Iranian Volunteers Amass

Iranian volunteers are beginning to amass in Tehran today. They are part of a group that will join about 200 other volunteers later today near the border of Turkey. They are preparing to make their way into Lebanon by way of Turkey and Syria by the end of this week to help reinforce Hezbollah militia in what the AP described today as a Holy War against Israel.

The BBC and the AP are both reporting that although Iran will not supply troops, they will "not attempt to stop volunteer guerrillas" from heading to Lebanon.

The news comes a day after Isreal suffered it's worse loss since the war began nearly three weeks ago. While attempting to secure the Southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbail, Isreali troops were surprised by a Hezbollah offensive. By the end of the fight, eight Israeli soldiers were dead and 27 injured. It was widely assumed Hezbollah would use such guerilla tactics against Israel, and comes as a surprise to many why Israeli troops were caught so offguard yesterday.

However, Israel seems poised to face a new challenge should Iranian volunteers enter Lebanon by way of Syria, though they deny they will expand the war into Syria should this happen.

Syria and Iran are the main supporters, militarily and financially, of Hezbollah.