If the Editor can positively demonstrate to me in what other way the tactics of the Israeli army in this 'mission' have contributed to the goal of securing release for the hostages, I will be extremely impressed.

Thank you, but it is not a feat deserving of such plaudits, for how the Israeli tactics are related to that goal is public knowledge.

The problems facing the Israeli armed forces are primarily as follows: the terrorist organisation Hezbollah, which is heavily armed, trained and financed by Iran and Syria, dominates southern Lebanon and from that base has been murdering and kidnapping Israelis. The murder, currently being committed by means of salvoes of missiles aimed at population centres, is done mainly for its own sake, and the kidnapping has the additional intention of forcing Israel to release other murderers, foremost among whom is Samir Kuntar [please read that link if you have not already done so], whom it would be a crime to release.

A severe constraint on Israel's options is that it would be immoral to obtain the release of the current hostages by means that strengthen Hezbollah both materially and in its ideology, and hence cause more hostage-taking and other crimes in the future. In order to have the best chance of rescuing the hostages while at the same time reducing the ability of Hezbollah to commit crimes, Israel is taking military action against Hezbollah. Tactically, the most urgent thing to do is to make it as difficult as possible for Hezbollah to take the following measures: (1) move freely between South Lebanon and safe havens such as Syria and other areas in Lebanon. (2) Obtain replacement supplies of heavy equipment from their sponsors. (3) Move the hostages, especially to Iran but also from place to place in Lebanon. (4) Fire their missiles. (5) Take more hostages. To achieve this, Israel has set up a blockade of Southern Lebanon, and to some extent of Lebanon as a whole. They have bombed the road to Syria, placed warships off the Lebanese coast, and disabled Beirut airport. Within the blockaded area, and also within the Hezbollah-controlled area of Beirut, they have also attacked missile launching sites, missile storage sites, Hezbollah headquarters, and Hezbollah leaders. They have not attacked civilians at all.

Civilisan casualties have occurred almost entirely because Hezbollah, like all Israel's enemies, exploits the matchless moral scrupulousness of the Israelis by systematically using civilian human shields. Israel has warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate certain areas temporarily, and is giving them time to leave, precisely in order to minimise casualties among them.