Hezbollah rockets hit Israel as Israeli offensive in Lebanon continues

The BBC is reporting that "Two [Hezbollah] rockets have struck the Israeli city of Haifa" and that "Lebanon's international airport was hit for a second time as Israel continued attacks by land, sea and air".

Haaretz has more, as does The Jerusalem Post.

The Washington Post has the details:

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.

Meanwhile, both Haaretz and The J-Post is reporting that Hezbollah intends to move the two captured IDF soldiers to Iran. Israel has "concrete evidence," but Iran has denied the allegation.

For more, see Laura Rozen at War and Piece. She mentions, paraphrasing Seymour Hersh, that "sometimes big wars get started almost by accident". Is the capture of those two IDF soldiers akin to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand?

Steve Clemons: "While I think that Israel has responded disproportionately in its incursion into Gaza, I think that the firing of rockets from inside Lebanon into Israel changes Israel's moral position to a degree. Israel has withdrawn from Lebanon -- and Lebanon should do everything it is able to do to secure its borders and to preempt this kind of attack on Israel."

I don't necessarily agree with Steve that "Israel has responded disproportionately" -- see here for my recent post on the matter -- but he's quite right about "Israel's moral position".

Andrew at Obsidian Wings: "I am left wondering just what it is Israel hopes to accomplish with these strikes. I do not mean that they are morally wrong to do so; both Hezbollah and Hamas have been in a state of war with Israel since it came into existence, so Israel has every right to wage war against them. But in this case, I'm not certain what it is Israel can possibly hope to gain."

Fine, but what is Israel supposed to do?