Israel Mobilizes For Lebanon Offensive

(CBS/AP)  Hezbollah fighters launched a raid into Israel and captured two Israeli soldiers Wednesday, triggering an Israeli assault with warplanes, gunboats and ground troops in southern Lebanon to hunt for the captives.

The Israeli army said three soldiers were killed in the initial raid, and four others were killed when their tank went over a land mine in southern Lebanon.

Israel also reported it killed another Hezbollah guerrilla as he tried to infiltrate a military base in northern Israel during a second raid.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the first Hezbollah raid "an act of war" and held the Lebanese government responsible, vowing that the Israeli response "will be restrained, but very, very, very painful."

The Israeli military planned to call up thousands of reservists. Residents of Israeli towns on border with Lebanon were ordered to seek cover in underground bomb shelters.

Israel's forces are now fighting on two fronts, after the kidnap of an Israeli soldier by Palestinians in Gaza two weeks ago prompted an offensive in Gaza, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.

CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan reports an air strike targeting Hamas commanders killed a Palestinian family of nine — including seven children.

"As bodies were pulled from the rubble here, you could feel the crowd, the anger of the crowd," Logan said in an exclusive report from the scene.

After initially claiming that its leaders had escaped harm, Hamas militants took over the intensive care unit of Gaza City's main hospital, where doctors said seven militants were in critical condition. The gunmen barred reporters from entering the unit and refused to say who was being treated.

Israel said it launched the air strike in the Sheik Radwan neighborhood, a Hamas stronghold, because Hamas commanders there were planning more attacks on Israel. Israel also said the home it attacked was a "meeting place for terrorists."

The Israeli army said its most wanted terrorist, Mohammed Deif was wounded, but Hamas denied it. Deif has narrowly escaped several assassination attempts in the past.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, on a visit to Rome, condemned the Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, reports CBS News correspondent Sabina Castelfranco. He also demanded the immediate release of kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, on a visit to Cairo, said the capture of the two Israeli soldiers was "a very dangerous escalation" that "puts at risk all the effort that's being put forth by many to find a solution to the current situation."

Britain blamed Hezbollah for this latest escalation of mideast violence, condemning the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers and the shelling of Israel, but said it wants a measured and proportionate Israeli response. France echoed that, reports CBS News correspondent Larry Miller, calling for the soldiers' unconditional release. Germany described the Hezbolah raid as an "irresponsible new escalation." There was support for Hezbollah from Syria, which claimed the "occupation provokes the Palestinians."

• 1
• 2
• Next Page »