By Ryan Jones
Jul 13, 2006
Two Israelis were killed and more than 90 others wounded Thursday as Katyusha missiles fired from southern Lebanon rained down on a dozen towns in northern Israel.
The massive barrage came in response to Israel's targeting of terrorist positions throughout Lebanon with air and artillery forces.
Israel launched Operation Just Reward after Hizb'allah terrorists assaulted northern Israel Wednesday morning, killing eight IDF soldiers and abducting two others.
The counter-terror action has also seen Israel bomb Beirut's international airport and impose a naval and air blockade on Lebanon, as Jerusalem intensifies efforts to force Lebanon to disarm Hizb'allah.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Wednesday's Hizb'allah attack constituted an act of war by Lebanon because of its long refusal to rein in the terror group and exert control over southern Lebanon.
Though Hizb'allah instigated the violence, it was Israel that bore the brunt of international condemnation Thursday as world leaders lined up to decry the Jewish state's use of "disproportionate force" in defending its citizens.
The one notable exception was US President George W. Bush, who directed his displeasure solely at Hizb'allah and its patrons in Damascus and Tehran.