BEIRUT: Most of the time in Beirut, the bombs come without warning. Occasionally, above the hooting of cars and other street noises, you hear the roar of an invisible plane. Then there’s a loud bang, perhaps two of three in quick succession. Sometimes it’s more of a muffled thud, and sometimes you hear nothing at all. Sound and blast travel in strange ways, especially when there are buildings around.
Judging by the TV over the weekend, the picture in Israel is rather different. There, at least, they have warnings of attacks and people try to take shelter.
Another difference in Israel is that Hezbullah’s rockets are not very accurate. They seem to be aimed in a general direction, not at any specific target, and so, in a way, this makes them much more alarming because no one can be sure where they will land.
Israel, with its high-tech weaponry, on the other hand, is aiming at precise targets in Lebanon and often hits them with pinpoint accuracy. Sometimes its choice of targets is difficult to understand. Why, for example, did the military send a helicopter specially to put out the light in Beirut’s lighthouse? There are also serious questions about its attacks on civilian vehicles, one of which killed nine children on Saturday.
The result, though, is that in general Lebanon can be divided into areas that are vulnerable to attack and those which are comparatively safe. This may change, but in the meantime it is causing a huge upheaval as people flee to safer areas.
A further striking difference, when you compare the pictures from Israel and Lebanon, is that Israeli weapons are far more destructive than those of Hezbullah, though you might not realise that if you watch CNN — an issue that bloggers have begun to comment on.
Viewed from Lebanon, the TV coverage of destruction in Israel, in terms of the amount and the tone, seems wildly out of proportion compared with what is happening across the border.
There are various reasons for this (especially the problems of travel and access in southern Lebanon) but Israeli officials are also more adept than their Lebanese counterparts in maximising the media coverage.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service
BEIRUT: Most of the time in Beirut, the bombs come without warning. Occasionally, above the hooting of cars and other street noises, you hear the roar of an invisible plane. Then there’s a loud bang, perhaps two of three in quick succession. Sometimes it’s more of a muffled thud, and sometimes you hear nothing at all. Sound and blast travel in strange ways, especially when there are buildings around.
