Iran and Syria blamed as violence intensifies

The conflict in the Middle East appeared to be spiralling out of control on Saturday, with a series of bloody airstrikes and missile attacks claiming more Lebanese and Israeli lives.

The third day of savage violence came as Sheikh Hassan Nasralla, the Hizbollah leader, proclaimed that he was ready for "open warfare" with Israel.

Israeli rockets pounded Lebanese targets just inside the country's border with Syria, fuelling fears that the conflict could spread across the region.

George W Bush has called on Syria to do more to control Hizbollah, and Israeli officials have accused Iran of backing missile attacks on its territory.

The major incidents so far today:
# An Israeli missile hit a van on road in southern Lebanon, killing at least 17 civilians.
# Israeli aircraft flattened a nine-storey building where Hizbollah had its main office in Beirut.
# Israeli planes fired rockets at a crossing point between the last Lebanese post and the first Syrian army position on the road from Beirut to Damascus.
# Hizbollah rockets hit the Israeli town of Tiberias, 22 miles from Lebanese border, the deepest penetration since the conflict began.
# At least one Israeli sailor was killed after his warship came under attack. Initial reports said it was hit by a Hizbollah drone plane packed with explosives, but Israel later claimed the damage was done by a Iranian-made missile.
# An Israeli intelligence official warned that Hizbollah was now able to strike Tel Aviv with its long-range missiles.

At least 29 Lebanese civilians have died in today's violence.

President Bush this morning placed the blame on the conflict at the feet of Hizbollah, after rejecting claims that he had promised to rein in Israel.

Speaking at a news conference in Russia alongside Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, ahead of this weekend's G8 summit, he said: "In my judgment, the best way to stop the violence is to understand why the violence occurred in the first place.

"And that's because Hizbollah has been launching rocket attacks out of Lebanon into Israel and because Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers."

He added: "The best way to stop the violence is for Hizbollah to lay down its arms and to stop attacking, and therefore I call on Syria to exert influence over Hizbollah."

Sheikh Nasrallah raised the stakes last night, threatening to attack Israel beyond the city of Haifa, 20 miles from the border, which was hit for the first time on Thursday.

"Surprises will start from now," said the sheikh, who is admired by Arabs for Hizbollah's success in forcing Israel out of Lebanon in 2000.

As the number of deaths mounted, President Jacques Chirac of France yesterday accused the Israelis of trying to "destroy" Lebanon.

"I find honestly, as all Europeans do, that the current reactions are totally disproportionate," he said in an interview to mark France's July 14 national day.

"We are in a very dangerous situation. We must be very, very careful."

The crisis threatens to provoke a major international rift at the G8 summit which opens in St Petersburg today.

Britain is putting together plans to evacuate 15,000 British passport holders from Beirut by sea, all but 1,200 of them with dual nationality.

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-Buck

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