Battle's rapid escalation

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel launched its most intense attack yesterday on Lebanon in 24 years, bombing Beirut airport twice, attacking two military bases, imposing a naval blockade, and destroying bridges and roads throughout the country.

Israel's assault began Wednesday after the Shia militant group Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers in a daring cross-border raid and brought them back into Lebanon. The Israeli offensive intensified yesterday, and 45 Lebanese have been killed since the assault began. Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in Wednesday's raid and in subsequent fighting along the border.

As Israel increased its air raids, Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel. The group said it was using a new type of missile - supplied by Iran - capable of reaching major Israeli cities such as Haifa and Tiberias. Two Israeli civilians were killed and at least 12 injured.

It was the largest Israeli offensive since 1982, when thousands of Israeli troops invaded Lebanon and occupied Beirut - the only time Israel had ever captured an Arab capital. Israel had argued the invasion was intended to prevent Palestinian guerrillas from launching attacks on northern Israel, but Israeli forces stayed for 18 years in a self-declared "security zone" in south Lebanon until Hezbollah forced them out. Since Wednesday, Israeli leaders have hinted ominously at another invasion to prevent Hezbollah from firing missiles into Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said his forces would no longer let Hezbollah fighters control the border, as they have done since Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in May 2000.

"If the government of Lebanon fails to deploy its forces, as is expected of a sovereign government, we shall not allow Hezbollah forces to remain any further on the borders of the state of Israel," Peretz said.

The crisis has opened a second front for Israel, as it tries to fight Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. On June 25, Hamas-allied fighters abducted Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit and brought him into Gaza. As the fighting intensifies in Lebanon, it threatens to provoke a full-scale war in the region that could also drag in Syria, and perhaps even Iran.

"If this conflict expands further, things will really go out of control," said Timur Goksel, a former senior UN adviser in southern Lebanon. "There has to be a de-escalation soon."

Syria and Iran are the two main backers of Hezbollah, which fought a long guerrilla war to force Israel out of the south. But Israel's withdrawal robbed Hezbollah of a central reason for its existence, and many Lebanese have argued that it should disarm and become strictly a political party.

Israeli officials have warned both the Lebanese and Syrian governments that Israel holds them responsible for Hezbollah's actions. The militant group is part of the Lebanese government, holding 12 seats in parliament and two ministries. But the Lebanese government insists it did not receive any warning of Hezbollah's plan to abduct the soldiers and does not condone it.

Calls for cease-fire

While Lebanese officials called for a cease-fire and asked the international community to pressure Israel to end its offensive, neither Israel nor Hezbollah appear willing to back down.

Hezbollah leaders insist that no amount of Israeli military strikes will force them to release the two soldiers - unless Israel agrees to a prisoner exchange.

At a triumphant news conference Wednesday, Hezbollah's leader, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, said his group would not bow to pressure from Lebanon's government or the world community.

"What do they want us to do? Hand over the soldiers and apologize?" he asked. "What kind of world are they living in?"

After bombing roads and bridges in southern Lebanon all day Wednesday, Israel dramatically expanded its offensive early yesterday by bombing the runways at Beirut's international airport. The main terminal at the recently renovated $500-million airport was not damaged. But all air traffic into Lebanon ceased, and travelers were diverted to Cyprus.

Soon after the airport was bombed, Israeli ships imposed a naval blockade of Lebanese ports. Early this morning, Israeli planes bombed the highway between Beirut and Damascus, the Syrian capital. With no air or sea traffic, that highway had become Lebanon's main link with the outside world. It was unclear if it was impassable after the attack.

Among the Lebanese killed were a family of 10 and another family of seven, who died early yesterday when their homes in the village of Dweir were destroyed by Israeli missiles.

At around 9:30 p.m. local time, Israeli helicopters attacked Beirut's airport for a second time - firing missiles that set several large fuel tanks on fire.

Last night, Israeli warplanes attacked the Lebanese military's two main air bases: the Rayak base in the Bekaa Valley - about four miles from the Syrian border - and the Qoleit base in northern Lebanon.

Earlier, Israel said that Hezbollah had fired more than 100 missiles and rockets into northern Israel throughout the day, including one missile that hit the port city of Haifa. Hezbollah denied targeting Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. It admitted firing rockets at four other northern Israeli towns, killing a woman in Nahariya and a man in Safad.

"Those who fire into such a densely populated area will pay a heavy price," said David Baker, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office.

Hezbollah officials warned that they would launch missiles at Haifa if Israel attacks Beirut or its southern suburbs, a dense area where many of Hezbollah's leaders live. Early this morning, Israeli warplanes bombed two bridges and a power station in Beirut's suburbs, cutting off electricity to the area.