Israel cuts main artery for aid into south

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters Foundation

Date: 07 Aug 2006
Israel cuts main artery for aid into south
Lebanon BEIRUT, Aug 7 (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike hit the last crossing over Lebanon's Litani river on Monday, cutting off the main artery for aid to the southern port of Tyre and hard-hit areas nearby, a humanitarian group said.

Christopher Stokes, director of operations for Medecins San Frontieres (MSF), said the bombing of a makeshift bridge had blocked a convoy of food, medical aid and fuel to Tyre, which has seen an increase in wounded from heavy fighting this week.

"Our last remaining supply route into Tyre into the south has been cut," he said after the air strike on the Qasmiyeh crossing about 10 km (6 miles) north of Tyre. The main Qasmiyeh road bridge was knocked out by earlier air raids.

"They have also told us that they can provide no security guarantee that our convoy will not be attacked, so if we move it will be at our own risk and peril," Stokes said.
(snip/...)

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6SFDMU?OpenDocument

[cali]

1. Disgusting

Who will stop the Israelis? Who can stop them?

[SoCalDem]

2. Apparently no one.. I cannot see how it's acceptable to destroy

a COUNTRY....and then other countries line up to pay to rebuild it.. It's mindboggling to me..

and of course all the innocents who lost their lives (they willl be finding bodies for YEARS under all that rubble) lost the most of all... and of course a whole new crop of terrorists have been recruited..

Almost a generation had past since the civil war that racked lebanon, and they were finally emerging again...only to have it all ruined again.. That has to take a huge toll on the psyches of the whole country..

[theHandpuppet]

9. No one, evidently.

So Lebanon's supposed allies in the ME come off as dogs with all bark and no bite. They could also stop this in a heartbeat by turning off the taps and/or supply routes to the oil, which they won't. The lack of unity among Arab states in the ME is the primary reason, IMHO, that Western interests have been able to kick their asses around for so long. Too much petty infighting, too much jostling between religious sects, too many royal families only interested in securing their own thrones and fat bank accounts. In the end, the U.S. and its minions will pick them off one by one while they continue to squabble amongst themselves.

[Tesha]

14. Like this?

> So Lebanon's supposed allies in the ME come off as dogs with all bark
> and no bite. They could also stop this in a heartbeat by turning off
> the taps and/or supply routes to the oil, which they won't.

Like this?



(the Blaster has reduced Bartertown's power supply)
Auntie Entity: For God's sake, what now?
The Master: Who run Bartertown?
Auntie Entity: Dammit, I told you, no more embargos.
The Master: More, Blaster.
(the Blaster puts all power out)
The Master: Who run Bartertown? Who... run... Bartertown?
Auntie Entity: ...You know who.
The Master: Say.
Auntie Entity: Master Blaster.
The Master: Say loud!
(the Master turns on the town loudspeakers)
Auntie Entity: Master Blaster.
The Master: Master Blaster... what?
Auntie Entity: Master Blaster runs Bartertown.
The Master: Louder!
Auntie Entity: Master Blaster runs Bartertown!
The Master: Lift embargo.
(the Blaster turns power back on)

[BadgerKid]

18. Can Arabs unite?

I wonder if their religious infighting is enough to prevent a dictator from stepping in and uniting them since, historically speaking, a lack of unity invites dictatorships. It *is* in the interest of *Co to pick them off one by one--but I believe they are doing it for the $$$. The prevention of unification is just a side benefit.

[Lerkfish]

11. apparently, only the US can, but they choose not to.

[jpkenny]

15. Apparently the US can't even stop the Israeli carnage. Only Arab

states in alliance with robust help to the Lebanese army and Hizbollah will bring a halt to this holocaust. I hate to even say it but nothing will stop Israel but more death and destruction until it begins to hurt the Israeli economy, then Israeli people will rise up. Until then, Israel has a free hand to kill as many Lebanese as they can. Hizbollah can't stop them, they can only inflict damage and killings. If they can't get to the Israeli infrastructure as Israel can get to theirs, Lebanon is going to be totally destroyed.

[magellan]

3. I shudder to think what the aid agencies will find

...when they eventually make it into southern Lebanon. It will be very surprising if the civilian death toll doesn't rise drastically from starvation, unattended injury and disease due to being cut off for so long.

[leftchick]

4. war crimes

and war criminals that NO ONE is holding accountable. :cry:

[cali]

5. Same as Iraq n/t

[Lerkfish]

12. yup, both US and Israel are guilty of war crimes, for slightly different

reasons.

[Selatius]

6. Why won't Israel allow aid groups to use helicopters to fly in supplies?

Will Red Cross helicopters and others be shot down over Lebanese airspace?

[Matilda]

10. Israel wants the Lebanese people to suffer,

to the extent they will put pressure on their government to sue for
peace at any price.

I don't think it's going to happen. The only result will be greater
hatred for Israel, and the growth in numbers of Hezbollah.

[soothsayer]

7. Really, really trying to bait Iran? I dunno how else to explain this.

[Lerkfish]

13. bingo

that's the only explanation that makes sense without assuming Israel policy here is of ultimate cleansing of Lebanon.

[Matilda]

8. "Hezbollah hiding arms in Medicins Sans Frontieres trucks"

No, that one won't work this time. It's pure bullying and terrorism
on a grand scale.

[Kagemusha]

16. And to think people wail Israel is the country facing destruction.

When Lebanon is so much closer to it instead. Of course, no one seems to care about Lebanon because it's not 'worthy' of being a country...

[The Stranger]

17. And the War Crimes keep on coming.

[zippy890]

19. I was wondering about the humanitarian aid

doesn't sound good for those poor people
:-(

[Scurrilous]

20. Red Cross: Israel Denying Safe Passage For Relief Supplies

<snip>

"The Israeli military has denied permission for aid groups to move food and medicine to besieged villages in southern Lebanon for the past two days, effectively imposing a "blockade" on a swath of territory near the border, the international Red Cross said Monday.

Without guarantees of safe passage, the Red Cross has been unable to move supplies beyond the key southern port city of Tyre to other towns and villages south of the Litani River, where thousands of people are believed trapped, said Richard Huguenin, a Red Cross spokesman.

The Litani River runs roughly parallel to the Lebanese-Israeli border, about 30 kilometers to the north. The area between it and the border has been the site of the heaviest Israeli bombardment and ground fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas, and vehicles on the road are frequently hit by Israeli strikes.

"It is now a question of the humanitarian consequences of what is looking like a blockade," Huguenin, of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told The Associated Press in Tyre.

"At night we ask for permission and in the morning we get either a red light or a green light and for the past 48 hours it has been red," he said."

http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=38111&lang=fra&NewsRubrique=2

[AliceWonderland]

21. Uh oh, it's the anti-Israeli press!

Do I really need to note the sarcasm?