According to a report in the Sunday edition of the Washington Post, Hizbullah did not expect a 34-day war with Israel when it captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12. According to the report, a few hours after the border raid, Lebanon's prime minister summoned Hussein Khalil, an aide to Hizbullah's leader, to his office in Beirut's downtown. "What have you done?" Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asked him.
Khalil reassured him, according to an account by two officials briefed by Siniora, one of whom later confirmed it with the prime minister. "It will calm down in 24 to 48 hours."
Siniora was skeptical. He pointed to the Gaza Strip, which Israeli forces had stormed after Palestinian groups captureded an Israeli soldier less than three weeks earlier. Israeli warplanes had blasted bridges and Gaza Strip's main power station. Khalil replied "Lebanon is not Gaza."
