Israel Rocks Hezbollah/Lebanese Sympathizers

Israelis Authorize Expansion Of Combat
Cabinet Bitterly Divided; Highest Toll Yet for Troops

By Molly Moore and Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 10, 2006; Page A01

JERUSALEM, Aug. 9 -- On the deadliest day of fighting yet for Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, the Israeli security cabinet Wednesday authorized the military to expand ground combat operations to try to root out Hezbollah guerrillas who continued to mount fierce resistance.

The cabinet debated military options during an acrimonious six-hour meeting that occasionally dissolved into shouting matches among members torn between the public's growing anger over the military's failure to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks and concerns that enlarging an already treacherous battlefield will result in high numbers of combat casualties, according to participants.

Wednesday's toll drove home those fears -- 15 soldiers were killed and 25 wounded in Israel's worst day of battlefield deaths since the conflict began, according to Israeli military officials.

Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, in a defiant televised address Wednesday night, warned that expanded Israeli military operations in Lebanon would be repelled by the same fierce resistance that has prevented Israeli troops from controlling the terrain in the last 29 days of warfare.

The outcome of this attack is in little doubt, but it will be expensive for Israel. Just like a pig, Hasan Nasrallah is squealing louder as he and his organization suffers more damage. The greater his belligerence, the louder he shouts his threats, the more successful the Israelis efforts have been.

Now is the time for Israel and its supporters like America to be persistent and aggressive. America needs to deflect any efforts by the French and their fellow appeasers to bring this battle to an early and indecisive conclusion.

Full Story: Determination Is Watchword for Israelis

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