Lebanon in flames
Israel Blockades, Bombs Lebanon While Hezbollah Rains Rocket Fire
Israel imposed a blockade on Lebanon by land, sea and air on Thursday, striking the capital’s airport twice, cutting off its ports and wrecking bridges and roads in attacks that killed at least 47 people in the last two days, nearly all of them Lebanese civilians. Israel said the radical Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah fired 150 rockets into northern Israel, including two that reached the port city of Haifa. Israeli jets repeatedly crossed over Beirut before dawn Friday. At least two explosions were heard, and antiaircraft fire and flares lit up the night sky.
For both sides, the fighting appeared to cross a psychological barrier that had earlier contained the frequent clashes between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli attacks on Beirut’s airport — a morning strike on runways and an evening attack on fuel depots — were the first since Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. After the rockets crashed into Haifa, Hezbollah denied firing them.
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