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Special Coverage: An Escalating Mideast Crisis

Israel and Hezbollah continued attacks across the Lebanese border on Monday. Dozens are reported dead and injured, most of them in Lebanon, where the number killed since the fighting began is now believed to be over 200.

In a one-hour special report, host Neal Conan and guests discuss the goals of the parties to this conflict, of other countries and factions in the Middle East -- and international players, including the United States, Europe and Russia.

In both Israel and Lebanon, many thousands are seeking safety in bomb shelters, basements or on the road, away from the most dangerous places. Foreign countries, including the United States, made arrangements to evacuate their nationals.

In an interview with Reuters, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Israel has inflicted billions of dollars of damage to the country's infrastructure.

"What Israel has been doing is cutting the country to pieces," Siniora told Reuters in an interview.

In Israel, Prime Mimister Ehud Olmert outlined his conditions: the return of Israel's captured soldiers, a full cease-fire, deployment of the Lebanese army in all of southern Lebanon, and the disarming of Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, the State Department has announced that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intends to visit the volatile region after her return from Russia, where she is attending a Group of Eight summit.

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