With regard to the current military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, I can understand Israel needs to defend itself and take action against those responsible for acts of violence against its citizens.

I am at a loss, though, to understand why Israel is destroying the entire infrastructure of Lebanon through excessive aerial bombing.

It seems the Lebanese people are being punished for having Hezbollah in their country.

The United Nations accepts a military response in proportion to acts of aggression is acceptable.

What is happening in Lebanon, though, is out of proportion. A third of the dead so far are children and many more are injured. Almost all the dead and injured are civilians.

There are about 500,000 refugees on the move at the moment, finding shelter where they can and without regular food and water.

I am in touch by mobile phone and email with an Arab friend in Beirut who spends her spare time at a local charity putting together essential food packs for refugees. She lives in north Beirut and is afraid, once evacuation of foreign nationals is complete, all hell will break loose.

Once again her country is being destroyed and traumatised.

It must be a nightmare to be under any kind of attack but one where your country is being systematically and indiscriminately destroyed by bombs must be the kind of horror most of us cannot begin to imagine.

-Mark Emery, The Winter Knoll, Littlehampton