Don't stop until Hizbollah destroyed: Israelis

HAIFA, Israel, July 19: Israelis want their army to smash Hizbollah, pure and simple.

Stunned by the wave of rocket attacks from the Lebanese guerrilla group, shocked by its long-range arsenal and angry the world has done little about it, Israelis are rallying behind Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his offensive in Lebanon.

Most want the military to hunt down Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and kill him.

''We are killing those we need to kill,'' said Hanna Dehan, 60, speaking near the city of Haifa, where eight people were killed on Sunday when a Hizbollah rocket hit a train station.

A poll published yesterday showed that 86 per cent of Israelis believed the army's attacks on Lebanon were justified.

The air raids have killed 230 people, all but 26 of them civilians.

Around a million Israelis across the country's north hve been forced into bomb shelters or fled to towns further south.

Some of those under fire show little sympathy for Lebanese civilians caught in Israeli air strikes.

''Why do they warn people there to leave buildings. Do they bother to warn us before they fire a rocket?'' asked Ron Katz, 35, in a Haifa bomb shelter, referring to leaflets dropped on Lebanon warning people to flee before attacks.

Israel launched its offensive after Hizbollah abducted two soldiers and killed eight more in a raid a week ago. Since then, Israel has inflicted the heaviest damage on Lebanon since its 1982 invasion to expel Palestinian guerrillas.

Hizbollah has responded by attacking an Israeli naval vessel off Beirut, killing four sailors, and firing more than 700 rockets across the border, killing 12 civilians.

ECHOES OF SHARON The poll published in the mass circulation Yedioth Ahronoth daily yesterday showed 58 per cent of Israelis believed the offensive should continue until the army killed Nasrallah.

Only 17 per cent said Israel should stop fighting and start negotiations.

''Nothing is open, everyone is indoors,'' said Motti Ochana, 39, a customs official in Haifa. ''We need to do what it takes.'' The survey said 78 per cent of Israelis believed Olmert's handling of the crisis was good or very good.

Israeli analyst Gerald Steinberg said traditional Israeli right and left divisions had been shelved, with support similar to that which former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon enjoyed when he used full force against a Palestinian uprising.

''Israelis absolutely perceive there to be a threat, especially with this Iran backing. You see images of Nasrallah mocking Israel, denying Israel's right to exist,'' he said.

Writing in the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, Yoel Marcus said: ''To use a phrase that Sharon was fond of, we could say that we're looking at one of Israel's most justified wars.'' Even in Israel's parliament, where shouting matches are a daily event, there was silence when Olmert delivered what some in Israel are calling a stirring wartime speech on Monday.

''They all listened -- Arabs and Jews, religious and secular, men and women,'' wrote Ben Caspit in the Ma'ariv daily.

Reuters