Escalating tension

Around 4 am last night, we woke up to the sounds of bombs exploding and fighter planes circling. The Israeli air force continues to isolate certain areas of Lebanon by destroying bridges and roads. The bombs fell less than 10 miles away from us. Meanwhile HizbAllah continues to be defiant while the Lebanese government continues to watch from the sidelines.
Our hopes rest on the sea of talks and negotiations going on in the entire region between all the parties. The war of words is definetely at the shouting level, but nobody is really listening or paying attention to what the others are saying. In my opinion, Israel is still restraining itself by not carpet bombing massive civilian areas. Not sure why. Maybe they are afraid to hit there missing soldiers who might be held in a potential target area or maybe they are preparing the ground work for a massive operation. Nevertheless the death toll is rising on both the Lebanese and Israely sides. I am quite sure those innocent civilians do not appreciate this game of cat and mouse.
Other outside parties are weighing in with their own threats. The camps are divided between those who support and those who condemn HizbAllah action and Israel's reaction to it. Rumors of evacuations of foreign nationals are flying. Calls for peace and calm are having no effect yet.
This weekend will be critical in determining whether the situation will be resolved soon with the return, somehow, of the kidnapped Israely soldiers or with the beginning of a major ground offensive.
We hope and pray it is the first scenario that unfolds and that all the suffering comes to a quick end.