Situation in Middle East looking no better (if not worse)

The AP reports:

Israel, Hezbollah Seek to Inflict Maximum Damage as U.N. Demands Cease-Fire

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israel and Hezbollah sharply intensified fighting Saturday with airstrikes, rocket attacks and brutal ground fighting — an apparent bid to inflict maximum mutual damage even as the United States and France agreed on a draft U.N. resolution calling for a halt to the violence.

Even if the U.N. Security Council adopts the resolution early next week as expected, the task of winning agreement from the warring parties portended a far more bumpy diplomatic road than the one already traveled.

As it became clear a U.S.-French agreement on the text was drawing near, Israeli-Hezbollah fighting grew particularly intense over the past few days. [More...]

(Latest MSNBC coverage here, and CNN here.)

Finally, Chris Blosser has a Part IV up to his coverage of the Catholic response to this situation.