Israel-Lebanon-Hezbollah round-up #1

Here are some conflict-related stories worth checking out:

Haaretz: "Nine IDF soldiers died Wednesday and 27 others were injured in the hardest day of fighting in southern Lebanon since the war began two weeks ago. Five of the injured soldiers are in serious condition. The IDF believes that Hezbollah lost 15 of its fighters in Wednesday's fighting."

Reuters: "Israel launched a heavy air and artillery bombardment of south Lebanon on Thursday..."

ABC News: "There was jarring evidence of Hezbollah's tactics [yesterday] when more than 80 rockets struck Israel, wounding dozens and killing a 15-year-old Israeli Arab girl." -- "'They are attacking us in a very organized position,' one [Israeli] soldier said. 'They know where we are coming from. They know everything. They shoot us wherever they like. It's their country.'
He added they are 'very well armed.'"

Los Angeles Times: "Even before Wednesday's bruising day on the battlefields of south Lebanon, Israel's leaders had begun scaling back public expectations of a decisive — or a quick — victory over the guerrillas of Hezbollah." -- "With the fighting in its third week... Israelis are being told that Hezbollah can be weakened but not eradicated, that Israeli forces will not be able to police the border zone themselves, and that Hezbollah's rockets continue to pose a threat to Israeli towns."

The Times: "Peacekeepers spent six hours begging Israeli commanders to halt multiple air bombings near a United Nations observation post before a missile killed four unarmed observers there, it emerged last night." The BBC looks at how the U.N. post at Khiyam was hit.

CNN: "Surrounded by yellow Hezbollah flags, more than 60 Iranian volunteers set off Wednesday to join what they called a holy war against Israeli forces in Lebanon."

The Sydney Morning Herald: "Lebanon is investigating reports from doctors that Israel has used weapons in its 15-day-old bombardment of southern Lebanon that have caused wounds they have never seen before."

Harper's: "Could U.S. troops end up in Lebanon?" -- "The scenario of an American deployment appears to come straight out of the neoconservative playbook: send U.S. forces into the Middle East, regardless of what our own military leaders suggest, in order to “stabilize” the region. The chances of success, as we have seen in Iraq, are remote. So what should be done?"

The Independent, linked in the Harper's piece, looks at what might happen next in the Middle East. How will the conflict end? Given a few different scenarios, what are the consequences?

Much to read. All important.