From The NY Times
By Hassan N. Fattah

Israel extended punishing airstrikes deeper inside Lebanon today, as President Bush rebuffed a Lebanese request that he push Israel for a cease-fire.

Israeli warplanes hit areas in Beirut’s suburbs that are linked to the militant group Hezbollah, cut the main highway between the capital and Damascus in Syria, and struck power plants near Beirut and a Palestinian training camp near the Syrian border.

This evening, Hezbollah’s television station reported that the office and home of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had been destroyed by Israeli bombs.

Subsequently, CNN carried what was reported to be a speech by Mr. Nasrallah in which he voiced defiance about the Israeli attacks. Referring to Israel’s leaders as Zionists he said, If you want a war, it will be an open war.

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