Until last week, Beirutis had begun to think of air-raids as a thing of the past. Then, on June 24th, Israeli jets bombed two suburban power plants, leaving Beirut in darkness save for feeble flashes from the Lebanese army's out-dated anti-aircraft guns. In the morning, many residents found that their landlords had sold their stand-by generators, assuming they would have no more need of them. In the three years since the occupying Israeli forces and the guerrillas fighting to expel them from southern Lebanon accepted a pact to minimise civilian casualties, Beirut had been spared any bombing. Now, with the summer-tourism season just beginning, only generator salesmen are relaxed.
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