From the New York Times:

  • In what I consider to be a truly extraordinary statement, the Saudi government blamed Hezbollah for adventurism and called on it to end the crisis. It will be interesting to see what other Arab governments now have to say.

    A distinction must be made between legitimate resistance and uncalculated adventures taken by elements inside Lebanon and those behind them without recourse to the legal authorities or consulting and coordinating with Arab nations . . . These elements should bear the responsibility for their irresponsible actions and they alone should end the crisis they have created.

  • In response to a new barrage of rockets today, Isaac Herzog, a member of the Israeli security cabinet, said

    We’ve decided to put an end to this saga and to change the rules of the game whereby a terrorist organization that is part of the Lebanese government can push the region to the abyss.

  • Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, a member of the general staff:

    We want to put Hezbollah out of business. We want to force the Lebanese government to take responsibility and deploy along the border and dismantle Hezbollah, which if it is allowed, will prevent any stabilization and peace process in the Middle East.

    There are many ways of pushing them [Hezbollah] back from the border . . . The ground forces are ready. We’re prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that the previous situation will not return. No one will tolerate the presence of Hezbollah forces along the border, operating freely as a state within a state, operating against Israel as it pleases and holding Israelis hostage, choosing when to pull the trigger.

  • A senior Israeli politician:

    In Lebanon and Gaza we took unilateral steps and withdrew and thought we’d have tranquility. They interpreted it as continued weakness, and we are determined to break this pattern.

From the Wall Street Journal:

  • For the first time in the Israeli assault, strikes targeted residential neighborhoods in south Beirut, a stronghold of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah’s leadership. Hezbollah said the Beirut residence and office of its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, had been destroyed, but that he and his family were safe.

  • Lebanese guerrillas fired a barrage of Katyusha rockets throughout the day, hitting more than a dozen communities across northern Israel.

  • Hezbollah hit an Israeli warship in Lebanese waters that had been firing missiles into southern Beirut.

  • Lebanon’s Western-backed prime minister asked Bush, during a phone call Friday, to pressure Israel for a cease-fire. Mr. Bush told Prime Minister Fuad Saniora that Israelis have a right to protect themselves.