Armoured columns and bulldozers have been lined up to go behind the infantry, to clear, clean and level the ground of all Hizbollah. Amid the heavy noise of artillery fire, an Army official tries to be remorseful about what happened in Qana but then adds his twist.

“We learn from the initial investigations that the kids were in a bomb shelter which exploded an hour after the air strikes. Was it that some explosives were hidden in the shelter and blew up later?”

These theories are common here as Israeli soldiers justify their campaign, knowing well that time is short.

“We have eliminated 25 per cent of the Hizbollah, but that’s not enough,” says Rafowicz. After all, the goal is to draw that Litani line.