leader later called for talks on prisoner exchange which was officially rejected by Olmert. However it was widely believed that negotiations were underway with Egypt as mediator. Israel called together an emergency cabinet meeting, during which Prime Minister Olmert said that it held the Beirut government responsible for the attack, vowing that it would pay a "heavy price" for the attacks, adding "The Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah is a part, is trying to shake regional stability". Plans to locate "thousands" of reserve troops were also announced. Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz also said that "the State of Israel sees itself free to use all measures that it finds it needs, and the [Israeli Forces] have been given orders in that direction." The United Nations envoy to the region, Geir Pedrson, condemned the Hezbollah action and called on Hezbollah to release the soldiers. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denied any knowledge of the raid and stated that he did not condone it. An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position. Hezbollah's action aroused varying reactions among Lebanese political forces. It was harshly criticised by many members of the largely anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, while Michel Aoun, despite his understanding with the party, declared that he supported the government's position. In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of air and artillery strikes at positions in southern Lebanon, generally seen as the support base for Hezbollah. Israeli General Dan Halutz threatened to "turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years" in a reference to the destruction Lebanon suffered in its bloody civil war. Israeli troops later bombed a main road in the south of Lebanon leaving two civilians dead, and a series of air-raids followed during the night which also targeted the civilian infrastructure. Israel said that they were trying to prevent the captured soldiers from being removed to Iran. Thursday, July 13 On Thursday, July 13, Israel began implementing a land and sea blockade on Lebanon. The Beirut International Airport (the sole international airport in Lebanon) was bombed, forcing all international flights to be diverted to Cyprus. The Israeli army said the airport had been used to smuggle in weapons to Hezbollah. Many roads and bridges were struck by Israel, essentially cutting off the predominantly Shia southern Lebanon from the Capital in Beirut.Warplanes also bombed the road to Damascus, the capital of Syria, and struck a bridge in a