Hezbollah Attack "Act Of War" By Lebanon?

[Updated at bottom.]

That's how Israeli P.M. Olmert characterizes it.

Seven IDF soldiers were killed Wednesday in a Hizbullah attack on IDF forces patrolling the Lebanese border, it was released for publication.

Three soldiers riding in a Hummer jeep were also killed, while two other soldiers in the same jeep were kidnapped.

Four other soldiers died when the tank in which they were riding rode over a bomb, which detonated in a massive explosion. The force of the blast ripped the tank apart, and IDF forces were searching for the remains. All of the soldiers' families have been notified.

Wednesday morning's attacks, which occurred 17 days after IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was abducted in Gaza, opened a second front on Israel's northern border, including barrages of Katyusha rockets and mortar shells.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared the attack as an "act of war" and not terror. During a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Wednesday afternoon, he called it an unprovoked assault by a sovereign nation and held Lebanon, where Hizbullah has a minister in the government, fully responsible.

In the cold calculations of the roiling furnace that is the Middle East, few cool heads are to be found.

Some days, it's easy to think there's not an ice cube's shot in hell that a solution can ever be found to quell the flames.

Update: Israel launches strikes and ground troops against Lebanon in response.