- LEBANON-SYRIA BORDER (IPS)
- Refugees fleeing Beirut in the face of Israeli air attacks are speaking
of "haphazard bombings" and a crisis situation developing in
the city.*
-
- Israeli warplanes bombed the suburbs of Beirut overnight,
killing three people and wounding 55, according to Lebanese police. Residents
reported at least four Israeli missile strikes early Friday morning. The
Lebanese military responded with anti-aircraft fire.
-
- According to reports from Beirut, a bridge in the area
was hit, along with the main highway to the airport. Lebanese police report
that a fuel storage tank at a power station on the coast was destroyed
in the air strikes, while Hezbollah targets near Hermel close to the Syrian
border were targeted.
-
- Israeli military officials reported that Hezbollah fighters
fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel Thursday, killing two
people and wounding 92. Some rockets struck Haifa, Israel's third largest
city.
-
- "The government has authorized the army to press
on with its operation in Lebanon and hit more targets," an Israeli
government official said. That was after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
ordered his army to continue its operations in Lebanon.
-
- No immediate end to the fighting appeared in sight.
-
- About 15,000 people are said to have crossed the Lebanese
border into Syria, seeking refuge from widespread bombings carried out
by F-16 warplanes.
-
- As in the days of the Lebanese civil war, the border
between Syria and Lebanon was a scene of chaos. Streams of buses and cars
with luggage tied to the roof queued to cross into Syria. Many people came
walking, carrying their luggage or pulling wheeled suitcases.
-
- "I was in an area south of Beirut which was bombed
heavily by the Israelis," 55-year-old electrician Ali Suleiman told
IPS. "There were so many refugees in shelters near us, which was near
an old hospital which the Israelis bombed last night. It was terrifying
at night when they attacked our area."
-
- Suleiman said he saw Israeli warplanes bomb a bridge,
and that two of the main bridges which lead to southern Lebanon were destroyed.
-
- "Both Syrian and Lebanese people are leaving now,"
he said. "There is no more food, not even bread. There was no electricity
or water in our area. If this situation continues, it will be a giant catastrophe."
-
- Nebham Razaq Hamed, a 22-year-old Lebanese student, said
the situation in southern Beirut was horrific.
-
- "The bombing at night was continuous and has continued
today, they are using warplanes and sometimes artillery," he told
IPS at the border. "Everybody is in panic because of the haphazard
bombing which is killing so many civilians now. The Israelis are terrorizing
the people intentionally by not discriminating between fighters and civilians."
-
- "This is an act of terrorism," said Rashid
Khalaf, a 27-year-old carpenter carrying his belongings in a large sack.
"The Israelis are bombing everywhere in the south, including much
of Beirut now. I saw the killing and destruction by the Israelis, they
are bombing everywhere they think the Hezbollah may be."
-
- Fifty-five-year-old Sheiboub Azem from Saudi Arabia who
was in the mountains above Beirut on vacation with his family told IPS
"there was bombing and fire everywhere in Beirut before we left."
-
- Azem said: "We watched from the balcony as they
started bombing heavily at 3.45 am last night, and we lost our electricity
and water. The Israelis must be bombing the water and electricity outlets."
-
- A 50-year-old Kuwaiti man had driven with his family
to the border Friday morning from Beirut. "It's very bad there, as
the Israelis are attacking civilians, bombing police and petrol stations,
and even the fuel storage depots," he told IPS. "In fact, they
have even bombed the airport once again. I saw F-16s bombing and there
is smoke everywhere. This is a big disaster for the Lebanese."
-
- Abdulla Zalqana, a 28-year-old Lebanese baker in the
city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley of central Lebanon told IPS that Israeli
warplanes were bombing Baalbek and much of the southern area of the Bekaa
Valley.
-
- "They bombed the two roads which connect the Bekaa
to Beirut," he said. "This is a big catastrophe."
-
-
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