JIM LEHRER: Next, a report from Israel. ITN correspondent Julian Manyon is in Haifa.JULIAN MANYON, ITV News Correspondent: For the Israelis, this is a war fought at long range. While the world worries about the destruction in Lebanon, Israeli commanders say they are determined to change the rules of the game. They believe they can use artillery and air strikes to dismember Hezbollah.
General Shuki Shicker is directing operations at Israel's northern command. Today the general gave ITV News an exclusive insight into Israeli strategy. He says the Israeli forces have behaved with great restraint and could do far more.
GEN. SHUKI SHICKER, Deputy Commander, Israeli Northern Command: For example, Lebanon can suffer from totally darkness. We are not doing it. We can hit water. We can hit other sources. We are not doing it, because we don't want the Lebanese population to suffer because of the behavior of the Hezbollah.
JULIAN MANYON: But you're saying that you could do it if Hezbollah keeps firing long-range missiles?
GEN. SHUKI SHICKER: We can do it, if Hezbollah is shooting long-range missiles. We are ready to escalate if it will be needed to do it; we hope not.
JULIAN MANYON: The air campaign's objective, says the general, is to drive Hezbollah away from the border and force the return of the two captured soldiers. He told me that commando forces are already operating inside Lebanon and more ground troops are standing by.
GEN. SHUKI SHICKER: We are ready for any future actions we will have to take, if we will reach the conclusion that we need them.
JULIAN MANYON: The latest broadcast by Hezbollah leader Sheik Nasrallah has been examined by Israeli experts. They believe he looks severely rattled. Military sources claim they have him cornered in a bunker underneath the ruins of the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut.
The Israeli army insists that its artillery and air campaign is succeeding. It says it's wiped out half of Hezbollah's missiles. And it claims that it's inflicted severe psychological blows on the Hezbollah leadership and is even ready to wipe them out. The coming days will tell if that optimism is justified.
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