I'll try stay out of the analysis and keep to the hard news guys. Wish me luck. Below is what I've shamelessly plagiarized from google news:
Israeli troops clashed with Lebanese soldiers on Lebanon's southern border. Reports of casualties are, as always, sketchy, with figures ranging from 3 Lebanese soldiers and a journalist dead [link]. The article also claims that a senior Israeli officer was killed.
Casualties sourced
Apparently, the fighting broke out as Israeli soldiers uprooted a tree in Lebanese territory. The above link quotes Israelis saying that no border infringement occurred. Exactly how the incident escalated is unknown, but there are no reports at all of any Hezbollah members taking part.
This is all occurring alongside the recent escalation of rhetoric. On the 26th of July, Ehud Barak threatened to hit "any target that belongs to the Lebanese state, not just Hezbollah" if the party struck against Israel. On Monday, Syrian president Assad expressed fears that "the spectre of real peace in the region is decreasing, and the possibility of war is increasing."
Ok, so enough with the hard news.
This does not look good at all. The last thing the region needs is another war. A worst-case scenario, at this point, is a repetition of 2006, with far too many civilian casualties and bone-headed military solutions to diplomatic and social problems. If that occurs, then neither side will come out on top. Israel risks being bogged down in another bloody fiasco in Southern Lebanon, and Lebanon will suffer the desolation of another failed Israeli military campaign. And yes, it's going to fail. There's absolutely no way that Israel can achieve its aims with force.
Thoughts, comments, opinions? Does anybody dare?