Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs hit by Israeli air strikes overnight vowed on Friday to stand by Hezbollah, despite rising casualties from attacks triggered by its capture of two Israeli soldiers.
The raid on the guerrilla group’s stronghold in the south of the capital killed three people and wounded 40. It damaged flyovers and junctions and dozens of buildings and businesses.
”We will stay here until our last breath under the banner of Hezbollah against the barbarians and terrorists of Israel and the United States,” said Hashem Hashem, a 52-year old employee of the state-run Lebanese University.
Hezbollah’s headquarters are located in the area, home to hundreds of thousands of mainly Shi’ite Lebanese, most of them loyal to the group.
Two of the victims in the attacks, part of Israel’s wider assault on targets across Lebanon, were Syrian workers who were killed when a concrete slab fell from the flyover they were sleeping under.
At least 60 people, almost all civilians, have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s offensive on Wednesday. Hezbollah has bombarded towns across northern Israel, killing two and wounding more than 100.
On Friday morning trucks removed more than 10 cars destroyed in the raid on southern Beirut, which also punched a three-metre hole in a square nearby and shattered windows of surrounding buildings.
Many residents refused to blame Hezbollah for prompting Israeli retaliation, despite the Jewish state’s warnings to civilians through leaflets to stay clear of the guerrilla group facilities.
”We are not shaken neither by their leaflets nor by their missiles,” said 30-year old Mohammed Mustafa who was helping shop owners open steel doors that buckled in the raid.
”We don’t blame Hezbollah for this. If it was not for Hezbollah they would have hit us whenever they please,” said Suhaila Fahes, a nurse at al-Sahel hospital. ”I am staying here and will not leave.”
Plainclothes Hezbollah personnel were helping municipality workers clear the roads and keep civilians away from the damaged flyover. Mohammed Khansa, head of the Ghobeiri neighbourhood where most damage was inflicted, is a Hezbollah official.
A car bearing Lebanon’s red-and-white flag and Hezbollah’s yellow banner was touring the area, with patriotic songs blaring from its loud speakers.
Scores of families, however, were said to have left their homes to safer Beirut areas. ”All families in my building left. They have women and children and they are scared,” said 32-year-old Essam Kanaan who was checking damage at the flyover.
A cloud of black smoke was billowing behind him from a fuel depot south of Beirut that was also bombed by Israeli planes.
Some people, like 65-year old Adnan Ibriq, stayed because they had nowhere else to go. ”Tell me where to go? Sleep on the street?” he said. ”I am not scared. I have seen years of this.”
But women awaiting caesarean operations at the nearby Sahel hospital were disturbed by the attacks, nurse Fahes said.
”They were not supposed to be able to move but they jumped on their feet when they heard the blasts,” she said. ”…Their operations were delayed and now we are busy treating the wounded.”
Israel has drawn mounting world criticism of its tactics since Shi’ite fighters seized two of its soldiers and killed eight.
Hezbollah, which wants to trade its captives for prisoners held in Israel, fired more rockets across the frontier.
United States President George Bush telephoned Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and assured him he was pressing Israel to ”contain the damage” to Lebanon and avoid civilian casualties, Siniora’s office said in a statement. Siniora urged Bush to get Israel to halt its attack, agree to a ceasefire and lift its blockade.
Bush has previously upheld Israel’s right to self-defence, but said it should not weaken the Lebanese government.
Strong criticism of Israel came from France and the Vatican, long close to Lebanon, especially its Christian community.
French President Jacques Chirac, describing Israeli strikes as ”completely disproportionate”, said: ”One can ask oneself whether there isn’t a sort of desire to destroy Lebanon.”
The Vatican deplored Israel’s ”attack on a sovereign and free nation”, Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano said.
The Lebanon violence is the fiercest since 1996 when Israel launched a 17-day blitz on Hezbollah strongholds in the south.
The airport has been shut since runways and fuel tanks were hit on Thursday. Four planes of Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines had taken off empty for Amman shortly before the latest raids.
Pull-back from Gaza
The army said on Friday it had pulled out of the central Gaza Strip, which it entered as part of the offensive. It said its forces had targeted an office of the ruling Hamas militant group in the northern Gaza Strip and a bridge overnight.
Troops fired a tank shell at a vehicle, killing a Palestinian and wounding another, medics said. Israel has killed more than 80 Palestinians during the offensive.
Fearing a prolonged Israeli-Hezbollah confrontation, Lebanese queued for petrol and hoarded food and drink. Power rationing began and many shops and offices stayed shut.
The crisis has helped drive world oil prices to record highs and has shaken financial markets in Israel and Lebanon.
Beirut stocks have slumped nearly 14% this week. Israeli stocks have dropped more than 8% in the past three days and the Israeli shekel has lost over 3%. – Reuters