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Originally Posted by Undertoad
If it was tactical, they cratered the runways and took out some of the infrastructure needed to get people in and out, such as roads leading to the airport.
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There was no tactical value to cratering the Beirut airport. Israel expected to drive out Hezbollah in two weeks. Massive military equipment from that airport and carried south was not going to resupply Hezbollah. Airport was attacked probably for same reasons that even cities northern Lebanon were attacked. For some strange reason, Israel was bombing innocent Lebanese while publicly demanding that Lebanon's army displace Hezbollah. Somehow Israel thought this would make the Lebanon army move on Hezbollah? Yes, if Lebanon blamed Hezbollah for the war. Apparently Israel actually thought that Lebanese people would blame Hezbollah.
Sounds like a decision in Israel made by a compromising committee. Well it did get Fouad Siniora's and the world's attention in a war that otherwise might have otherwise received less attention. But attacking the airport had little if any tactical purpose other than stop all commercial flights and getting attention of all in Lebanon - the airport being a crown jewel and so critical to almost all Lebanon's economy. Israel was attacking innocent Lebanese; done for a purpose. It also caused so many centrists throughout the world to start discussing "Guns of August".