Tales from the South, sort of…

TYRE — Greetings everyone. I’m in Tyre at the moment, about as close to the front line as you can get if you’re not an active fighter. The growl of Israeli jets overhead is constant, as is the whine of the surveillance drones. Every morning since I’ve been here, I’ve heard the thump-thump sound of the pamphlets being dropped by jets.
To the south, along the curve of the coast, Hezbollah is launching Katyushas, but I’m loathe to say too much about them. The Party of God has a copy of every journalist’s passport, and they’ve already hassled a number of us and threatened one.
Most villages across the south are now inaccessible because the Israelis have turned many of the roads around the cities into kill zones. “Two ambulances were hit Sunday night”:http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/25/MNGJCK4N0A1.DTL&hw=allbritton&sn=001&sc=1000. Last night, the Israelis hit the United Nations post at Khiam, site of an infamous prison run by Israel’s proxy army during its occupation, the Southern Lebanese Army.
With all that, I’d like to provide some links to recent stories I’ve done. My internet connection is very bad here, and I’m unable to get online much. My apologies. I’m also not able to get the larger story, as my access to the wires and what’s happening is limited. But here they are:
* “War with Israel helps bridge sectarian divide”:http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/23/MNG98K42651.DTL&hw=allbritton&sn=002&sc=420
* “Road to Nowhere”:http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1218556,00.html
* “Fleeing Bint Jbail”:http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1218838,00.html
* “Hezbollah Nation”:http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1218049,00.html
More later, inshallah. I am well, and Tyre would be beautiful under better conditions.