Israeli airstrikes leave massive trail of destruction across Lebanon
Associated PressFor more than 60 days, Lebanese have watched stunned as Israeli strikes smashed into buildings, raising giant explosions and palls of smoke in the heart of the capital and other cities. In the southern city of Tyre, a towering bank of black and white smoke rose from the heart of downtown like a storm front and drifted over the Mediterranean Sea after missiles hit. Israel launched its intensified campaign of bombardment in Lebanon in late September, vowing to cripple Hezbollah and stop its barrages into northern Israel after months of more limited cross-border exchanges between the two sides. The Israeli strikes were heaviest in cities, towns and villages around southern Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has the strongest presence.