Militants in Lebanon Blaze Rockets Into Israel

The attacks come a day after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah delivered a fiery speech in Beirut in which he warned Israel not to attack Lebanon.

Rocket attack against Israel launched from Lebanon Courtesy: defense-update.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - As many sources predicted, Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza broadened Thursday as at least three rockets were fired into the north of Israel from Lebanon. It isn't clear who was behind the attacks.

Israel uses White Phosphorus which burns literally to the bone, may be behind its growing number of enemies and war fronts.

David Hartwell, IHS Jane’s Middle East Analyst commented, “The rockets, said by media reports to be Katyusha variants, landed in the vicinity of Nahariyya, an Israeli town eight km from the border with Lebanon. Israeli forces in the area, which have been on high alert since the start of military operations in Gaza, returned mortar fire in response to the attack, which caused only minor casualties.”

Security sources in Lebanon told reporters that the rockets probably were not fired under instructions from the militant group Hezbollah. The group has neither confirmed or denied responsibility for the attacks.

Hartwell continued, “The attacks come a day after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah delivered a fiery speech in Beirut in which he warned Israel not to attack Lebanon."

Hezbollah reportedly does not want to become embroiled in another conflict with Israel for a number of domestic political reasons. Among those are upcoming elections in Lebanon this year. Electoral support for the group is likely to suffer if it involves the country in further fighting with Israel, Hartwell contends.

"Nevertheless, Hezbollah is using the fighting between Israel and Hamas as justification for its continued 'resistance' and the need to maintain its armed force on the southern border," Hartwell said.

He says regardless of whether the perpetrators were Hezbollah or Palestinian militants, the incident raises the prospect of a two-front conflict for Israel - something that it is keen to avoid.

"Therefore, Israel is likely to remain on the defensive in the north, while retaining the right to respond to further attacks. Should the attacks increase in frequency and result in more serious casualties, this approach will change and a more aggressive posture will be adopted.

In the meanwhile, Lebanon's government says it remains determined to stay out of the conflict. In fact they say they will be exerting pressure on Hezbollah to abandon further attacks in the hope of avoiding Israeli reprisals.

One of the strongest objections to the IDF's approach in Gaza centers around a cruel and unusual substance called white phosphorus that burns a person to the bone and can only be removed by physically cutting it out of the burning skin.

These weapons are being used by Israel in areas occupied by civilians.

In some cases regarding civilian casualties, the Israeli's are targeting U.N flagged schools, drawing ourrage from the United Nations and the world community.

Jane’s Weapons Technology Analyst commented on the discussions surrounding white phosphorus, “The round so far specified as being fired are the M825A1 which is purely an air-burst white phosherous smoke projectile."

He says it’s construction and function is highly elaborate and I would say deliberately so to make it inappropriate for anti-personnel use."

He says it is not a ground or low level burst conventional white phosphorus filled round of dual use as smoke screen or as a potential weapon.

In spite of its deadly and scarring potential, it is primary function is for the rapid creation of a highly effective, but short lived visible and infrared smoke screen.

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan with Oregon troops. Tim recently returned from Iraq where he covered the war there while embedded with an Oregon Guard aviation unit. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
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