Middle Orient News

Iran’s government has denied Israeli accusations that it played a role in Hezbollah’s seizure of two Israeli soldiers last week – a move that sparked Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

The ban, enforced on Fridays to prevent attacks on mosques during weekly prayers, now covers most of the day.

Speaking at the State Department on Friday, Rice said Hezbollah is the source of the problem in Lebanon and must be disarmed. “We must work urgently to create the conditions for stability and lasting peace,” she said.

Esseily and her husband, Tony, have three children: a 10-month-old, an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. They and 1,000 other American evacuees from Beirut arrived in Cyprus aboard the Navy transport ship USS Nashville early Friday.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was calling up to 6,000 troops for reinforcements along the border as leaflets were dropped urging Lebanese residents to leave their homes and move north of the Litani River 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Israeli border.

We ask questions that might seem extraordinary if our families at home knew we were pondering them. Should we put CNN on top of the car? Does that make us less of a target — or more of one?

Also on Friday, two Israeli Apache attack helicopters crashed in northern Israel after colliding in midair, the Israel Defense Forces said. The pilot was killed and three others on board the copters were injured.

In a Thursday interview with Arabic-language news network Al-Jazeera, Nasrallah accepted responsibility for the Wednesday attack, while conceding that an apology to the family was not sufficient.

On Thursday about 2,250 Americans left Lebanon, and another 3,000 are expected to depart Friday, State Department officials said.

Speaking to CNN from Haifa, Israel, the wife and father of Ehud Goldwasser, 31, and the brother of Eldad Regev, 26,