"Which, no doubt, is what people will next recommend; anything to divorce Israel's actions from the context in which they are taken."
No sooner said, than done.
Jay.
"The Lebanese government wanted a ceasefire calling for the two captured soldiers to be returned to Israel."
Here's my take on it:
If a bunch of stray israelis attacked Lebanon without authorization of the israeli government in retaliation of a bunch of lebanese without authorization of the lebanese government attacking Israel, one could talk of an "incident" or "crisis".
If the proper israeli army attacks lebanon territories in retaliation of Lebanese troops attacking Israeli territories, one could talk of a "conflict" or, when the whole thing takes a long time, "war".
If the proper israeli army attacks lebanon in retaliation of a bunch of lebanese without the authorization of the lebanese government, one talks of an "attack" or "incursion". (This might change to conflict or war if the lebanese would start to fight back)
As former US DoD chief McNamara said, "Always keep a sense of proportions"