Similarly, many observers have been surprised by the number and range of the weapons being used against Israeli civilians and, in at least one case, against an IDF naval vessel off the Lebanese coast.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: No territory for terrorists

In Lebanon, meanwhile, the beleaguered pro-Western parliamentary majority, which has faced a long insurrection by the Syrian-backed opposition led by the political-cum-military Islamist Shia group, Hizbullah, was further undermined by the arrival off the Lebanese coast of American warships.

ECONOMIST: Arab diplomacy

Mr. THEODORE KATTOUF (Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria): Cities that are considered Lebanese today on the coast, such as Tripoli, Sidon and Tyre, were considered geographically, and even administratively, to be part of Syria.

NPR: The Syria-Lebanon Connection

Qusayr sits astride one route to the Syrian coast and another to the Lebanese border.

CNN: 5 reasons Syria's war suddenly looks more dangerous

Qusayr is a key location because it sits astride one route to the Syrian coast and another to the Lebanese border.

CNN: SHARE THIS

The team, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and working closely with the Lebanese authorities, is visiting and sampling the sites along the country's coast which are thought to present potential risks to human health, wildlife and the wider environment.

CNN: Lebanon counts the cost of conflict

These include anti-aircraft missiles, which could hamper Israel's ability to operate in Lebanese skies, and advanced Yakhont missiles that are used to attack naval ships from the coast.

NPR: Syria News Agency: Israel Strikes Near Damascus

In a scene that could have come straight from a James Bond movie, on June 13, 1987, a wanted Lebanese Islamic terrorist sped in a motorboat toward an 80-foot luxury yacht 13 miles off the coast of Cyprus.

FORBES: Magazine Article