Refugees
Speak Of
Catastrophic Bombing
By Dahr Jamail
16 July, 2006
Inter Press Service
LEBANON-SYRIA BORDER,
Jul 14 (IPS) - Refugees fleeing Beirut in the face of Israeli
air attacks are speaking of "haphazard bombings" and a crisis
situation developing in the city.
Israeli warplanes bombed
the suburbs of Beirut overnight, killing three people and wounding 55,
according to Lebanese police. Residents reported at least four Israeli
missile strikes early Friday morning. The Lebanese military responded
with anti-aircraft fire.
According to reports from
Beirut, a bridge in the area was hit, along with the main highway to
the airport. Lebanese police report that a fuel storage tank at a power
station on the coast was destroyed in the air strikes, while Hezbollah
targets near Hermel close to the Syrian border were targeted.
Israeli military officials
reported that Hezbollah fighters fired more than 100 rockets into northern
Israel Thursday, killing two people and wounding 92. Some rockets struck
Haifa, Israel's third largest city.
"The government has
authorized the army to press on with its operation in Lebanon and hit
more targets," an Israeli government official said. That was after
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered his army to continue its
operations in Lebanon.
No immediate end to the fighting
appeared in sight.
About 15,000 people are said
to have crossed the Lebanese border into Syria, seeking refuge from
widespread bombings carried out by F-16 warplanes.
As in the days of the Lebanese
civil war, the border between Syria and Lebanon was a scene of chaos.
Streams of buses and cars with luggage tied to the roof queued to cross
into Syria. Many people came walking, carrying their luggage or pulling
wheeled suitcases.
"I was in an area south
of Beirut which was bombed heavily by the Israelis," 55-year-old
electrician Ali Suleiman told IPS. "There were so many refugees
in shelters near us, which was near an old hospital which the Israelis
bombed last night. It was terrifying at night when they attacked our
area."
Suleiman said he saw Israeli
warplanes bomb a bridge, and that two of the main bridges which lead
to southern Lebanon were destroyed.
"Both Syrian and Lebanese
people are leaving now," he said. "There is no more food,
not even bread. There was no electricity or water in our area. If this
situation continues, it will be a giant catastrophe."
Nebham Razaq Hamed, a 22-year-old
Lebanese student, said the situation in southern Beirut was horrific.
"The bombing at night
was continuous and has continued today, they are using warplanes and
sometimes artillery," he told IPS at the border. "Everybody
is in panic because of the haphazard bombing which is killing so many
civilians now. The Israelis are terrorizing the people intentionally
by not discriminating between fighters and civilians."
"This is an act of terrorism,"
said Rashid Khalaf, a 27-year-old carpenter carrying his belongings
in a large sack. "The Israelis are bombing everywhere in the south,
including much of Beirut now. I saw the killing and destruction by the
Israelis, they are bombing everywhere they think the Hezbollah may be."
Fifty-five-year-old Sheiboub
Azem from Saudi Arabia who was in the mountains above Beirut on vacation
with his family told IPS "there was bombing and fire everywhere
in Beirut before we left."
Azem said: "We watched
from the balcony as they started bombing heavily at 3.45 am last night,
and we lost our electricity and water. The Israelis must be bombing
the water and electricity outlets."
A 50-year-old Kuwaiti man
had driven with his family to the border Friday morning from Beirut.
"It's very bad there, as the Israelis are attacking civilians,
bombing police and petrol stations, and even the fuel storage depots,"
he told IPS. "In fact, they have even bombed the airport once again.
I saw F-16s bombing and there is smoke everywhere. This is a big disaster
for the Lebanese."
Abdulla Zalqana, a 28-year-old
Lebanese baker in the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley of central
Lebanon told IPS that Israeli warplanes were bombing Baalbek and much
of the southern area of the Bekaa Valley.
"They bombed the two
roads which connect the Bekaa to Beirut," he said. "This is
a big catastrophe."