A DISTANT, muffled thump echoes in the hills and valleys of south Lebanon as yet another bridge is struck by Israeli aircraft and sent into the shallow waters of the Litani river.

Israel pressed ahead yesterday with its harshest campaign of air raids in ten years, punishment for Hezbollah’s abduction of two Israeli soldiers and killing of another eight.

Roads and river bridges were hit repeatedly, effectively severing the beleaguered south from the rest of the country. The Litani is Lebanon’s longest river and cuts through much of the south. By mid-afternoon, it had become impossible to enter the border district along the coastal route. Tens of thousands of civilians were stranded, as were United Nations peacekeepers deployed along the border.

In return Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets deep into Israel, most of them conventional 122mm Katyushas with a range of 12 miles. In the evening the party appeared to fulfil a threat made earlier in the day to attack Haifa, which is 18 miles south of the border and deeper in Israel than Hezbollah has struck before. Although one spokesman rapidly denied responsibility, Hussein Naboulsi, a Hezbollah official, hinted at a long-range rocket attack earlier. He told The Times: “So far we have not used the weapons that we are supposed to use. But if the situation escalates, something totally unexpected might happen to Israel.”

Hardly reassuring words, either for Israel or for the Lebanese, many of whom had hoped fervently to have seen the last of their country being dragged again into the festering Arab-Israeli conflict.

Nabatiyeh, a normally bustling market town, looked deserted, with shops closed and shuttered. The celebrations in Shia Muslim villages that had greeted the news that Hezbollah had captured and killed Israeli troops had turned into grim defiance. In an area where Hezbollah support remains strong, few residents would openly question the wisdom of the kidnapping operation.

“Hezbollah is an honour for us. Israel uses force and only understands force in return,” said Adib Tarhina, 49.

Hezbollah is represented in the Lebanese Government by a single minister who, along with four ministerial allies in the 15-member Cabinet, ensures that the party has a powerful say in decisions. It is backed by the majority of Lebanese Shia, having cut astute deals with other non-Shia politicians to broaden its support. The stark fact for the Government is that it lacks the political strength to restrain Hezbollah and the physical — the Lebanese Army is no match for the party’s military wing.

Yet while Lebanon is being battered by Israel’s war machine, even Hezbollah’s political enemies in Lebanon have been relatively muted in their criticism of the incursion and capture of soldiers.

Cabinet ministers opposed to Hezbollah have bitten their lips and focused instead on demanding a ceasefire to end Israeli attacks. “Lebanon’s main demand is a comprehensive ceasefire and an end to this open-ended aggression,” said Ghazi Aridi, the Information Minister and a close political ally of the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a staunch critic of Hezbollah.

Israel abandoned its occupation zone in south Lebanon in 2000 and after Syria’s withdrawal of troops last year, many Lebanese had hoped that despite the fraught political climate, the situation would steadily improve. Tourists have been visiting in greater numbers with each passing year since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Lebanon’s stagnant economy relies heavily on the influx of wealthy Gulf tourists and expatriate Lebanese who come here each year, filling hotels and beaches.

“The services sector in Lebanon has worked so hard trying to generate some kind of industry and now this has to happen,” says Michael Karam, editor of Executive, the business magazine. “They are looking to the Lebanese Government for some kind of leadership but they aren’t getting it.”

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