On Scene: A ride along with peacekeepers trying to deliver humanitarian aid in South Lebanon shows how tough a fight Hizballah is putting up.

The sleek lines of the Israeli Merkava tank protrude from behind an olive tree at the end of a track of churned earth, its barrel pointing menacingly at the border road. But this tank is harmless, a burnt-out and abandoned victim of Hizballah's deadly anti-armor missiles. The detritus of a hasty departure lies around the fire blackened tank — a green canvas army sack covered in dried blood, discarded food wrappers with Hebrew inscriptions and several broken stretchers.

A mile further down the potholed and shell-scarred border road is Aitta Shaab, a bastion of Hizballah support, now deserted, which has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting between Israeli forces and Hizballah fighters. It was in the rolling brush-covered terrain south of the village that Hizballah fighters punched through the border fence to snatch two Israeli soldiers nearly a month ago, triggering Israel's onslaught against Lebanon.