"WE WILL WIN!!! and U, terrorists will be DEAD!!!" said one message signed only "Israel" and posted on the site's guestbook Wednesday.
"God bless you," said a correspondent called Saul who said he was writing from Thailand. "People all round the world are praying for you. One day the AshkeNAZI terrorists [an insulting reference to Jews] will leave and peace will reign again."
The messages to www.bintjbeil.com were posted on the same day that eight Israeli soldiers were killed in fierce fighting with Hizbullah militants around the town. The army said it had killed dozens of "terrorists."
Israel has dubbed the hilltop town the "capital of terror" in southern Lebanon, where the Shia militant group has created a state-within-a-state beyond the control of the Beirut government.
Controlling it has become a priority for Israel since it launched its massive offensive against Lebanon following the July 12 abduction of two soldiers and killing of eight in Hizbullah border attacks.
As their fight for Bint Jbeil entered its fourth day Thursday, the town's website - whose home page declares in a banner headline "Frontier of our soul - Resisting" - also appeared to be holding its own against an onslaught of messages.
The site, in English and Arabic, bills itself a "community directory and forum offering information on politics, culture, education, and activities in Bint Jbeil," and provides links to articles and opinion pieces on Arab issues from newspapers around the world.
It claims to have had more than 5 million visitors since early June. AFP emailed the site with queries about who runs and finances it and whether it has any links to Hizbullah, but received no reply.
The messages to its guestbook came from around the world, but a majority were from Israel, with a good number from Lebanon.
They ranged from calls for the Israeli army to flatten the town, support for the residents, appeals to Hizbullah to stop using people there as human shields, some anti-Semitic remarks, and expressions of despair at the seemingly intractable nature of the Middle East conflict.
Jose from Madrid wrote that "it looks like the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] deserve the word "terrorist" as much or more than Hizbullah." A correspondent from Israel warned Europeans that "you are being fed lies by your media. When the Arabs finish with Israel they will come after you guys. Israel is the Dutch kid with the finger in the dam."
Gamila from Lebanon took Israel's side. "Hello all, the Israelis are right to bomb all because the Hisbaalala [sic] keeping people in their own houses to keep them as a shelter. The Hisbaalala are all murderers."
Max from Tel Aviv struck a conciliatory note. "Bint Jbeil people, our war is not against you but against the snakes you nurtured near your bosom. No matter how long it takes, we will free both you and us from the Hizbullah terrorism."
Janine from the United States echoed many messages when she called for restraint from Israel. "I have no love for Hizbullah, but ... if Israel wants world support, they MUST stop killing innocent people and occupying other's land."
The battle for Bint Jbeil has proved much tougher than the Israelis expected. But they say they are determined to bring it to heel. Few in Israel have forgotten that Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech in 2000 in the town claiming victory in chasing the Israeli army out of southern Lebanon after its 18-year presence there.
© 2006 Agence France-Presse
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