taken control of the airwaves of al-Manar, Radio Nour, and Radio Sawt Al-Shab... more.. Bloody night in Beirut as Israel intensifies aerial bombardment The Guardian 8/7/2006 IDF warns UN troops will be attacked if they repair bridges -- Israel inflicted one of its deadliest attacks on Beirut last night when an air strike on a southern district killed at least 15 people, just hours after the departure of a delegation from the Arab League. At least 30 were injured in the strike, which capped another day of violence in Lebanon in which more than 50 people died, including three Israeli soldiers. As night fell, Israel declared a curfew in southern Lebanon, warning that all vehicles apart from humanitarian traffic would be at risk. Ground forces continued to run into fierce resistance in southern Lebanon. Hizbullah militants fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel, wounding at least one. But the Beirut attack was the day's bloodiest episode. more.. Four Palestinians, including two teen brothers, killed in Rafah International Middle East Media Center 8/6/2006 Palestinian medical sources in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, reported on Saturday that Israeli soldiers killed four Palestinians, including two children, in three air strikes in the city. The attacks came as the army widened its military operation in Rafah, especially in Al Shouka area, and around the Rafah International Airport. The sources stated that an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a Palestinian family who fled their home and were searching for a safer place, the missile missed its target, but as they drove near Abu Yousef Al Najjar Hospital, the helicopter fired another missile at their vehicle killing two brothers identified as Kifah, 16, and Ammar Al Natour, 15; their mother and brother were seriously injured. more.. Israeli settlers in the West Bank shoot and kill Palestinian vegetable merchant and injure his son Palestine News Network 8/7/2006 During Monday’s early dawn hours Israeli settlers opened fire on a man and his son south of Nablus in the West Bank. Palestinian security sources report that the Qalqilia area Hableh Village residents were passing through Dooma Village south of Nablus. Israeli settlers opened fire on 48 year old Husein Mardawi and his 19 year old son Dean. The settlers killed the father and injured his son. As all Israeli settlements in the West Bank exist in direct contravention to international law, the crime is even more egregious. Palestinian medical sources at Nablus’ Rafidiya Hospital report that the elder Mardawi received a bullet directly in the heart. Settlers are often heavily armed, just as are the soldiers in and around settlements. Mardawi’s teenaged son is now in Rafidiya with moderate injuries, according to hospital sources. more.. Haniyeh: I was targeted with poison gas Jerusalem Post 8/7/2006 The Hamas government on Monday accused Israel of trying to assassinate Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh with a poisonous substance sent to his office in Ramallah in an envelope. Seven employees working in the office were hospitalized after being exposed to the envelope, which carried a Tel Aviv postmark, said Deputy Prime Minister Nasser al-Shaer. The envelope was sent to Haniyeh's office in Ramallah although he is banned from leaving the Gaza Strip, where he has another office. Haniyeh claimed during a meeting of his cabinet in Gaza City that the envelope contained "poisonous gas" that was meant to kill him and other senior Hamas officials. "We have no doubt that the Israeli intelligence was involved in this criminal and dangerous act," he said. more.. There are burnt-out tanks, but few Israeli troops The Guardian 8/8/2006 Evidence in border villages shows heavy price paid for limited incursion -- It is perhaps the world's most dangerous road, snaking up and down through boulder-strewn hills and wadis along the Lebanese-Israeli border. By Israel's account, its forces are moving between four and six miles beyond it to take control of a long strip of Lebanese territory before the UN security council votes for a cessation of hostilities. But reporters travelling along the border road on Saturday found few signs of an Israeli presence, let alone success. People in only one village had seen Israeli troops recently. Elsewhere, there was evidence of Israeli failures: burnt-out or crippled tanks. Despite the message of success Israel's generals and politicians are giving their public, the reality on the ground appeared mixed. more.. Palestinian boy killed in Israeli raids AlJazeera 8/7/2006 Israel continues to launch air attacks on Gaza -- Israeli raids in the Palestinian territories have left two people dead, including a 13-year-old boy killed in an air strike on Gaza. In a separate incident soldiers shot dead a Palestinian fighter during an arrest raid near the West Bank town of Jenin on Sunday. Israeli forces also detained a Palestinian parliamentarian in the West Bank, the second member of parliament arrested in 24 hours. Fadel Hamdan, a Hamas lawmaker, was detained after two dozen Israeli jeeps surrounded the part of Ramallah where he was based. Earlier on Sunday, Aziz Dwiek, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament and a member of Hamas, was detained by Israeli forces in Ramallah. more.. IAF destroys home believed to store weapons in northern Gaza Ha'aretz 8/7/2006 An Israel Air Force strike destroyed a house in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday after residents said they received two telephone calls from the army, one urging them to leave and a second insisting, "This is not a joke. "An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said the house had been used by the Islamic Jihad militant group to store weapons. No one was injured in the blast. A person who lived in the house denied any ties to militants. Mohammed al-Shurafa, who lived with his family in the house, told local radio that he received a call from a man who said he was with the Israeli army and asked him to leave the house. Shurafa said the family left the house but thought the call was a joke. He returned a few minutes later and immediately the telephone rang again. more.. Palestinian killed in the West Bank city of Nablus International Middle East Media Center 8/6/2006 Sunday evening, Israeli settlers opened fire at a Palestinian vehicle south of the West bank city of Nablus, killing one resident and injuring his brother, Palestinian medical and security sources reported. Palestinian security sources reported that the resident, Hussein Mardawi, 48, is a member of the Islamic Jihad Movement. His brother was injured in the attack. The sources added that a settlers group ambushed the vehicle and opened fire at it. If is not clear if the settlers knew the identity of the residents in the attacked vehicle. Also on Sunday, soldier killed a member member of the Islamic Jihad after surrounding his house in Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank.... Al Omary was unarmed when he was killed, local sources reported. more.. Soldiers assassinate a leader of the Al Quds brigades near Jenin International Middle East Media Center 8/6/2006 Sunday evening, Israeli soldiers assassinated Rashid Al Omary, 24, of the leaders of the Al Quds brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, in Sielet Al Harthiyya town, west of Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank. The Palestine News Network reported that an Israeli under-cover unit infiltrated into the town, and surrounded the house of Al Omary in Al Tahaina neighborhood. The agency added that at least 25 military vehicles invaded the town later on after blocking all of its entrances. Soldiers occupied a house near the house of Al Omary for five hours and demanded him to surrender. After firing dozens of rounds of live ammunition and throwing grenades at the house, soldiers broke into it, searched it, and found Al Omary hiding under the awning of the second floor. more.. Israeli Gaza military incursion "Summer Rain" kills trees and farms Ma'an News 8/6/2006 Gaza -- Following the Israeli forces withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in late September 2005, many Palestinians breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the Israeli occupation had gone for ever. In the wake of the Israeli withdrawal, every Palestinian farmer in Gaza hurried to his land and destroyed farms to repair the damage that the Israeli occupation had caused. However, the Israeli occupation refused to give hope a chance to stay in the hearts of oppressed farmers. They took advantage of the launching of home-made projectiles from the Gaza Strip and the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and used it as a pretext to use bulldozers to ravage the love of land which is felt deeply in the hearts of the Palestinians. more.. Israeli pilots 'deliberately miss' targets The Observer 8/6/2006 Fliers admit aborting raids on civilian targets as concern grows over the reliability of intelligence -- At least two Israeli fighter pilots have deliberately missed civilian targets in Lebanon as disquiet grows in the military about flawed intelligence, The Observer has learnt. Sources say the pilots were worried that targets had been wrongly identified as Hizbollah facilities. Voices expressing concern over the armed forces' failures are getting louder. One Israeli cabinet minister said last week: 'We gave the army so much money. Why are we getting these results? ' Last week saw Hizbollah's guerrilla force, dismissed by senior Israeli military officials as 'ragtag', inflict further casualties on one of the world's most powerful armies in southern Lebanon. At least 12 elite troops, the equivalent of Britain's SAS, have already been killed... more.. Three killed in Haifa rocket attacks; Katyusha kills 12 IDF reservists in Kfar Giladi Ha'aretz 8/6/2006 Three people were killed and some 40 others were wounded in Haifa on Sunday evening in what was described as the heaviest rocket strike on Israel's third largest city since the attacks began on July 12. Some 22 rockets fell during the volley. The strikes came several hours after 12 Israel Defense Forces reserve soldiers were killed and 12 others were wounded, four of them seriously, in a direct hit on an open area in the northern community of Kfar Giladi. Since the fighting began on July 12, 94 Israelis - 58 IDF soldiers and 36 civilians - have been killed. In Haifa, five people were pulled from the rubble after a building collapsed in a strike on a residential neighborhood. One of those rescued was seriously hurt, and the rest sustained moderate injuries. more.. Three IDF soldiers killed in heavy clashes in south Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/8/2006 Three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and four others wounded in fierce fighting with Hezbollah militants Monday in southern Lebanon. Two soldiers were killed Monday afternoon when they were hit by an anti-tank missile in fighting in the southern Lebanon village of Bint Jbail. One of them was identified as Major Yotam Lotan, 33, of Kibbutz Beit Hashita. Another soldier was killed Monday morning in the village. He was later named as Staff Sergeant Malko Mosha Ambao, 22, of Lod. Ambao was part of a Paratroopers Brigades force that engaged in gunbattles with Hezbollah. Three of his comrades sustained light wounds. Later Monday, the IDF warned residents of south Lebanon to remain indoors after 10 P. M. (1900 GMT) and said anyone moving after that would be at risk, a military source said. more.. Cabinet to meet over expansion of ground operations Ha'aretz 8/8/2006 Olmert: No limitations on IDF in fight against Hezbollah rockets -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will convene his security cabinet Wednesday for a discussion on expanding the IDF ground offensive in south Lebanon. Olmert met Monday with Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and other senior military and Military Intelligence officials who presented him with their plan for taking control of areas used by Hezbollah to fire its short-range rockets. Under the plan, the IDF will take control of the area south of the Litani River. The military officials also presented Olmert with a plan for an operation north of the Litani, in the area of Ramat Nabatiyeh where rockets were launched into Kiryat Shmona. The operation in Ramat Nabatiyeh, however, is likely to be put off for a later stage if necessary. more.. 12-year-old struggles to cope with loss of mother and 3 brothers The Daily Star 8/8/2006 SIDON: She has the look of someone completely lost, yet Hawra Hashem refuses to let go of the hope that her mother may still be alive under the debris. "Mother promised we would go for a picnic after the war, and when the bombs were falling she talked to us about the treats we would eat," Hawra says between bouts of sobbing. The picnic will never take place. The 12-year-old lost most of her family to an Israeli air strike, and now she does not know which way to turn. Her mother and three brothers were all killed on July 30 in the South Lebanon village of Qana while sheltering from Israeli bombs that ended the lives of at least 28 civilians -16 of them children - in a blindinginstant.... Now Hawra sits in a corner at an emergency accommodation center in Sidon, the largest city in the South of the country. more.. IDF, Hezbollah engaged in heavy fighting in southern Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/8/2006 Israel Defense Forces troops and Hezbollah fighters were engaged in heavy exchanges of fire Tuesday morning in southern Lebanon. Three IDF soldiers were killed and four others wounded in fierce fighting with Hezbollah militants Monday. Two soldiers were killed Monday afternoon when they were hit by an anti-tank missile in fighting in the southern Lebanon village of Bint Jbail. One of them was identified as Major Yotam Lotan, 33, of Kibbutz Beit Hashita. Another soldier was killed Monday morning in the village. He was later named as Staff Sergeant Malko Mosha Ambao, 22, of Lod. Ambao was part of a Paratroopers Brigades force that engaged in gunbattles with Hezbollah. Three of his comrades sustained light wounds. more.. Indonesian Muslim group claims to have sent fighters to Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/8/2006 A hardline Islamic group in Indonesia claimed Tuesday that 20 of its members had traveled to Lebanon to join the fight against Israel. It was not possible to independently verify the claim by the Islamic Defenders Front. Similar claims by militant groups in Indonesia in recent years have proved to be false. Front spokesman Soleh Mahmud said the 20 men left Indonesia five days ago and are now undergoing training in Lebanon under the supervision of Hezbollah guerillas. "They are ready to die to defend Muslims," Mahmud told The Associated Press. [end] more.. Hezbollah fighter 'confesses to kidnapping IDF soldiers' Ha'aretz 8/8/2006 A Hezbollah fighter captured by Israel has told interrogators he received training in Iran and arrived there on a flight from Syria, a tape of the interrogation released by the Israeli army showed on Monday. During questioning the man also confessed to taking part in the cross-border raid on July 12 in which two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were captured, the incident which sparked the current conflict. "We trained in Iran," the man, who gave his name as Mahmoud Ali Suleiman, told the interrogator. "We went from Beirut in civilian cars... to the airport in Damascus. " more.. Israeli forces raid Hebron and take five Palestinians to unknown locations Palestine News Network 8/7/2006 Israeli forces arrested five Palestinians from Hebron Monday. The raid began in the northeast and including breaking into several homes. The Palestinian Security Joint Operations office gave a detail that among the arrested was a Palestinian official, 31 year old Abdel Nasser Mir’i. Official sources in the Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoner Society reported that Israeli soldiers also took 23 year old Sharif Saleh Mahfouz from his home on Salam Street in the southern West Bank city. In the southern neighborhood of the city Israeli forces took three more Palestinians to unknown locations. Their identities have not been released. Reports of the break-ins include extremely violent behavior on the part of Israeli soldiers, including tearing apart homes and injuring two Palestinians, including infants and a young boy. [end] more.. In evening shelling, 13 killed in a village in Al Biqa', 15 in al Dahiya, 69 total on Monday International Middle East Media Center 8/7/2006 Monday evening, Israeli air force shelled several civilian houses in Bretal village, in Al Biqa' area in Lebanon killing at least 13 civilians; 23 were injured. In Al Shayyah neighborhood in Al Dahiya, 15 were killed, and dozens were injured in further Israeli shelling. Dozens of houses, and stores were completely damaged. At least 69 Lebanese were killed on Monday in several Lebanese areas. Lebanese medical sources reported that several children and women are among the killed and injured. The shelled houses including families who took shelter there fearing Israeli shelling to their houses. Earlier on Monday, five Lebanese civilians, including two medics, were killed after the Israeli army sir struck several villages in southern Lebanon. more.. Palestinian woman caught in crossfire near Nablus Ma'an News 8/7/2006 Nablus --A Palestinian woman was caught in crossfire near Nablus. Medical sources reported that a Sajidah 'Ata Jodah Al-Koti, 25, was shot in the right thigh during a gunfight between Palestinian fighters and Israeli soldiers at the 'Urta crossing where Palestinian trucks pass into Nablus, in the northern West Bank. The girl who was moderately injured was transferred to Rafidiya hospital. Right after the incident, the Israelis closed the crossings of Huwwara and 'Urta and began a search for the Palestinians who were shooting at them. [end] more.. Brigades launch home-made projectiles at Sofa crossing near Rafah Ma'an News 8/7/2006 Gaza -- The Ahmad Abu Ar Rish Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement and the National Resistance Brigades, the military wing affiliated to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, announced joint responsibility for the launch of 3 home-made projectiles at the Sofa crossing into Israeli, south-east of Rafah late on Sunday evening. The brigades said in a joint statement that the launch was part of the continuous escalation of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation, and in solidarity with the Islamic resistance in Lebanon. [end] more.. Israeli army claims it captured one of the capturers of Israeli soldiers Ma'an News 8/7/2006 Bethlehem --Head of the Israeli intelligence department, General Amos Yedlin, has announced during the government's session on Sunday that the Israeli army has captured a Hezbollah fighter who they claim to be a participant of the operation in which two Israeli soldiers were captured. No details were released yet. According to Israeli army, the announcement was hasty because it will decrease the probability of benefiting from information which the fighter may reveal. Hezbollah denied the news. [end] more.. Two residents injured in Nuba village near Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/7/2006 Monday morning, Naseem Abu Amoud, 34, and Mahmoud Abu Amoud, 19, were injured due to an explosion by an unidentified object in Nuba village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron. Medical sources reported that Naseem had to undergo surgery in the city hospital, while Mahmoud escaped with minor injuries. [end] more.. Army invades Kafr Ra'ee village, west of Jenin International Middle East Media Center 8/7/2006 The Israeli army troops invaded the village of Kafr Ra'ee, south of the West Bank city of Jenin, Monday at dawn. Eyewitnesses reported that soldiers stormed the village, conducted a widespread search campaign after surrounding several houses. Soldiers were seen firing live rounds and sound bombs randomly at several houses, forcing families including children and babies to go out of their houses under the threat of their guns, causing several cases of panic injuries among the children. This invasion is the second invasion in less than 12 hours. [end] more.. Army invades the West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp International Middle East Media Center 8/7/2006 Israeli forces invaded the West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp on Monday at dawn. Local sources said that troops fired their guns randomly at residents' homes and the sound of apache helicopters were heard in the area. Also, local residents reported that the army is still forcing a tight siege on the city by installing checkpoints in and around the city. [end] more.. Army invades the West Bank city of Bethlehem International Middle East Media Center 8/7/2006 Israeli army troops and jeeps invaded the West Bank city of Bethlehem Monday morning. Soldiers stormed residents' homes and ransacked them in the Al Midbesa neighborhood in the center of the city. [end] more.. Israeli forces kill another child in Rafah Palestine News Network 8/6/2006 Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses report that Israeli warplanes launched another air raid on the southern Gaza Strip after midnight. Israeli forces fired missiles into Rafah during Sunday's earliest hours, a town already suffering under days of attacks and deaths. This time Israeli forces killed 12 year old Ibrahim Azajidi. He is the fifth child Israeli forces killed in Rafah since Thursday. In addition to killing this child, after killing two children yesterday, and a three day old baby on Thursday, amongst the nearly 20 Palestinians killed since that day, Israeli forces injured three other Palestinians. Eyewitnesses report that Israeli air forces fired a missile on a Rafah home where the four were sitting outside near the front door, enjoying the cool night air. more.. Israelis invade Jenin Refugee Camp and threaten families of “wanted” Palestinians Palestine News Network 8/6/2006 Israeli forces arrested three young men from Jenin Refugee Camp Sunday morning and threatened families of those considered “wanted” if they did not surrender. Palestinian security sources reported that at least 30 Israeli military vehicles invaded the camp at dawn from all entrances, stormed homes and turned several into military installations. Israeli soldiers opened fire throughout the camp while members of the armed resistance fought back. Israeli forces threatened an official in Islamic Jihad, Mahmoud Saa’di’s, family in particular with arrest if he did not surrender himself to the Israelis. Soldiers interrogated the family, tore apart the home, including using explosives indoors. The break-ins moved to neighbors homes as well. more.. Al Asifa Brigades launches projectiles at Sderot Ma'an News 8/6/2006 Khan Younis --Al-'Asifa Brigades, a military group affiliated with the Fatah movement, announced their responsibility for launching two home made projectiles against the Israeli town of Sderot , early Sunday morningThe brigades made a statement that the launching came in response to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian and Lebanese people. They added that one of their men was slightly injured when Israeli artillery bombarded their position. The brigades assured that they will continue with their resistance as long as Israel continues in its massacres against the Palestinian people. [end] more.. Palestinians Probe Suspicious Envelope The Guardian 8/8/2006 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinians launched an investigation Monday after seven people were hospitalized when one of them opened a suspicious envelope addressed to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, officials said. The Cabinet building in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the envelope was delivered, was evacuated, said Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer. The envelope contained an orange tissue that emitted a strong smell, said Shaer's office manager Abdel Basit Moatian, who opened the mail. Moatian said it had a Tel Aviv, Israel, postmark. Haniyeh, a leader of the militant Hamas group who heads the Palestinian government, said he believed this may have been an Israeli attempt to kill him with ``poison gas. '' He provided no evidence for the allegation. more.. Poisoned package sent to Haniyeh YNet News 8/7/2006 At least four Palestinian clerks hospitalized after opening package thought to contain dangerous substance. Package arrived at office of Haniyeh's deputy in Ramallah. Haniyeh himself doesn't go to West Bank and there are disagreements in PA if Israel had any connection to event, or if it is connected to internal conflict -- At least four Palestinian clerks working in the Palestinian Prime Minister's Office in Ramallah, lost consciousness Monday after opening a package thought to contain a poisonous substance. The package arrived at the Palestinian government building in Ramallah, sent to the office of Nasser al-Din Shaer, Ismail Haniyeh's deputy prime minister. Sources in the office said that the package was sent from an address in Tel Aviv. They refused to pass on details about the address. more.. Israel attempts to assassinate Palestinian P.M, by an envelope containing suspicious material International Middle East Media Center 8/7/2006 Five Palestinian Government employees were hospitalized in the West Bank city of Ramallah after inhaling suspicious material that was in an envelope addressed to the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyya, Nasser Ed Deen Al Sha'er, the Palestinian vice-premiere said that the letter that included this suspicious material is a clear Israeli assassination attempt that targeted Haniyya or his deputy. Moreover, a Palestinian security source reported that the letter arrived from Israel and that the material that was inside it vaporised after the letter was opened. Haniyya is constantly present in Gaza since Israel does not allow him to travel to the West Bank. The letter was supposed to be transferred to Gaza but the employees suspected it and decided to open it to see its contents. more.. Israeli reservists caught 'unprepared' AlJazeera 8/7/2006 The tough fight Israel is facing in its campaign against Hezbollah comes in part from the lack of preparedness and poor equipment of its reservists, an Israeli daily has reported. Haaretz's English language edition on Monday said that most reserve units had complained about a lack of emergency supplies and even missing equipment. The fitness level of reserve soldiers was also cited as a problem. The paper quoted a soldier as saying: "For two days, we barely made any progress. The soldiers simply don't really know what the mission is". "You are mostly kept busy with protecting yourself," the reservist, named as "A", also said.... "It is nothing like the territories. During daylight hours, you do not see a living soul. You barely see anything at night either. " more.. IDF reservists: Our missions are unclear, our combat equipment is antiquated Ha'aretz 8/7/2006 Reserve soldiers are returning from fighting in south Lebanon with harsh criticisms of their operational preparedness and the combat equipment with which they had been supplied. After three days of combat in south Lebanon, infantry soldiers from the Israel Defense Force's reserve Carmeli Battalion returned Sunday to Israel. A. , a young reservist who spent his mandatory service in the Golani Brigade during the second intifada, said, "For two days, we barely made any progress. The soldiers simply don't really know what the mission is. You are mostly kept busy with protecting yourself. "Interviews with the battalion's soldiers revealed a picture of complicated fighting under heavy Hezbollah fire in which the soldiers know very little of their mission. more.. Hezbollah source: we have a strong intelligence department Ma'an News 8/6/2006 Beirut --A reliable source in Hezbollah has revealed secret information of the way Hezbollah directs the battles in south Lebanon and the way they target the Israeli cities and villages. The source stated that Hezbollah has an intelligence department which precisely collects information from inside Israel through agents who on certain occasions penetrate crucial Israeli departments. According to that source, “the Islamic resistance possesses very advanced monitoring and tapping systems that can precisely watch the movements of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. The intelligence department sends reports to the leadership which considers the suitable way of attacking Israeli targets in light of the intelligence information. more.. VIDEO - Warplanes hover low over central cities YNet News 8/8/2006 Immediately after IDF forces report downing Hizbullah drone, jets, combat helicopters began hovering at low altitude in central Israel, Sharon region -- VIDEO - Has aerial activity over central Israel been increased? Many citizens reported high activity by planes and helicopters over coastal central Israel and the Sharon area. For long hours jets hovered over central cities. Ynet has been flooded by such reports. The IDF has said that the Air Force activity is normal. more.. VIDEO - Hizbullah drone shot down over Israel YNet News 8/7/2006 IDF detects drone as it leaves Lebanese skies; intercepts it over Israeli waters near Krayot area -- VIDEO - The IDF intercepted a Hizbullah drone over northern Israel on Monday. The drone was shot down over Israeli waters near the Krayot area; it was detected by IDF forces immediately upon leaving Lebanese territory. The IDF honed in on the drove as it was launched in Lebanon, at around 7 p. m. Less than 10 minutes later F-16 jets downed the drone which flew at a low altitude over the sea at a speed of approximately 150 kilometers an hour. The drone was downed 10 kilometers off the coast, north-west of Haifa. more.. Israeli strikes kill 29 as UN talks continue The Guardian 8/7/2006 Israeli air strikes killed at least 29 Lebanese people today and Israel said it may expand its ground offensive. Meanwhile, confusion surrounded an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Siniora, said that 40 people died in the attack before revising the death toll to just one. It appeared that most of those believed dead had survived in a bunker. Tonight, an Israeli strike hit a crowded area in Beirut's southern suburb, destroying a residential building and killing five, police said. The Lebanese army called up reserve soldiers in a move apparently linked to a possible deployment of about 15,000 troops on the border with Israel to end nearly four weeks of fighting between Hizbullah guerrillas and Israeli forces. more.. 'This is the beginning of the cellular phone war' Ha'aretz 8/7/2006 Hasan," said the deep voice on the phone, "have you realized yetthat the Israeli army not as delicate as a spider's web? It's a web of steel that will strangle you!"The "Hassan" being address was Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, but the message was for all Lebanese. The automated, recorded calls have flooded Lebanese telephones since the Israeli onslaught began 27 days. Phone calls with recorded messages slam Hezbollah. Hackers splash warnings that read "Hezbollah members beware" into transmissions from the militant organization's television station over a picture of Nasrallah. It seems Israelis are everywhere - not just on the ground in south Lebanon or the skies or on ships off the coast. more.. Aid lifeline broken after Israelis hit highway The Guardian 8/5/2006 Israeli aircraft struck deep into Lebanon yesterday, killing at least 33 Syrian Kurdish farm workers and destroying four bridges on a key aid route leading north from Beirut. The attack on the farm workers, who were loading peaches and plums on to trucks at Qaa in the north of the Beka'a valley, was one of the single deadliest strikes of the war.... In Qaa, the bodies of the dead were laid in a row at the scene of the bombing..... The Syrian minister of information, Mohsen Bilal, appeared on state TV late last night, saying "Syrian blood is now mixed with Lebanese blood. The United States and Condoleezza Rice are responsible for this crime. " UN aid officials said the bombing of the main coastal highway north from Beirut to the Syrian border earlier in the day had cut an "umbilical cord" of aid supplies. more.. 3 family members, Islamic Jihad militant killed in Gaza air strike Ha'aretz 8/5/2006 Three Palestinians were killed and five wounded early Saturday in an Israel Air Force air strike in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, military sources and hospital officials said. The dead included a 16-year-old girl, Kifah Natour, her brother, Amar, 15. Their mother Huda, 50, later died of her wounds, according to Dr. Ali Musa, the director of the local hospital. An Islamic Jihad militant killed was also killed in a second air strike in the area. Four other people, all civilians, were seriously wounded, Musa said. Israel Defense Forces sources said its aircraft fired at several armed Palestinians. Early the previous day, IDF troops conducted house-to-house searches in the southern Gaza Strip and killed four Palestinians, three militants and an infant girl, with tanks and air strikes. more.. Three killed, one critically hurt in Katyusha attacks in Hadera Ha'aretz 8/5/2006 Hezbollah on Friday struck deeper inside Israel than ever before, firing missiles which struck open fields near the town of Hadera, 75 kilometers (50 miles) south of the Lebanese border, police said. No injuries were reported. Medical crews rushed two people to Hillel Yaffeh Medical Center in the city, where they were treated for shock. Police Northern Command chief Major General Dan Ronen confirmed that at least one missile struck the Hadera region, marking the southernmost point that was hit by Hezbollah missile fire since the start of fighting with Israel three weeks prior. Earlier Friday, three people were killed and 29 wounded, including one critically and three seriously, as Hezbollah fired more than 200 Katyusha rockets into northern Israel throughout the day. more.. Armed Palestinians kill 6 inmates at Jericho prison in West Bank Ha'aretz 8/5/2006 Five Palestinian gunmen dressed in military uniforms broke into a prison Friday in the West Bank city of Jericho and shot six inmates dead, security sources said. The assailants were armed with handguns equipped with silencers. The Israel Defense Forces acquiesced to the Palestinians' request to seal entrance and exit routes to the city. Four of the six inmates were arrested by Palestinian intelligence services on suspicion of involvement in the killing of Haj Ali Farj, a well-known Fatah official from the village of Kfar Kablan, a year and a half ago. The other two inmates in the same cell may have been caught in the crossfire, as they were not believed to be linked to the Farj murder. On exiting the prison grounds, the armed Palestinians exchanged gunfire with prison guards. [end] more.. Hizbullah: We fired Khaibar-1 rockets at Hadera YNet News 8/4/2006 Terror group says attack on Hadera response to IDF ‘massacres’ in Lebanese town of Qaa -- Hizbullah announced on Al-Manar TV Friday night that it attacked Hadera with Khaibar-1 rockets. The group said in a statement “the attack came in response to the massacres and criminal acts in the border town of Qaa, near the Syrian border. At least 33 people were killed in an IAF attack on the town Friday; the Lebanese claim that those killed were farm workers loading produce onto trucks. Hizbullah initially fired Khaibar-1 (or Fajr-5) rockets a week ago at Afula. The long-range rockets have an improved range of about 100 kilometers (62. 1 miles) and are equipped with 100-kilograms of explosives each. more.. Israeli forces announce plan to uproot hundreds of olive trees near Wall in Jenin Palestine News Network 8/4/2006 Dozens of Palestinians farmers living adjacent to the Israeli Wall in Jenin have been issued warnings saying that Israeli forces will soon come to uproot hundreds of olive trees on their land. The Israeli military claims that the action is for security purposes. Officials from the Center Against the Wall in Jenin told PNN that Israeli soldiers have been intercepting farmers and preventing them from entering their lands for the past week. The center said that the Israeli army distributed leaflets in Arabic, signed by the army officials, declaring its decision to uproot olive trees that have thrived on the land for decades, if not longer. A spokesman for the center expressed his concern that the decision will stifle the way of life of the Palestinian people and lead to increased rates of poverty and unemployment... more.. Israel's vaunted tanks are succumbing to Hezbollah's powerful missiles Santa Barbara News-Press 8/4/2006 JERUSALEM (AP) - Hezbollah's sophisticated anti-tank missiles are perhaps the guerrilla group's deadliest weapon in Lebanon fighting, with their ability to pierce Israel's most advanced tanks. Experts say this is further evidence that Israel is facing a well-equipped army in this war, not a ragtag militia. Hezbollah has fired Russian-made Metis-M anti-tank missiles and owns European-made Milan missiles, the army confirmed on Friday. In the last two days alone, these missiles have killed seven soldiers and damaged three Israeli-made Merkava tanks - mountains of steel that are vaunted as symbols of Israel's military might, the army said. Israeli media say most of the 44 soldiers killed in four weeks of fighting were hit by anti-tank missiles. more.. Dozens killed in Israeli air raids AlJazeera 8/5/2006 Israel also bombed four bridges that connect Beirut to the north -- Israeli air raids have killed more than 40 people in Lebanon while two Hezbollah rockets have struck 80km into Israeli territory, the deepest attacks since fighting began. In the deadliest attack on Friday, 33 people were killed and 20 injured when an Israeli strike hit a farm near Qaa, close to the Syrian border in the Bekaa Valley where workers, mostly Syrian Kurds, were loading plums and peaches onto trucks. Television footage showed bodies of what appeared to be farm workers lined up near the ruins of a small structure in fruit groves. Strewn nearby were fruit baskets. Mohammad Rashed, one of the wounded, said: "I was picking peaches when three bombs hit. Others were having lunch and they were torn to pieces. " more.. Report: IAF raids kill 57 in s. Lebanon Jerusalem Post 8/4/2006 IAF airstrikes on two villages in south Lebanon on Friday flattened two houses, and 57 people were reported buried in the rubble, security officials and the state news agency reported. The number of dead was not immediately known. The warplanes hit Taibeh, about 5 kilometers from the Israeli border, destroying a house where 7 people had taken refuge. The second attack reportedly flattened a building in Aita al-Shaab, 2 kilometers inside Lebanon. Fifty people were reported covered in the rubble there. The number of dead could not yet be independently verified. Earlier this week, it was initially reported that 57 people were killed by an IAF bomb in the village of Kana, but later the Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll stood at 27. IDF spokesman Capt. Jacob Dallal denied the attacks took place... more.. Iran: We supplied Zelzal-2 to Hizbullah Jerusalem Post 8/4/2006 Iran admitted for the first time on Friday that it did indeed supply long-range Zelzal-2 missiles to Hizbullah. Secretary-general of the "Intifada conference" Mohtashami Pur told an Iranian newspaper that Iran transferred the missiles so that they could be used to defend Lebanon, Channel 1 reported. The extent of Iran's intimate involvement in Hizbullah attacks is starting to emerge. According to the defense establishment, the reason Hizbullah has not fired long-range Iranian-made Fajr missiles at Israel is due to Teheran's opposition. Israel now understands that without direct orders from the ayatollahs, Hizbullah is not allowed to use Iranian missiles in attacks against Israel. The IDF also believes that it seriously damaged the long-range rocket array in the first night of air strikes almost three weeks ago... more.. Oil slick threat to wildlife of Mediterranean The Guardian 8/5/2006 A major oil slick was spreading north from Lebanon along the Syrian coast last night and could devastate beaches as far away as Turkey and Cyprus, local ecologists and the UN have warned. The slick, which has been growing since the start of hostilities, follows the bombing by the Israelis of fuel tanks at the Jiyyeh power station south of Beirut. Up to 35,000 tonnes of crude oil are believed to have escaped, making it one of the worst pollution incidents recorded in the eastern Mediterranean. Tourist resorts along the Lebanese coast have been covered with a thick layer of sludge and fish spawning grounds have been destroyed. The slick is estimated to be more than 50 miles (80km) long and to have polluted six miles of Syrian coastline. more.. 'We hardly notice the blasts now' - a journey through Lebanon's ravaged south The Guardian 8/5/2006 Amid the ruins, a Hizbullah fighter gathers breath while a Christian family recalls the Israelis warmly -- On the first day of the 48-hour cessation of the Israeli aerial bombardment, I found a man walking through the field of rubble that was Bint Jbeil. He held a bottle of water in one hand and a cellphone in the other. It was the first time anyone had been able to get to Bint Jbeil for more than two weeks. "I am trying to find a mosque to pray in," he said. Tamim, as he identified himself, was a Hizbullah fighter in his early 30s, a father of two who had studied engineering in Damascus and who lives in Bint Jbeil. For the last 20 days he had been fighting on a hilltop overlooking the town. He had been given a few hours' leave during the break in air attacks to evacuate the few family members he had left in the destroyed town. more.. Three soldiers killed in south Lebanon clashes Ha'aretz 8/4/2006 IDF says captured Hezbollah prisoners of war -- An Israel Defense Forces officer and two soldiers were killed and six others hurt in fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas Friday as Israel continued its ground forces campaign in South Lebanon. The officer and two soldiers were killed in fierce gunbattles in the village of Markaba. Golani Brigade infantrymen were marching near the village when an anti-tank missile was launched at the force. Since the outbreak of hostilities, 44 IDF soldiers have been killed. Two other soldiers were wounded, one seriously and the other lightly.... Northern Command Brigadier General Shuki Shihrur said Friday that IDF soldiers operating in Lebanon had taken into captivity at least six Hezbollah gunmen in addition to the two men seized on Thursday. more.. Bridge bombings cut Lebanese lifeline The Guardian 8/4/2006 Major setback' for aid effort · 33 workers killed in attack -- Israel today extended its assault on Lebanon, making its first major attack on the Christian heartland north of Beirut and destroying four key bridges providing a vital aid supply route. The Israeli air force strikes severed Lebanon's last significant road link to Syria, stopped a convoy carrying 150 tonnes of relief and cut what the UN called its "umbilical cord" for aid supplies. Five Lebanese civilians were killed and 19 wounded in the bombing raids, which hit Christian areas in which Hizbollah has little support or presence. More than two dozen farm workers died in a separate air strike near the Lebanon-Syria border. The Israeli army said three of its soldiers were killed by an anti-tank missile during fighting in southern Lebanon... more.. 38 people killed in IAF strikes on Beirut, northeast Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/4/2006 Israeli military strikes on Beirut and northeast Lebanon claimed the lives of 38 people on Friday. Lebanese security sources reported Friday evening that 57 people remain trapped under the rubble of homes destroyed in Israeli strikes against two villages in southern Lebanon - Taibeh and Ayta a-Shab. The identity of those missing as well as the number of killed or wounded remain unclear. Four Israeli missiles slammed into a refrigerated warehouse where farm workers were loading vegetables near the Lebanon-Syria border on Friday, killing at least 33 people, according to officials at the Syrian hospitals where the dead and wounded were taken. At least 20 other workers were wounded in the attack. more.. ANALYSIS: IAF chiefs admit air power can't subdue rocket fire Ha'aretz 8/4/2006 Hezbollah adopted a murderous tactic Thursday. On Wednesday, when a barrage of 230 rockets hit Israel, most people remained in shelters. So on Thursday, Hezbollah sent a drizzle of rockets throughout the day. Then, at 4 P. M. , as people emerged from the shelters for air, a heavy volley arrived, killing eight. It was the worst strike since the rocket landed in a train depot in Haifa on July 16. By evening, Nasrallah was already threatening to fire Zelzal missiles at Tel Aviv should Israel resume its bombardment of Shi'ite neighborhoods in Beirut. The strikes on the home front are becoming worse as the IDF sends more and more brigades into Lebanon. Launchings from areas in which the army is operating have been reduced by half, but Hezbollah combatants simply relocate to the next range of hills and fire from there. more.. 6 Palestinians killed in Jericho prison YNet News 8/4/2006 Gunmen disguised as police officers infiltrate prison, assassinate prisoners suspected of collaborating with Israel -- Security sources in the West Bank said that Palestinian gunmen dressed in police uniforms on Friday broke into a prison in the West Bank city of Jericho and shot dead six Palestinian inmates. Ynet has learned that the gunmen were looking to avenge the death of two activists, residents of Nablus, who were assassinated by the IDF a few years ago. Some of those incarcerated in the prison are suspected of cooperating with Israel in the assassinations, while other prisoners are suspected of attacking the gunmen’s family members in response to the execution of collaborators’ relatives. more.. Israeli police holding Palestinian girl "planning to kidnap a Jew" Ma'an News 8/4/2006 Bethlehem--Israeli security sources revealed on Thursday evening that they have abducted the Palestinian girl, Fitna Mustafa Khalil Abu Aisha, 21, a resident of Nablus, under the charge of planning to kidnap a Jew and transfer him to the city. The source stated that, following a tip-off to the police, the girl was arrested in Tel Aviv on the 12th July, 2006. The girl is accused of membership in the Fatah movement at the Palestinian refugee camp of Balata, near Nablus, under the leadership of Ibrahim Nabih. Nabih is believed to be responsible for causing an explosion at the Israeli settlement of Kedumim, in the north of the West Bank, on 30th March 2006, in which four Israelis were killed. more.. A three-day old baby girl named Shahd, killed by the Ma'an News 8/4/2006 Khan --Ma'an - A Palestinian source said that two Palestinians were killed on Thursday, at Rafah, raising the death toll there to 12, including two children. 29 others have been injured, 11 of which seriously, in a new Israeli escalation of violence in the southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical sources said that 'Iz Abu Jazar 22, Ahmad Shahin, 24, 'Isam Al-Bashiti, 20, and a baby girl Shahd Sheikh Al- Id, 3 days old, were killed by the Israeli attacks. The Israeli army had claimed that his operating forces had killed two Palestinian gunmen while they were trying to plant an explosive device. The latest of the Israeli raids targeted a crowd of Palestinians at the town of Al-Shokah, in eastern Rafah, resulting in the deaths of two citizens and injuring three, including a child. more.. Israeli forces impose curfew on town in Qalqilia governorate Ma'an News 8/4/2006 Qalqilia--Israeli forces have imposed curfew from Friday morning in the Palestinian town of Al Funduq, east of the West Bank town of Qalqilia, preventing the residents from entering or leaving the town. Eyewitnesses report that the army has ordered shop-owners to close their businesses and they have started to search houses throughout the town. Residents of Al Funduq have stated that Israeli settlers intend to protest against the presence of Palestinians in a march which will start at the Israeli settlement of Qarne Shomron, before heading to Qedumim, passing the town of Al Funduq. [end] more.. Israeli forces arrest four Palestinians in Hebron and surrounding towns Palestine News Network 8/3/2006 Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians during an early morning raid in the Hebron province Thursday. Officials sources from the Office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society in Hebron told PNN that two young men had been arrested from Hebron, and another two from the neighboring towns of Yatta and Beit Khael. Following a raid of their homes in Hebron’s old city, Israeli forces arrested 19 year old Omran Al Inwitasib and 19 year old Mohammed Saqer Abido. The sources added that Israeli forces conducted similar raids in the towns of Yatta and Beit Khael, detaining 30 year old Usama Abdullah and 22 year old Mohammed Abdullah. [end] more.. Tensions across Palestinian territory as locals flee Israeli attacks, fire rockets – UN ReliefWeb/United Nations News 8/3/2006 Israeli troops today kept up their operations around Gaza’s international airport, forcing Palestinians to flee to safety, the United Nations said, while also highlighting Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel and ongoing tensions in the West Bank, which remained closed for a fifth consecutive day. Almost 2,000 Palestinians are already being sheltered by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the agency is opening an additional facility to deal with more people fleeing the violence and also overnight Israeli air strikes, UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told reporters. “An IDF (Israeli Defence Force) incursion around the Gaza International Airport is continuing… [also] there have been two IAF (Israeli Air Force) air strikes in Gaza City overnight following earlier phone calls... more.. 4 soldiers killed in south Lebanon; Peretz to IDF: Plan to take territory up to Litani Ha'aretz 8/5/2006 Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Israel Defense Forces officials on Thursday evening to begin preparing for the next stage of the military offensive in south Lebanon, which would extend the IDF's control to all Lebanese territory south of the Litani River. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, is said to be reluctant about expanding Israel's ground operation. While Peretz believes that the short-range rocket threat posed by Hezbollah can be neutralized by taking the area up to the Litani, Olmert feels that such a move would not be able to counter the longer-range missile threat posed by the Shi'ite organization. The directive issued by Peretz was made in the wake of Hezbollah rocket attacks that killed eight people in northern Israel earlier Thursday, officials said. more.. VIDEO - 3 killed in rocket attacks on north YNet News 8/4/2006 Heavy barrages land in north: Mother of two killed in Mghar; two killed by rocket barrage in Majdel Krum; army reserves soldier seriously wounded near Kiryat Shmona -- VIDEO - A number of rockets landed in the village of Mghar in the Galilee on Friday afternoon, killing 27 year-old mother of two Manal Azzam. Later on Friday two Majdel Krum residents were killed when rockets fell on the northern village, located near Carmiel. The lethal barrages landed at 2:15 p. m. and at around 5:45 p. m. Forty two people injured by the rocket barrages fired on Carmiel and Majdel Krum arrived at a Nahariya hospital. One of the wounded is listed in serious condition and he will apparently be transferred to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. more.. In Pictures - Lebanon crisis: Qana aftermath AlJazeera 8/4/2006 Eight photos -- A bulldozer digs a mass grave for the victims of Israel’s raid on Qana near flowers offered by the Lebanese Army commander-general. / Israel shows no sign of letting up its offensive in Lebanon. / Women in the West Bank town of Ramallah express support for Hezbollah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah... more.. Home Front Command: New procedures apply to Tel Aviv YNet News 8/4/2006 IDF says should the need arise residents of areas south of Haifa will be warned one minute prior to landing of rocket or rockets -- Following Friday night's rocket attack on the Hadera area, Colonel Yechiel Kuperstein, head of the Home Front Command's defense department, told Ynet that the new procedures issued for residents south of Haifa apply to all residents on Israel's coastline plane, including Tel Aviv. According to Kuperstein, an evaluation of the situation will be held on Saturday and will be followed by renewed procedures to the public for next week. The colonel said that should the need arise residents of areas south of Haifa a warning one minute prior to the expected landing of a rocket or rockets. more.. AUDIO - Israeli split over ground operation The Guardian 8/4/2006 Audio: Heavy fighting continues in southern Lebanon as the Israeli government debates how far north to push. Rory McCarthy reports from Metula, Israel. (mp3 - 4mins). more.. Islamic group: 200 militants sent to bomb 'Israel's vital interests' Ha'aretz 8/4/2006 JAKARTA - More than 200 Islamic militants from Southeast Asia havebeen sent on missions to bomb Israel's "vital interests" and countries that support the Jewish state, their leader said on Friday. The militants have been trained to carry out suicide bombings to avenge Israel's military strikes on the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, said Suaib Didu, chairman of the Jakarta-based ASEAN Muslim Youth Movement. "We will limit our targets to Israel's vital interests and those that support Israel's aggression in Palestine and Lebanon," Didu said. "We will not carry out attacks indiscriminately. "Hardline militant groups in Indonesia have made claims in the past of sending volunteers to participate in conflicts overseas that have sometimes proved exaggerated. more.. Hezbollah destroy three Israeli tanks; Israel kills 32 Lebanese civilians Ma'an News 8/4/2006 Bethlehem--Hezbollah has announced that their fighters have killed 6 Israeli soldiers and destroyed three Merkava military tanks on Friday in south Lebanon. At the same time, a Katyusha attack on northern Israel killed a 27 year old Palestinian woman, who is an Israeli citizen, when Hezbollah missiles fell on the town of Maghar. Hezbollah have today launched dozens of Katyusha missiles at towns in northern Israel. Seven Israelis were injured, five of which seriously. Three Israeli citizens were seriously injured in the city of Kiryat Shmona. Another woman was seriously injured in the Israeli town of Hurfeish, while in Safad a man was lightly injured. The Israeli army has announced the deaths of two of its soldiers and claimed that their forces in Lebanon have killed 10 Hezbollah fighters. more.. Israel extends Lebanon occupation plan The Guardian 8/3/2006 Israel today threatened to reoccupy most of the strip of southern Lebanon it withdrew from in 2000, as Hizbullah recorded its most deadly day of attacks on Israel since the start of the 23-day conflict. At least 11 Israelis were killed in fighting today, including eight civilians killed in a barrage of 100 rockets that were fired into northern Israel in the space of half an hour and at least three soldiers who were killed by an anti-tank missile in southern Lebanon. The Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, released a taped video message saying the group's fighters were inflicting "maximum casualties" on Israeli troops and fighting had become more widespread and violent. But there was no diminution in the Israeli military campaign across southern Lebanon. more.. Assad smuggling weapons to Hizbullah Jerusalem Post 8/1/2006 Three weeks into the war with Hizbullah, the IDF's intelligence picture is growing clearer, although at the same time darker. According to new intelligence obtained by the defense establishment, Syrian President Bashar Assad, alongside senior military officials, is directly involved in the attempts to smuggle weapons and rockets to Hizbullah in Lebanon.... In addition, the extent of Iran's intimate involvement in Hizbullah attacks is also starting to emerge. According to the defense establishment, the reason Hizbullah has not fired long-range Iranian-made Fajr missiles at Israel is due to Teheran's opposition. Israel now understands that without direct orders from the ayatollahs, Hizbullah is not allowed to use Iranian missiles in attacks against Israel.... Hizbullah fighters were also found to be using special thermal suits that... curtailed IDF attempts to discover them at night. more.. Eight Palestinians killed; 29 injured in overnight invasion of Gaza Strip Ma'an News 8/3/2006 Khan --Ma'an - Eight Palestinians, among them a child, have been killed and a further 29 injured, since midnight, in armed confrontations between the Israeli military and members of Palestinian resistance during an Israeli invasion to the town of Al Shokeh, near the 'President Yasser Arafat' Gaza international airport, south-east of the city of Rafah. Ma'an's correspondent said that the body of one of the Palestinians admitted to the morgue had been cut into pieces by the Israeli weapons used. Our correspondent made clear that this victim's name was Ziad Sleman Shekh El-Eid, 23 years old. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli helicopters made six air strikes in the region overnight. Palestinian sources stated, late on Wednesday, that two children had been injured by shrapnel... more.. Hizbullah and Israel threaten to escalate war The Guardian 8/4/2006 Preparations for attack on Beirut met with promise to fire on Tel Aviv -- The protagonists in the three-week Middle East conflict last night threatened to intensify their bombing campaigns after a day of clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border and as attempts to secure a diplomatic solution continued to prove elusive. The Hizbullah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, warned in a taped television speech that rockets would be fired at Tel Aviv if the centre of Beirut was attacked. "If you bomb our capital Beirut, we will bomb the capital of your usurping entity... We will bomb Tel Aviv," he said. The Israeli military said any attack on Tel Aviv would be met with further attacks on Lebanon's already severely depleted infrastructure. Last night Israeli jets dropped leaflets over southern Beirut warning residents to leave... more.. Three more Palestinians killed; making total of 11, including child, killed Thursday in Rafah International Middle East Media Center 8/4/2006 Local medical sources reported that at least one bystander was seriously injured in addition to the two killed in the missile fired into Rafah city, in southern Gaza, Palestine. An Israel military spokesperson reported that Thursday night's airstrike was meant as an assassination of two Palestinian resistance fighters and that 'the two targets both appeared to have been hit'. Israel's policy of 'targeted assassinations' has been condemned by international human rights organizations, and is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Palestinian medical sources in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip reported on Thursday that eight residents, including a 12-year old child, were killed and at least 27 residents were injured in several Israeli strikes and artillery attacks in Rafah area. more.. Army attacks a family in Beit Awwa village in Hebron, three family members injured International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2006 Israeli army troops broke into the house of Awwad Al-Masalma, located in the village of Beit Awa, west of the West Bank city of Hebron, late on Wednesday night. According to eyewitnesses, soldiers attacked and hit the twelve family members, injuring three children. Local sources reported that this is the fifth recent attack by Israeli soldiers on families in Beit Awa village. [end] more.. Israel Blocks Arrival of 2 Fuel Tank Shipments to Lebanon An Nahar 8/3/2006 Israel, which has been blockading Lebanon's ports for three weeks, on Thursday refused to allow the shipment of much-needed fuel for its power plants, Lebanese government officials said. "Once again, Israel which has been carrying out a maritime blockade, refused Thursday the arrival of ships currently stationed in Cyprus," an official from the Lebanese government High Relief Commission told AFP. "(Israel) has told the United Nations, who acts as a communication channel, that paperwork was still missing," he said. Earlier Thursday, the president of fuel importers said that the UN had received Israel's agreement in principle for delivery of the shipments.... But he said "there is still no authorization for the delivery of petrol. " more.. Stranded man, 83, survives 17-day ordeal The Daily Star 8/4/2006 BEIRUT: Eighty-three-year-old Ali Dabaja was left behind for 17 days 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. Dabaja tried to speak to The Daily Star about his ordeal, but failed due to sheer exhaustion and his weakened state. "We kept begging the Red Cross, the mayor of the town and even the neighbors to help him out as he couldn't walk or do anything on his own, but no one could reach him due to the constant bombings," said his daughter, Ghada Bazzi, who kept calling her father until the phone lines died upon the siege. more.. IOF Arrests 4 Citizens, Wounds another & Assaults Family in Hebron WAFA - Palestine News Agency 8/3/2006 HEBRON, August 3, 2006 (WAFA) - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Thursday four citizens, wounded another and assaulted a family in the West Bank (WB) city of Hebron. Security sources told WAFA that IOF launched a search campaign and arrested two citizens from the Old City of Hebron while the others from Yatta and Beit Kahel villages. The citizen Zeidan Al-Natsha 19, suffered from bruises all over the body due to the harsh search campaign. In the meantime, Israeli soldiers beat and assaulted Al-Musalma family in Beit Awwa town, west of Hebron after thrusting into their house, Awad Al-Musalma, the owner of the house, told WAFA. He added that four Israeli soldiers broke into his house and beat up his 12-member family, wounding three of them. [end] more.. Lebanon death toll 'exceeds 900', 250.000 displaced International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2006 The Lebanese prime minister has said more than 900 people have been killed and 3,000 injured in Israeli attacks since the crisis in Lebanon began three weeks ago. Fuad Siniora said one million people - a quarter of the population - had been displaced by the fighting, which continued unabated on Thursday. He made his remarks during a video statement sent to an Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting in Malaysia on Thursday. Lebanese security sources also said 80 Hezbollah fighters had been killed during the crisis, but Israel put the number at 300. Beirut attacksIsraeli warplanes resumed their attacks on Lebanon on Thursday, a day after Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in its largest attack to date. About 10,000 Israeli troops were engaged in clashes with Hezbollah fighters in five areas of southern Lebanon. more.. Settlers continue their attacks in the northern Jordan Valley areas International Middle East Media Center 8/2/2006 Right wing Israeli settlers continued their attacks against people’s land and property in northern areas of the Jordan Valley. According to local residents, settlers attacked their ranches and houses, damaging some of their property. They also burned piles of hay used to feed the cattle. [end] more.. Israeli police close the old city of Jerusalem, bars residents under 45 from entering Al Aqsa Mosque International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2006 The Israeli police closed all entrances to the old city of Jerusalem on Thursday morning, and closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque for residents under 45 years old. Local residents in the city reported said that Israeli police have intensified their presence in the old city since early morning hours, and installed checkpoints and roadblocks all around the old city. Jerusalem is witnessing an atmosphere of cautiousness and increased tension, especially inside and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque due to threats by Israeli right wing groups to enter the mosque and pray there. On Wednesday, the Israeli Supreme Court decided to allow an extremist right wing Israeli group, known as "The Temple Mount Trustees", to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque Thursday. [end] more.. Olmert declares the enemy tamed but rockets keep pounding villages The Guardian 8/4/2006 Israel suffered its worst day of the Middle East conflict yesterday, despite government assertions that a three-week bombing campaign and mounting ground operations had severely damaged the Hizbullah militia. For the second straight day, Hizbullah fighters launched a barrage of rocket fire into northern Israel. Eight civilians were killed and dozens injured. On the battlefields of southern Lebanon, four soldiers died and more were reported injured. As the fighting escalated, Israel's defence minister, Amir Peretz, told the military to prepare for a major push up to Lebanon's Litani river, Israeli television reported. The river runs about 20 miles inside the country. More than 7,000 Israeli soldiers, including infantry, armoured and engineering units, are now in southern Lebanon. more.. AUDIO - Inside Hizbullah The Guardian 8/4/2006 Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Tyre gains unique access to Hizbullah forces, discusses organization, strategy and training of the armed resistance. more.. Reporters risk their lives to get the story and tell the world The Daily Star 8/4/2006 'Reporting on Qana changed the course of events' -- BEIRUT: The war in Lebanon has brought out the best in many and has put on the forefront of events many reporters who often risk their own lives to transmit what is really happening on the ground. Many local and Arab channels have tasked female reporters to cover the most dangerous zones near the borders in the South or in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Rima Maktabi, who coveredthe bombardment of the Dahiyeh for Al-Arabiyya news channel, described being a war reporter as "a strange but highly enriching experience. " "When working under tremendous pressure you grasp in few days much more than you learn in months of work at normal times," Maktabi said. Maktabi believes in the strength of covering war zones on the ground. more.. Hezbollah warns of Tel Aviv strike AlJazeera 8/3/2006 The leader of Hezbollah has warned that the group will launch rockets at Tel Aviv if Israel attacks central Beirut. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised statement on Thursday released hours after Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets at northern Israel, killing seven people. Nasrallah said: "If you strike Beirut, the Islamic resistance will strike Tel Aviv and it is able to do so. "A senior Israeli defence source said Israel would respond by attacking Lebanon's infrastructure if a strike on Tel Aviv took place. Nasrallah also said that Hezbollah would end its rocket attacks against northern Israel if it stopped attacking civilian areas of Lebanon. However Naim Kassem, Hezbollah's deputy leader, told Aljazeera that the group would not accept a ceasefire that did not include the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Lebanese soil. more.. Among Militia's Patient Loyalists, Confidence and Belief in Victory Washington Post 8/3/2006 JWAYYA, Lebanon, Aug. 2 -- There were no cars in the winding streets of this southern Lebanese village. Not many people, either. The signs of life were the buzz of Israeli surveillance drones overhead and, below, a gaggle of Hezbollah loyalists, sitting in a small storefront along an abandoned street. There was a walkie-talkie, bottles of water and, according to the half-dozen or so men, patience. "We are waiting," said Jamal Nasser, a burly man in civilian clothes. "We are here, and we're not going anywhere. " Three weeks into its war with Israel, Hezbollah has retained its presence in southern Lebanon, often the sole authority in devastated towns along the Israeli border. The militia is elusive, with few logistics, little hierarchy and less visibility. Even residents often say they don't know how the militiamen operate or are organized. more.. Israel seeks 'security belt' in Lebanon; 15 Israeli soldiers injured; further shelling in Lebanon and Israeli towns Ma'an News 8/3/2006 Bethlehem--Israeli authorities say that they seek to build a 'security belt' approximately 6-8 kilometers deep into Lebanese territory, along the entire length of the Israeli-Lebanese border, in order to limit the Lebanese resistance from launching rockets into Israel. An Israeli spokesperson said Thursday that Israeli forces suffered further losses in battles with Hezbollah fighters in the south of Lebanon. 15 injured soldiers, the majority suffering shrapnel wounds, were transported to Nahariyya Hospital for treatment. Hezbollah announced attacking a collection of Israeli infantry soldiers and their machinery in the area between the villages of Qozah, Ayta ash Shab and Talet-Wardeh, stating that the resistance fighters were able to destroy a Merkava tank, killing some of its crew and wounding others. more.. Evening Roundup: Nasrallah, Israel Trade Threats as Troops are Locked in Heavy Battles with Hizbullah Fighters in the South An Nahar 8/3/2006 Israel renewed airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs Thursday, and Hizbullah retaliated by firing more than 130 rockets at northern Israel, killing eight people in Acre and Maalot. It was the bloodiest day in Israel since eight people were killed July 16 near a train maintenance depot. Meanwhile, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group would fire rockets into Tel Aviv if Israel strikes Beirut proper. "If you bomb our capital Beirut, we will bomb the capital of your usurping entity... We will bomb Tel Aviv," he said in a taped televised speech. After Nasrallah's warning, an Israeli military official told public television that the Jewish state will destroy all Lebanese infrastructure if Hizbullah carries out its threat to hit Tel Aviv. more.. Palestinian resistance fighters fire homemade shells into Sderot, and at a nearby army post International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2006 The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, and Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, claimed responsibility for firing two homemade shells at the Israeli Negev town of Sderot, and at an Israeli military post east of Al-Maghazi in the Gaza Strip Thursday afternoon. The two groups stated in a press release that their attack comes in retaliation to the continuous Israeli army attacks on Palestinian civilians and their homes in the Gaza Strip. [end] more.. Midday Roundup: Battles Rage in South as Muslim Nations Lash Out at International Failure to Reach Ceasefire An Nahar 8/3/2006 Fighting raged Thursday in south Lebanon where an Israeli missile slammed into a house killing a family of three, as the world's Muslim nations expressed outrage at international "double standards" over the three-week-old offensive. The attack occurred in the border village of Taibeh where Israeli forces have been battling Hizbullah fighters for days. A missile crashed into the two-story house of Hani Abdo Marmar destroying it. Marmar, his wife and daughter were killed instantly, security officials said. Their bodies are still buried under the rubble as rescue workers could not approach the village due to the fierce fighting, they added. Another house was hit in the southern village of Qleia. In the town of Nabatiyeh, fighter jets struck an ambulance working for a local Muslim group, security officials said. more.. Hizbullah rockets threaten West Bank as Israeli troops pour into Lebanon The Guardian 8/3/2006 Fighters launch barrage of longer-range missiles · Olmert claims enemy has been largely disarmed -- Hizbullah fighters launched a barrage of more than 180 rockets into northern Israel yesterday as thousands of Israeli troops pushed into new villages in ground battles in southern Lebanon. The rockets - some thought to be Khaibar-1s, four times more powerful than Katyushas - reached as far as the West Bank, landing near the town of Jenin. One Israeli riding his bicycle was killed near Nahariya and another 21 were injured. Forests blazed on the hillsides near the border. Israeli artillery fired wave after wave of shells over the border in response. At least 7,000 Israeli forces were operating on the ground in southern Lebanon in an increasingly intense fight that is now spread over a wide area. more.. Fears grow as Tyre runs short of food, fuel - and hope The Guardian 8/3/2006 With food and fuel stocks running perilously low, local and international aid officials in this frontline town were preparing yesterday for a siege. Israel has warned everyone south of Lebanon's Litani river to move north. Some Israeli commanders have said their ground troops may move up to the river in the coming days to hold a huge swath of southern Lebanon until an international force arrives. Tyre is the largest city south of the Litani. Its prewar population has shrunk dramatically as people have fled to Sidon and Beirut. Civilians escaping from shattered villages across south Lebanon pause briefly in Tyre before fleeing further north. "Only 25,000 Lebanese are left in the city. We received over 30,000 displaced people, but when they found there was no food, they left.. " more.. IDF carving out Lebanon buffer zone to extend 6-8 km, IAF renews bombing Beirut's southern suburbs Ha'aretz 8/3/2006 Israel renewed its air strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in the battered outskirts of the Lebanese capital in the early hours Thursday. Witnesses said at least four explosions reverberated through Beirut as missiles hit Dahieh, a Shiite Muslim suburb that has been repeatedly shelled by Israel since fighting began three weeks ago. Residents heard the impact of a large explosion about every five minutes starting at 2:30 a. m. , as missiles apparently targeted areas close to Hezbollah's headquarters in Dahieh, a neighborhood to the south of the capital that has been partly flattened by air strikes in previous weeks. It was the first air raid against the Lebanese capital's suburb in almost a week. more.. IAF kills three gunmen in Gaza Jerusalem Post 8/3/2006 The IAF killed three armed Palestinain operatives and wounded eight other overnight Wednesday as fighter jets fired at groups of gunmen near Dahiniye in the Gaza Strip. The air force was backing up troops from the Givati Brigades, Engineering Corps and tank units who were carry out a major operation near Rafah in southern Gaza. The IDF said the operatives were about to launch anti-tank missiles at the soldiers. Two other people were slightly wounded when a tank shell hit their house, residents said. The IDF forces advanced about eight kilometers into Gaza, taking control of the main highway and blocking the eastern entrance of Rafah, a town on the Gaza-Egypt border, residents said. It was the farthest Israel has advanced into the area since the start of their offensive. more.. Man killed on kibbutz near Nahariya as record number of rockets slam into north Ha'aretz 8/3/2006 wo rockets hit the Maalot area early Thursday. There were no casualties. This was the first time Hezbollah fired rockets during nighttime. After two days in which Hezbollah fired almost no rockets at Israel, some 210 rockets and missiles were launched on Wednesday toward northern communities - the largest number since the beginning of the fighting. One man, Dave Lalchuk, 52, of Kibbutz Sa'ar, was killed and 16 others were wounded, three moderately, in the attacks. Long-range rockets and missiles also fell in the Palestinian Authority west of Beit She'an and in the area of Afula. Some 2,050 rockets have been fired at Israel from Lebanon during the current conflict thus far. more.. Settler reservists: Olmert is insane YNet News 8/2/2006 Right-wing reservists called up for Lebanon operations criticize PM for saying a victory in Lebanon will advance realignment plan in West Bank; 'Hizbullah is protecting Israel against itself,' one settler says -- Settlers in the West Bank called-up to the reserves, were unhappy with comments by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel 's victory in Lebanon will give a new momentum to complete the disengagement from the Palestinians by evacuating most settlements in Judea and Samaria. " Soldiers living in West Bank settlements are torn between defending the country and the fear of being evacuated from their homes. "If we succeed in Lebanon would they evacuate us from our homes. It's a feeling that you are going to war while at the same time endangering your home.. " more.. Israeli Supreme Court decides to allow Jewish extremist groups into Al Aqsa Mosque Palestine News Network 8/2/2006 ImageTop Islamic leaders, including Chief Islamic Justice Sheikh Taysir Al Tamimi, are meeting in Jerusalem today to discuss yesterday’s decision by the Israeli Supreme Court to allow members of Jewish extremist groups to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque. While the Mosque is one of holiest sites in the world for Muslims, Jewish extremists believe that it was built atop a Jewish holy site. Members of the extremist groups have planned to enter the Mosque this Thursday morning. Chief Justice Al Tamimi refused to attend the announcement of the Court’s decision, which was unanimous, citing that it violates international law preventing Israeli authorities from intervening in the affairs of the Al Aqsa Mosque. more.. Temple Mount closed for Tisha Be'av Jerusalem Post 8/2/2006 Citing intelligence alerts of possible violence, Jerusalem police announced Wednesday that the Temple Mount will be closed to non-Muslim visitors on Thursday, as the nation marks Tisha Be'av and the destruction of the biblical Jewish temples. The largely expected police decision to shut the Mount to Jews and Christians on the fast day came just two days after the the High Court of Justice ruled that members of the Temple Mount Faithful - with the exception of the group's leader, Gershon Salomon - could enter the site on Tisha Be'av if it is open to visitors. The decision to shut the Mount to visitors, which was made by Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Ilan Franco, followed an amalgamation of intelligence information that thousands of Muslims were planning to flock to the site to "protect" it... more.. Israeli police will prevent "The Temple Mount Trustees" from entering Al-Aqsa Ma'an News 8/2/2006 Jerusalem--Israeli police in Jerusalem have decided to prevent "The Temple Mount Trustees", a Jewish religious movement, from visiting the grounds of Al-Aqsa mosque on Thursday, on the anniversary of the destruction of the first and the second temples. Israeli radio has stated that the police had made their decision after they evaluated the situation, drawing the conclusion to forbid the visits to Al-Aqsa on Thursday. The Israeli police will only admit Muslims over the age of 45 years and holding Israeli blue ID cards (Arab citizens in Israel) to enter the mosque area. The supreme court in Israel had given permission to "The Temple Mount Trustees" to visit the Al-Aqsa area with the exclusion of their chief, Gershon Salomon, with the condition that the visit coincides with that of other tourists. [end] more.. Hezbollah 'bombards' northern Israel AlJazeera 8/2/2006 Some 190 Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel on Wednesday -- Hezbollah fighters have fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel as the group fought up to 6,000 Israeli troops across five fronts in southern of Lebanon. Some 190 Hezbollah rockets - the most fired in a single day so far in the conflict - were fired across the border from Lebanon hitting further south than ever before, police and Israeli radio reports said. Rockets landed near the Israeli town of Beit Shean, about 70km from the border and in the West Bank near the town of Jenin. One US-born Israeli was killed as he fled for a bomb shelter in Kibbutz Saar, a communal farm near the northern border town of Nahariya. 19 Israeli civilians have died during rocket attacks in the last three weeks. more.. IDF: We assumed building in Qana to be empty YNet News 8/3/2006 IDF investigation reveals Qana residents warned repeatedly to leave area. IDF sources: Had we known building was occupied by civilians, we would not have attacked it -- The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday evening published its formal investigation regarding the aerial strike on Qana , in which 27 [57 - Ed. ] Lebanese civilians were killed. IDF sources state that their work assumption was that the building was emptied of civilians and was being used as a cover for terrorists. "Had we known the building was occupied by civilians, we would not have attacked it," they said.... the building was struck at 00:25 Sunday by two bombs launched by the IAF. One of the bombs exploded and the other was apparently a dud. more.. Israel hijacks Al-Manar's signal to broadcast its own propaganda The Daily Star 8/3/2006 (AFP) -- BEIRUT: Israel hacked into Hizbullah's television channel Tuesday, showing pictures of corpses and claiming the group's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was a liar. One of the images shown on Al-Manar TV portrayed the body of a fighter lying face-down, with a text beneath in Arabic reading: "This is the photograph of a body of a member of Hizbullah's special forces. " "Nasrallah lies: It is not us that are hiding our losses," said the text, which appeared during the evening news and stayed on screen for several minutes. A photo of Nasrallah also appeared with the caption: "member of Hizbullah: watch out. " Another photograph of corpses was framed by the words: "There are a large number of corpses like this on the ground and Nasrallah is hiding this truth. " more.. Israeli warplanes flatten home in Gaza’s Bureij Refugee Camp Palestine News Network 8/2/2006 Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses report that Israeli military aircraft raided the Bureij Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip at dawn on Wednesday. Sources say that the Israeli military was targeting a house in the center of the camp belonging to the Albotran family. The Israeli warplanes conducted air strikes in the neighborhood, dropping large rockets on the house in question. When the ordeal was over, the house had been completely demolished. Fortunately, no one was injured in the attack. Security sources told PNN that the Israeli troops had informed the occupants of the house to evacuate only a half an hour before the attack began. more.. Israeli forces continue arrest campaign in Hebron Palestine News Network 8/2/2006 Israeli forces invaded the southern West Bank town of Hebron today in their latest operation to detain Palestinians from the Israeli “wanted” list. Officials sources from the office of the Palestinians Prisoners Society in Hebron told PNN that the Israeli forces invaded the town, stormed several houses, and arrested two young men. Within a matter of minutes, several Hebron homes were ransacked for no clear reason. Israeli forces then took 18 year old Anas Al Merkheh and 22 year old Ahmed Al Awawdeh to an unknown location. Palestinian security sources are reporting that a total of 15 Palestinians were arrested in Hebron and Ramallah Wednesday. Israeli motive for the arrests appears to be party involvement and political affiliation... more.. Israeli warplanes fire 3 missiles north-west of Gaza Strip Ma'an News 8/2/2006 Gaza -- Israeli warplanes fired 3 missiles at 2 sites west of Gaza city. No casualties were reported. Two Israeli missiles hit the civil police compound in the Sudaniya region, in the north-west of the Gaza Strip, causing material damage but no casualties. [end] more.. Israeli forces set up checkpoint in Palestinian village, arrest one Ma'an News 8/2/2006 Tulkarem -- Israeli troops arrested Zakaria Hamad, 25, from Anabta, at the 4-way crossing in Bil'a village, east of Tulkarem. Eyewitnesses told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers stopped a taxi at the check point and searched all the passengers in the taxi. They then ordered Zakaria Hamad out of the taxi and took him to an unknown place. Furthermore, dozens of cars and hundreds of Palestinains are being stopped and searched at checkpoints in the area, hindering and inconveniencing Palestinians as they try to go about their daily lives. [end] more.. Israelis kill 22 year old in Gaza Strip who died from week-old injuries Palestine News Network 7/31/2006 Palestinian medical sources announced Monday morning that Israeli forces killed an Al Maghazi Refugee Camp man in the mid-Gaza Strip. Twenty-two year old Mohammed Al Magari is dead from injuries sustained during an Israeli attack last week. This morning Israeli forces were present at the crossing road near the southeastern Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses report Israeli soldiers engaging in heavy fire. Palestinians medical sources were unable to confirm the number of injured this morning. Last night Israeli warplanes bombed family houses near the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the Gaza City. Eyewitnesses there told PNN, “An Israeli Apache helicopter hit houses in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in downtown Gaza, which totally destroyed the first floors and damaged others. more.. Hezbollah attempted to hit navy vessel; IDF: No sign of missile Ha'aretz 8/3/2006 Hezbollah attempted for the second time on Monday to hit an Israeli naval vessel, firing three Iranian land-to-sea missiles at a vessel off the Lebanese coast. The fact that the missiles missed their target did not stop the Hezbollah TV station Al Manar from announcing that it had destroyed an Israeli Sa'ar 4 gunboat. Following the report by Al Manar, the Israeli navy and intelligence branch of the General Staff swiftly opened an investigation, which found that missiles had been fired, but had not landed anywhere near the ship in question. The ship's crew did not see the missiles. The missiles fired were Iranian C-802s, the same kind that hit the naval vessel Hanit, a Sa'ar 4. 5, a few weeks ago, causing severe damage and killing four soldiers. more.. A day of firsts: Hizbullah trades long-distance blows with Israelis The Daily Star 8/3/2006 Hizbullah fired more rockets into Israel on Wednesday than on any previous day of the 22-day-old war, after helicopter-borne commandos attacked resistance targets in Israel's deepest raid into Lebanon. Air strikes in support of the helicopter raid in the Hizbullah stronghold of Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon killed 19 people, including five children. In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would fight on until an international force reaches South Lebanon.... Soon after Olmert spoke, one of more than 180 Hizbullah rockets landed just inside the West Bank after flying further than any fired at Israel in the past three weeks. The rocket struck near the Palestinian village Faqua in the northernmost West Bank, Israeli radio said. -- See also: Olmert claims enemy has been largely disarmed more.. Glimpse Into Hezbollah Secretive World Palestine Chronicle 8/2/2006 It took Hezbollah fighters 18 years of uphill struggle and sporadic attacks to force the Israelis to finally withdraw from almost all of Lebanon. -- SRIFA, Lebanon — When duty calls many Hezbollah members, including school teachers, give up every thing, don their military uniforms and pick up their Kalashnikovs to defend their country. "We don't love killing," Haj Rabia Abu Hussein — known to his soldiers simply as "103" — told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an interview wired on Tuesday, August 1. "We look at all people as brothers. We deal with people as people, regardless of religion, but we will defend our land, our honor and our dignity. "As he talks, Hussein fingers his Motorola radio, his means of communication with his soldiers farther afield. more.. Analysis: A buffer with a difference Jerusalem Post 8/2/2006 A little over six years after Israel's soldiers dashed for the border amid the collapse of the south Lebanon security zone, the IDF is on Thursday, or Friday at latest, set to deploy along a line much the same as that defunct zone's northern edge, dragged deeply back into Lebanon no matter how hard it had tried to stay out. A significant difference, however, is that the zone itself will not be clear of Hizbullah cells, as it was until May 2000. Instead, it will be one of the IDF's tasks, in however many days of fighting the UN Security Council winds up granting Israel, to do whatever it can to reduce Hizbullah's armed presence in that area ahead of the planned deployment of an international armed force there. Israel's argument is that the fewer traces of Hizbullah in the zone, the better the chances for that international force... more.. Several soldiers injured in Aita al-Shaab battles YNet News 8/2/2006 Fighters hurt during operation in southern Lebanese village where officer, two fighters were killed Tuesday. Earlier, five soldiers injured, one sustaining serious wounds. Ten terrorists killed in western region. Division 162 commander: So far 350 terrorists have been killed, infrastructures have been significantly damaged -- Day 22 of fighting: Harsh battles continued Wednesday evening in the village of Aita al-Shaab in the western region of southern Lebanon. Several soldiers were injured during an operation in the village, which is close to the Israeli community of Zarit. On Tuesday, three IsraelDefense Forces soldiers were killedin the same village in two fighting incidents against Hizbullahmembers. Another 25 troops were lightly hurt, including an officer. more.. IDF: We'll control security zone by Thursday YNet News 8/2/2006 Some 200 soldiers of elite units raid Baalbek area Tuesday night. Senior officer says in press briefing that 15 similar operations have been carried out inside Lebanon so far. Hospital raided by forces serves as Hizbullah's 'outpatient clinic,' place for meeting with members of Iranian Revolutionary Guards -- In a press briefing Wednesday, a senior officer at the General Staff spoke about the operation in which 200 soldiers of elite units raided the Baalbek area in Lebanon. Ten terrorists were killed in the operation around the hospital in Baalbek, all of them armed and wearing bullet-proof vests. The officer was asked whether the operation at the hospital was aimed at locating intelligence information on the kidnapped soldiers, who may have been treated there before being moved elsewhere, but he refused to answer the question. more.. Morning Roundup: Israel Stages Commando Operation in Baalbeck Capturing and Killing a Dozen People An Nahar 8/2/2006 Israel launched its deepest ground attack into Lebanon with Israeli commandos raiding a Hizbullah-run hospital and air strikes killing at least seven civilians in the city of Baalbeck on Wednesday. In the south, three Lebanese soldiers were killed in an airstrike on their base after Israel intensified its air raids on the country following a 48-hour partial suspension. The Israeli military said that its forces entered Baalbeck, hit a number of fighters, captured several more and brought them back to Israel. It said all the soldiers returned to their base without suffering casualties, but refused to identify the guerrillas who were captured. Hizbullah implicitly confirmed that some people had been seized at the hospital and spirited away by helicopter, but denied they belonged to the group. more.. Lebanon values IDF damage to infrastructure at $2 billion Ha'aretz 8/2/2006 Three weeks of Israeli bombardment has so far inflicted $2 billion worth of damage on Lebanon's infrastructure, Transport and Public Works Minister Mohammed al-Safadi said on Wednesday. "Our preliminary valuation is about e2 billion," he told Reuters. "That's roads, bridges, ports, the airport, until now. "Israel has given the go-ahead for two tanker ships to deliver desperately-needed fuel to Beirut and the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Wednesday. Relief agencies say filling stations, water pumping sites and electrical power centers inLebanon are running out of supplies amid an Israeli blockade of the country. "We have negotiated for two tankers, now off Cyprus, to go into Beirut and Tripoli ports," WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume told Reuters. more.. Kiryat Shmona discussing the possibility of evacuating residents Ma'an News 8/2/2006 Bethlehem -- The Kiryat Shmona municipality on the Israeli border with Lebanon is studying the feasibility of evacuating all its residents because of Hezbollah bombardment of the area. The evacuation was discussed in a meeting between Israeli army leaders and the Kiryat Shmona mayor, Hayim Berbiya'i. [end] more.. An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades launch projectile at Netiv Ha'asara, north of the Gaza Strip. Ma'an News 8/2/2006 Khan --Ma'an- An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility on Wednesday for launching a Nasir-2 homemade projectile at the Israeli village of Netiv Ha'asara, north of the Gaza Strip. In a statement received by Ma'an, the Brigades confirmed that the shelling comes in retaliation for the destruction of the home of Brigades leader in Jenin, Yousif Nazzal. The Brigades also promised further attacks. [end]