Question: So who is really fighting?
Answer: The fighting is not between Israel and Lebanon, but rather between Israel and the Hezbollah militia, which runs a ministate in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and the suburbs of Beirut. Those areas are dominated by Shiite Muslims, who form the base of support for Hezbollah.
Other groups in Lebanon – Sunni Muslims, Druze and Christians – are angry with Hezbollah for provoking a war with Israel. But they’re also angry with Israel for using its superior military forces to destroy Lebanese infrastructure.
Question: Why did the fighting start?
Answer: Guerrillas from Hezbollah crossed Lebanon’s border with Israel, abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed three others on July 12. Hezbollah leaders say they will return the soldiers only in exchange for three Lebanese prisoners being held by Israeli prisons.
In response, Israel launched its most intense attack on Lebanon in 24 years (when Israeli forces invaded and occupied the Lebanese capital, Beirut). Israel has also tried to choke off Lebanon, imposing a naval blockade and bombing Beirut’s international airport.
The Israeli offensive has killed about 300 Lebanese – nearly all civilians – displaced thousands of people, and destroyed dozens of bridges and roads across the country.
Hezbollah has fired more than 1,500 rockets and missiles at northern Israel, killing at least 14 soldiers and 15 civilians, and injuring dozens.
Precise casualty figures were difficult to confirm.
Question: Are Syria and Iran really responsible for the actions of Hezbollah, as President Bush asserts?
Answer: Both Syria and Iran, countries at odds with the United States, are longtime backers of Hezbollah. The group was founded in 1982 with funding and military support from Iran. Hezbollah leaders consider Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as their religious guide. Iran also provided the militia with some of the missiles it has been firing against Israel.
Some of Hezbollah’s weapons are believed to transit through Syria on their way from Iran. But it’s unclear how closely the group coordinates its military and political strategies with either Iran or Syria.
Question: What is being done for the 25,000 Americans caught in the fighting?
Answer: On Wednesday, the United States evacuated about 1,000 Americans, using a cruise liner, from Beirut to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said the evacuation would quickly swell to up to 2,000 Americans a day, both by sea and by helicopter.
About 8,000 of the 25,000 Americans in Lebanon have asked to be evacuated.
Question: Is there a serious effort to find a diplomatic solution?
Answer: The United Nations is trying to broker a cease-fire between Israel and the Hezbollah militia based on the deployment of an international force within a 12-mile buffer zone in south Lebanon that would prevent the group from attacking across the border. The EU has called for a cease-fire now.
But so far, the United States is not pushing for a diplomatic solution and the Bush administration is giving Israel a tacit green light to take the time it needs to neutralize the Shiite militant group.
At the United Nations, Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said that the world body is bringing key Mideast players together today for a series of meetings to make major decisions on the next steps to try to end the escalating hostilities.
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