Israel Bears Down On Two Fronts

Hezbollah TV Hit In Lebanon; Foreign Ministry Bombed In Gaza

(CBS/AP)  Israel – on the trail of captured soldiers - struck bombed the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Gaza Thursday, and then in Lebanon, imposed a naval blockade and attacked both the airport and the Hezbollah TV station.

The U.S. is supporting Israel in its push, calling it a reaction to terrorism; Russia has condemned Israel's actions, but is also calling for the release of the captured soldiers.

In the midst of the violence, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah, for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Koizumi, who on Wednesday met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, is pushing for restraint between the Palestinians and Israelis.

In Gaza, the airstrike on the Foreign Ministry badly damaged the building and nearby homes and vehicles, and injured 13 people who lived in the neighborhood.

The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out an airstrike on the ministry, noting that it is "led by Hamas." Israel's offensive is aimed primarily at Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the capture of a soldier in a cross-border raid on June 25.

Israel has rejected demands that it release hundreds of prisoners in exchange for the soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19.

Israeli officials on Thursday accused Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of having known in advance of the militants' plot to attack an Israeli outpost and seize soldiers.

Zahar "is part of a leadership that is involved in a very tangible way in terrorism and in violence," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "He had knowledge of the recent hostage taking, and he is part of a leadership that has orchestrated ... countless missile attacks against Israeli urban areas."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Taher al-Nunu accused Israel of carrying out "organized terrorism that targets all the Palestinian people and aims to exterminate all government institutions, one after another, to prevent them from carrying out their duties." He said no one was in the building when the plane struck after 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

In other recent developments:

An Islamic Jihad militant was killed and another wounded in an Israeli airstrike before daybreak Thursday in southern Gaza, where Israeli troops started an incursion a day earlier. Palestinians said they were about to fire a rocket at a tank when they were hit. Four militants were wounded in an earlier airstrike there.

Wednesday, an Israeli F-16 warplane dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a house where militant leaders were meeting in Gaza City, killing nine people and wounding 37. A Hamas militant leader who has topped Israel's most-wanted list for a decade was badly wounded and underwent four hours of spinal surgery, security officials said. The fugitive, Mohammed Deif, could end up paralyzed, Palestinian security officials said on condition of anonymity. Wednesday's blast marked the army's fourth attempt to kill Deif, held responsible for suicide bombings in Israel. In a 2002 missile strike, he lost an eye.

Israeli troops killed at least 14 other Palestinians in four separate incidents on Wednesday, including Israeli tank fire and a gunfight in the central Gaza Strip. More than 60 Palestinians have been killed thus far in the offensive, most of them gunmen, but about a dozen have been civilians. One Israeli soldier also has died, shot by fellow troops.

In Lebanon, Israel's military campaign is the heaviest in 24 years.

The Israeli attacks in south Lebanon alone killed 35 civilians and wounded 52 more, Lebanese security officials said. A family of 10 and another family of seven were killed in their homes in the village of Dweir near Nabatiyeh, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said his forces would not allow Hezbollah guerrillas to occupy positions along the southern Lebanese border.

"If the government of Lebanon fails to deploy its forces, as is expected of a sovereign government, we shall not allow Hezbollah forces to remain any further on the borders of the state of Israel," Peretz said.

Lebanon has long refused to deploy more than a limited number of security forces in the border region, saying it is not in business of protecting Israel's northern border.

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©MMVI CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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