American and Israeli Ceasefire Gaffe

That 48 hour bombing ceasefire didn't last long. Here's a post from Laura Rozen of War and Piece who was quick last night to notice the confusion:

Scanning the front pages of tomorrow's papers, there's an ominous lack of clarity about what exactly Israel has agreed to do in the next 48 hours, by way of halting air attacks in southern Lebanon in order to investigate what happened at Qana. The State Department says the attacks will be halted in southern Lebanon for 48 hours, and in addition, remaining civilians will have 24 hours to evacuate southern Lebanon (why they couldn't use the whole 48 hours of suspended air attacks isn't clear). Top Israeli military writer Ze'ev Schiff contends it's in Beirut the air strikes will be halted. It's not clear if his piece was written before the State Department announcement.

I've spent the last hour scanning different articles. It's a little confusing out there. Here's one of the latest articles I've found from Forbes:

Lebanese fled north in overflowing trucks and cars Monday, taking advantage of a lull in Israeli bombardment. Israel's prime minister took a tough line, apologizing for the deaths of dozens of Lebanese civilians in a single strike but declaring there will be no cease-fire.

Diplomatic efforts to end the crisis faltered, despite increased world pressure for a cease-fire after the devastating strike in Qana.

Israeli warplanes hit Hezbollah fighters battling with soldiers near the border as the guerrillas fired mortars into Israel. The clashes signaled that the violence was not over, even though an Israeli suspension of most airstrikes in Lebanon - and a pause by the guerrillas on rocket attacks in northern Israel - brought both countries their quietest day since the conflict began three weeks ago.

And here's an earlier article from Yahoo News:

Israel's prime minister declared Monday that there would be no cease-fire with Hezbollah guerrillas, apologizing for the deaths of Lebanese civilians but saying "we will not give up on our goal to live a life free of terror." His Security Cabinet approved widening the ground offensive.

Israeli warplanes hit Hezbollah fighters battling with soldiers near the border as the guerrillas fired mortars into Israel. But an Israeli suspension of most airstrikes in Lebanon — and a pause by the guerrillas on rocket attacks in northern Israel — brought both countries their quietest day since the conflict began three weeks ago.

Lebanese fled north in overflowing trucks and cars. About 200 people — mostly elderly — escaped the border town of Bint Jbail, where Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas fought their bloodiest clashes. Two residents dropped dead on the road out, one of malnutrition, the other of heart failure.

Some survivors described living on a piece of candy a day and dirty water as the fighting raged.

If Israel and Hezbollah keep fighting, how long will it be before Syria enters the fray? And what will Bush do? And if Bush does something, what will Iran and Pakistan do? And what will our troops do if Iraqi Shiites decide to join the fight?

If anyone knows where the adults are, please call them and tell them to come back from their vacation. Definitions of 'terrorism' are rapidly becoming moot. In an age of nuclear weapons, we are rapidly heading for the worst crisis since the age of all-out war in a broad region that holds the world's oil supply. Cooler heads must prevail.