Beirut Diary - July 17th

It was reasonably quiet in Beirut this morning, until a few minutes ago, when two bombs landed somewhere. The Beirut port was bombed again during the night, and of course the southern outskirts of the city received their daily dose of bombs and missiles. And as yet, no sign that this war will end soon. Israel insists that the two kidnapped soldiers be released unconditionally and that Hezbollah combatants distance themselves a few kilometres away from the frontier. Both conditions have been rejected by Hezbollah.

The attack last night on a military barracks near Tripoli resulted in a toll of nine soldiers killed and many others wounded. This is the first direct attack against the Lebanese army. It is rumoured that this attack was motivated by the belief that Hezbollah had received logistical support from the Lebanese army in targeting and hitting an Israeli warship a few days ago. True or false, the nine soldiers are dead. And so it goes in the merry go round of war, death and destruction.