Patrick Leahy: “since July 12th we have watched with growing horror as hundreds of Hezbollah rockets have landed deeper and deeper…”

“since July 12th we have watched with growing horror as hundreds of Hezbollah rockets have landed deeper and deeper inside Israel, indiscriminately killing and injuring civilians, and Israeli bombs, missiles and artillery shells have destroyed much of the civilian infrastructure in areas of Beirut and southern Lebanon. Some 550 Lebanese have died, the vast majority of them civilians, and an estimated 866,000 one in five Lebanese citizens have fled their homes and are either displaced in Lebanon, living in schools and public buildings, or as refugees in Syria. Fifty Israelis have died, and in Haifa and other towns in the north many families are living in terror in basements or shelters. Meanwhile, three Israeli soldiers remain as hostages and their families remain in anguish hostages held in violation of the Geneva Conventions and every other international norm. In another sense, Hezbollah and its supporters Syria and Iran are holding the entire population of Lebanon hostage. Of the 26,000 American citizens who were living in or visiting Lebanon when this crisis began, more than 12,000 have been evacuated, and the exodus continues. The cost to the U.S. Government of this air and sea lift is expected to be at least $46 million. The evacuation took too long to get started, and the delay and confusion caused a lot of frustration and anxiety among Americans in Lebanon as well as their families back home.…”