LEBANON: LEBANON: ISRAELIS ATTACKS & REACTIONS

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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#Arabic/Eng/Nat Hezbollah guerrillas have killed another Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon, despite devastating Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon hours earlier that were intended to end attacks on Israeli forces. With the sixth Israeli fatality in two weeks, the conflict in southern Lebanon is threatening to spiral out of control. Israeli officials say they will launch more strikes in retaliation for guerrilla attacks, while Hezbollah is promising to push ahead with a campaign to force the Israelis out of Lebanon. The Israeli airstrikes early on Tuesday destroyed this Lebanese power station in Jamhour, near Beirut. The strikes also hit power stations in the northern mountains, east of the port city of Tripoli, and in the eastern Bekaa Valley town of Baalbek. A Hezbollah base in Baalbek was also targetted. The raids were in retaliation for Hezbollah attacks that have killed five Israeli soldiers in the past two weeks. But on Tuesday Hezbollah guerrillas killed another Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon, threatening to cause the conflict to spiral out of control. The attack on the Jamhour power plant plunged large areas of Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, into darkness. Israeli jets also attacked the eastern town of Baalbek and the cities of Sidon and Tyre in the south. At least 15 civilians were injured, including four children. Just hours after the attacks, Israel announced it may pull troops out of Lebanon several months before a self-imposed July deadline. But Israel also said it would no longer honour an agreement to avoid targeting civilians when it retaliates against Hezbollah guerrillas. On Tuesday, Lebanon's Electricity Minister was shown around the devastated Jamhour power station. Lebanon doesn't have the military capability to counter an Israeli attack, but strikes like the ones launched early on Tuesday usually invite guerrilla retaliation. Tens of thousands of Israelis living near the Lebanese border have fled south or are in bomb shelters, fearing an imminent counter-attack by Hezbollah. One Lebanese Member of Parliament said the Israeli attacks contravened previous agreements and were unacceptable. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) "The Israeli's lack of compliance with the April Accord is not acceptable because accepting it means endangering the lives of civilians, and it also means allowing the enemy to achieve its goals by dictating the rules, whether on the political level or the security level, in Lebanon and in the region, therefore the resistance will not accept this." SUPER CAPTION: Mohammad Fneish, Lebanese Member of Parliament The Lebanese Cabinet met on Tuesday, after which Prime Minister Salim El Hoss issued a statement on the Israeli attacks. He said Israel wouldn't succeed in forcing the Lebanese to abandon their demands to regain territory in southern Lebanon. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Israel has no right to withdraw from the April Accord because that understanding was laid down by agreement among five parties, including the US and France who co-chair the monitoring group and also including Syria and Lebanon, and of course Israel." SUPER CAPTION: Dr. Selim El Hoss, Lebanese Prime Minister The U-S ambassador in Beirut urged both sides to stop the violence and pursue peace. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We regret very much the escalation in violence which has taken place over the past several weeks. We want to see an end to this violence and maximum efforts undertaken on all sides to restore calm and to allow an environment in which the process of peace can continue." SUPER CAPTION: David Satterfield, US Ambassador to Lebanon The Israeli attacks injured 15 civilians in the Lebanese city of Baalbek. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6d8ec483051ac6131f17a40edcade183 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork