Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Battered Lebanon counts the cost of Israeli onslaught: "With countless homes wrecked, 55 bridges destroyed and numerous roads made impassable, factories, hospitals and airports hit and fuel storage facilities destroyed, estimates of the reconstruction cost already run into billions of dollars.
'We know the cost is in billions,' a government spokeswoman said yesterday. 'But it's very difficult to estimate more precisely because there are many places we can't reach.'
The prime minister, Fouad Siniora, has already said he will 'spare no avenue' to to obtain compensation from Israel 'for the barbaric destruction it has inflicted and continues to inflict upon us'.
In imposing an air and sea blockade, Israeli forces have put Beirut airport out of action and damaged two smaller airports, one of them military, and knocked out all the civilian and military radar stations, according to officials.
Israeli forces have also attacked three of the country's main seaports - Beirut, Tripoli and Jamil Gemayel - as well as putting Beirut's lighthouse out of action and hitting an antenna in Tripoli that was vital for maritime operations.
The energy sector has been hit too, with the destruction of 17 fuel stores, four gas stores and the bombing of 12 petrol stations. An electricity generator in Sibline has also been damaged."
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