“People are starting to sell what they have to get bread; yesterday two people came to ask me if I buy their cell phones, they are selling all what they have. Yesterday, a father of five children who used to work in delivery came to sell me his cell phone, since I work in that area of telephones. Well. it was worth at least 50,000 liras — $32 — and he offered it for just 30,000 liras — $20 — he that 30,000 liras will buy 30 bundles of bread and, which will allow them to live for a month. He asked me, ‘what do I need with the cell phone? I needed it for work, but where is work now?” Read more about "Didn't you watch the news? They started hitting Palestinians" 

Hundreds of demonstrators - estimated by some of the organizers at 2,300 - poured into Chicago’s Pioneer Court to protest Israel’s onslaught against Lebanon and Gaza Saturday July 22. Carrying Lebanese, Palestinian, and American flags, the demonstrators marched to the Israeli consulate to make their objections be known. They were also there to tell Palestinian and Lebanese civilians under siege that while the world has not sufficiently come to their aid, “We have not abandoned you,” as one of the speakers at the rally emphasized. Read more about Photostory: Chicago protests Israel's attacks on Lebanon and the Palestinians 

“So it’s Saturday. The day we fear. It seems the Israelis will have to postpone some of whatever plans they might have: the evacuations are not done yet.” Continuing her reports from Beirut, Hanady Salman recounts the stories of those taking advantage of a brief lull in Israeli bombing to return to their homes in the heavily hit southern suburb. “Some of my friends who live in the Southern Suburb went there yesterday to check on their houses and bring some of their stuff. They weren’t able to find their homes. Whole neighborhoods are completely destroyed.” Read more about Don't leave us alone in Beirut 

“The Israelis love to start their raids at ten past one, sometimes at five past one. That’s when I’m in bed. Every night, when they start, I rush out to the balcony to see where the smoke comes from. I live on the twelfth floor. Every night, when I go out, I see the moon, my lovely moon, shyly hiding behind the clouds caused by the fires that are surrounding my Beirut.” Hanady Salman recounts her experiences and thoughts as her family from the south arrive in Beirut after a harrowing escape from the Israeli offensive. As the bombardment of Lebanon continues, villages in the south are without electricity, food, water or contact with the outside world. Read more about "Every night the bombing starts at ten past one" 

Lebanon is under military attack. For the past week, the country has endured a brutal campaign of violence at the hands of Israeli planes and artillery. The Lebanese government estimates that roughly 300 people have lost their lives since Israel began its attacks, which have essentially dismantled the public infrastructure of the country. In response to the request for a prisoner exchange by Hezbollah, Israel has launched an all-out war on the Lebanese people, inflicting far-reaching misery, and capturing the world’s attention. Read more about Bombs over Beirut 

The Israeli consensus is holding largely because its media is still behind the operation, and focused on the empty streets of the northern communities and the individual suffering of various families who have lost relatives to the rockets or seen their life possessions demolished in a moment. Of the many, many hours of television time devoted daily to the violence, only a few minutes are given to the scenes from Lebanon. Regular programming has disappeared from the three main channels. A ground invasion would indeed raise the specter of a lengthy stay in hostile territory and casualties among Israeli soldiers and that would certainly lead to protests. Read more about The long, hot summer has already begun 

Little did we realize, as we departed for home through the gleaming halls of Beirut’s new airport and boarded what turned out to be one of the last flights out, that within days, as Israeli Chief of Staff Dan Halutz put it, the Israeli military would “turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years.” Hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, and untold ingenuity and effort, have been blown to rubble in Israel’s outburst of violence. The airport, highways, bridges, gas stations, power stations, the port, even the modern lighthouse on Beirut’s coastal promenade — all have been devastated in Israel’s lethal tantrum. Read more about And after the attacks in Lebanon and Israel? 

The general surprise that Lebanese civilians are taking the brunt of Israel’s onslaught — and the unwillingness in some quarters of the media to report the fact — reflects a poor understanding of Israel’s historical use of violence. Since its birth six decades ago, Israel has always been officially “going after the terrorists”, but its actions have invariably harmed civilians in an indiscriminate manner. The true reasons are concealed from credulous observers by Israel’s use of Orwellian language. When it says it is destroying the “infrastructure of terror”, Israel means it is crushing all Arab resistance to its territorial ambitions in the region. Read more about Israel's long roll call of dishonour 

Issa Mikel, a spokesperson for the ad hoc coalition against Israeli aggression, said, “Israel must be held accountable for its grave violations of international law, reminiscent of those of the South African apartheid regime. For peace, based on justice, we call on international civil society organizations and people of conscience around the world to carry out broad boycotts, implement divestment initiatives against Israel, and demand their governments impose sanctions on Israel until it ends its apartheid system, respects the sovereignty of its Arab neighbors and the right of refugees to return to their homes and lands, and fully complies with international law.” Read more about 1,500 New Yorkers Demand End to Israel's Attacks on Lebanon and Palestine