Beirut – Israel claimed Wednesday that it had wiped out half of Hezbollah’s arsenal, but many of the targets Israeli warplanes have hit in their week-long bombardment of the Lebanese capital have no obvious military value.
Among them: a tissue factory, a dairy and a pair of construction vehicles.
Those targets offer few clues to how much success Israel has had in crippling the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but traveling the streets of Beirut leaves one clear impression: Lebanese believe that not a single inch of their country is beyond the whir of Israeli warplanes or the hiss of a falling bomb.
Fear has left the once-bustling capital deserted and shuttered, its few remaining residents bracing for the next boom.
“They’re hitting everything, not just Hezbollah,” wailed Leila Chahrour, 30, whose home was destroyed, forcing her family to live with 15 other people in a cramped motel room. “It’s like this: If you are Lebanese, Israel will kill you.”
Israeli officials may believe that their air war will turn more Lebanese against Hezbollah, which started the latest outburst of violence by kidnapping the Israeli soldiers, but the strikes run the risk of generating sympathy for Hezbollah among Lebanese Christians and Sunni Muslims.
Israeli officials have insisted they’re targeting only Hezbollah operations, but civilians have borne the brunt of the strikes, and more than 300 Lebanese have been killed since the bombing campaign began last week.
