Update: Hezbollah headquarters in southern Beirut reported destroyed.
Update: Yes, evidently you can send pizza to the IDF. I've been monitoring much news when I can and Pajamas Media is doing a stand out job with updates. Of particular interest in my reading around was an acknowledgment that during a phone call, President Bush pledged to the Lebanese President to encourage Israel to limit destruction in Lebanon; however, he stopped short of agreeing to call for a cease fire. Telling note. Hugh Hewitt at the new Townhall.com also has some interesting links I haven't seen elsewhere.
Update: Syria to Hezbollah - stop attacks. Latest headlines from the JP here. Typical move, they want to survive. Israel should continue the operation. Obviously they're being effective and Hezbollah has to go if there's ever going to be peace.
Arab papers are carrying Saudi Arabia's condemnation of Hezbollah. That hasn't stopped the UN and EU capitals from denouncing Israel. Go figure. But Australian Canadian* PM Stephen Harper isn't having any of it:
Harper, who is in London for a two-day visit, called Israel's response to the kidnapping of three soldiers "measured" and "simply self-defence".
Israel's ambassador to the United States has warned Syria and Iran they are "playing with fire." I would imagine that's something of a reminder of Israel's options to Iran, who has been offering up heated rhetoric of its own.
Israel's ambassador to Washington said yesterday that Iran and Syria are "playing with fire" and "will bear the consequences" if Hezbollah transfers two kidnapped Israeli soldiers to either of its patron nations.
Ambassador Daniel Ayalon did not rule out retaliatory strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, though other Israeli officials said that was not being planned.
And the Washington Post, of all papers, has published a piece by Michael Oren, a military historian and senior fellow at the Shalem Center, in Jerusalem, calling for Israel to confront Syria and Iran. His piece does fit in with what Israel has called altering the dynamics significantly; however, Oren is not speaking for the government.
Today a united Hezbollah-Hamas axis has emerged, financed and trained by Syria and Iran, with the goal of destabilizing Israel and frustrating its efforts to disengage from the conflict. In spite of the perils that this front poses to Israel, and the ethical dilemmas that fighting it raises, Israel can transform the situation into one that promotes both domestic and regional stability.
At WorldNet Daily, Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt is suggesting Iran and Syria ordered the attacks.
The Jerusalem Post reports a Palestinian has been killed by a tank round. They also report on some overnight fighting:
Overnight Thursday, the IAF struck an office in the Gaza Strip that was used by a Hamas official. Palestinian sources reported that one person was wounded in the attack.
Earlier Thursday night, Palestinians threw a bomb at an IDF patrol near Jenin. None of the soldiers were wounded, but the vehicle was damaged.
Also, three Kassam rockets landed in Sderot on Friday and the latest casualty report from the JP is in the last two graphs.
Givati Brigade forces and IDF tanks, which were operating in the central Gaza Strip, left the area on Friday morning after neutralizing over 30 Palestinian terrorists in the last three days.
An IDF spokesperson stressed that operations in the Strip would continue "in the same format."
Three people were killed and 55 wounded in overnight IAF air strikes against the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs where Hizbullah has its strongholds, police said Friday.
The casualties brought to 50 the number of Lebanese killed by the IDF since Wednesday, when Israel attacked Lebanon to rescue two of its soldiers captured by Hizbullah guerrilla.
Check in for on going developments: Blogs of War Hot Air and Pajamas Media, which has a late report - a statement out of Jordan calling for Israel to step back.
Also check out the art at All Things Beautiful
* Well, he sounded like an Australian!
