MaxedOutMama

Israel, with U.S. support, intends to resist calls for a cease-fire and continue a longer-term strategy of punishing Hezbollah, which is likely to include several weeks of precision bombing in Lebanon, according to senior Israeli and U.S. officials.

For Israel, the goal is to eliminate Hezbollah as a security threat -- or altogether, the sources said. A senior Israeli official confirmed that Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah is a target, on the calculation that the Shiite movement would be far less dynamic without him.

For the United States, the broader goal is to strangle the axis of Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Iran, which the Bush administration believes is pooling resources to change the strategic playing field in the Middle East, U.S. officials say.

Olmert warned that Israel would not halt its offensive until Hizbullah was disarmed. He made the comment during a telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Israeli government officials said.

Olmert set two other conditions for a cease-fire: the release of the two captured soldiers and a halt to rocket fire.

"If these conditions are met, we are ready to cooperate with a delegation from the UN," an Israeli spokeswoman said.

Palestinian government spokesman Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas, denied any connections.

"If they have proof or evidence, they should show the world there is cooperation between Hamas and Hezbollah," he said, adding that in attempting to link Iran and Syria to events last week, the United States is "trying to convince the world that all these organizations should be put in one basket, and present this as the image of terror to the world."

The damage resulting from Israeli aggression according to local estimates is in the tens of billions US Dollars so far.
. Nasrallah tells the Lebanese not to worry about the destruction. He said that there is a country that is willing to pay for this without preconditions. Many assumed he meant Iran
. Nasrallah warns that Hezbollah is ready to surprise Israel on land as it surprised it in the sea
. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warns in a television address that his group's fight against Israel will have 'no limits'

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah urged Arabs and Muslims worldwide to support his guerrillas, saying Sunday that his group is fighting Israel on their behalf and that the battle has just begun.
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"You Arab and Muslim people must take a position toward your future, the future of your children," he said. "The peoples of the Arab and Islamic world have a historic opportunity to score a defeat against the Zionist enemy ... We are providing the example."

"Hezbollah is not fighting a battle for Hezbollah or even for Lebanon but for the Islamic nation," he said.

The United States and Israel will not end their bloody campaign in Lebanon unless the Lebanese government takes on Iran and Syria. That's, in essence, what can be concluded from statements by Rice today, and from Israel's refusal to enter into negotiations or observe a cease-fire.
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Lebanon has just emerged from decades of Syrian occupation, and is rebuilding its security services with US help. The US has been helping Lebanon in its struggle against Syrian interference. We lost a beloved prime minister and brilliant journalists and intellectuals in this fight. The Hariri investigation, supported by the US, had many Lebanese hoping justice can finally prevail in our country. Much has been riding on the outcome of this investigation, which became Lebanon's only weapon against a much more powerful Assad regime. Hizbullah's weapons were being discussed during a national dialogue that, though at times frustrating, was praised by the US and cited as an example of peaceful ways to resolve conflicts.

Israel and Bush must not be so stupid as to expect the Lebanese government to be able to challenge Syria and Iran and disarm Hizbullah just like that. Kahmenei today made it clear that Hizbullah will not lay down its arms. Hizbullah is controlled directly by the supreme leader in Tehran, so there is nothing Siniora can do.

In his latest speech, Nasrallah exulted over an Israeli warship that he said was hit by Hezbollah artillery. He claimed it was on fire and about to sink.
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...a series of dull thuds echoed across Beirut. It was not a new round of Israeli attacks, but volleys of fireworks lighting up the sky from Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. Red tracer bullets pierced the darkness as celebratory gunfire erupted.

In another neighborhood, small bands of people drove through the streets, shouting God is great, apparently celebrating the Hezbollah leader's reported escape from Israeli attempt on his life.

Outside of Hezbollah's Shiite strongholds, other residents of Lebanon seemed at times terrified, at times resolute as Israel's attacks intensified.