Israel announced it was imposing an air and sea blockade on Lebanon today, as fighter planes bombed Beirut’s international airport in Israel’s biggest military campaign against the country since the 1982 invasion.

Military officials said the blockade was being imposed to prevent Syria channelling weapons to Hizbullah, the south Lebanese-based militant group that captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in border fighting yesterday.

Israeli government officials said they were using the military campaign to force the Lebanese government to drive out Hizbullah.

“The (Israeli) government wants to change the rules of the game in Lebanon and make the Lebanese government understand that it is responsible for what happens in Lebanon,” the agriculture minister, Shalom Simchon, told Israel Radio.

…In southern Lebanon, at least 22 civilians were reported killed in overnight Israeli attacks, including a family of 12 in the village of Dweir, the television station LBC reported. Other television stations, including Hizbullah’s al-Manar, put the figures at 27 killed, including 10 children. Police had no immediate confirmation of the latest casualties.
guardian.co.uk

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