First time for hardtalk. Welcome to hardtalk. Im stephen sackur. Israels intensifying Military Assault on lebanon has involved everything from Booby Trapped electronic devices to bunker busting bombs. As the Death Toll mounts, prime Minister Netanyahu says the target isnt the people of lebanon, its the armed militant group hezbollah, which continues to fire rockets into israel. So what, if anything, can the lebanese Government do to stave off a Gaza Style Catastrophe . My guest is lebanons economy minister, Amin Salam. Is his Government the very definition of powerless . Minister Amin Salam in beirut, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you, stephen. Pleasure being with you. Thank you forjoining me. War is happening to lebanon, war is happening to lebanon, minister, and yet war minister, and yet war is the last thing that is the last thing that lebanon wants. Lebanon wants. How does that make how does that make you feel right now . You feel right now . You said it, stephen. You said it, stephen
A warm welcome to the programme. The White House says negotiations with israel over a ceasefire in Southern Lebanon are continuing despite the israeli Governments Rejection of international calls to end hostilities. The us, France And Other Allies have proposed a three week ceasefire. The israeli Prime Minister said the army would keep hitting hezbollah with Full Force until residents of Northern Israel could return to their homes. The french president whos also been heavily involved in negotiations said he would not tolerate Southern Lebanon becoming another gaza. Meanwhile on the ground, strikes have been ongoing in lebanon, with israel saying in the last few hours that its fighterjets have hit around 220 hezbollah targets in the last day. Theyve mainly been in the south, in the eastern Bekaa Valley and in the capital beirut. Around eighty missiles were fired the other way from lebanon into israel. Our first report is from the bbc s Anna Foster in beirut, who witnessed an israeli air