By BENJAMIN HARVEY, AP
ON THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER (July 22) - Israeli tanks, bulldozers and armored personnel carriers knocked down a fence and barreled over the Lebanese border Saturday as forces seized a village from the Hezbollah guerrilla group.
Early Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck Sidon, targeting a religious building run by a Shiite Muslim cleric close to Hezbollah in their first hit inside the southern port city, currently swollen with refugees from fighting further south.
Also Sunday, a huge explosion reverberated across Beirut, apparently caused by an Israeli air raid on the capital's southern suburbs.
At least four people were wounded in the airstrike that targeted Sidon for the first time since Israel launched its massive military offensive against Lebanon and Hezbollah guerrillas July 12, hospital officials said.
On Saturday, Israeli soldiers battled militants and raided the large village of Maroun al-Ras in several waves before finally taking control, military officials said. Tens of thousands of Lebanese fleeing north packed into Sidon to escape the fighting as the United Nations warned of a growing humanitarian "disaster."
The growing use of ground forces, 11 days into the fighting, signaled Israeli recognition that airstrikes alone were not enough to force Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon. But a ground offensive carries greater risks to Israel, which already has lost 18 soldiers in the recent fighting. It also threatens to exacerbate already trying conditions for Lebanese civilians in the area.
Israeli military officials have said they want to push Hezbollah beyond the Litani River, about 20 miles north of the border, with the Lebanese army deploying in the border zone. An Israeli radio station that broadcasts to southern Lebanon warned residents of 13 villages to flee north by Saturday afternoon. The villages form a corridor about 4 miles wide and 11 miles deep.
With Lebanese fearing an escalation in the battle, international officials worked to end the conflict.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was set to arrive in the Middle East on Sunday, though she ruled out a quick cease-fire as a "false promise."
President Bush said his administration's diplomatic efforts would focus on finding a strategy for confronting Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian backers.
"Secretary Rice will make it clear that resolving the crisis demands confronting the terrorist group that launched the attacks and the nations that support it," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Italy, which has been trying to mediate an end to the fighting, said it would hold a conference Wednesday to work out the basis for a truce agreement. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed a beefed-up U.N. force along the Lebanese border, but Israel has called for the Lebanese army to take control of the area.
Annan said the conflict had displaced at least 700,000 Lebanese so far, and Israel's destruction of bridges and roads has made access to them difficult.
"I'm afraid of a major humanitarian disaster," he told CNN.
U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said it would take more than $100 million to help the displaced. He said he would make an appeal "urging, begging" the international community for contributions.
As part of an effort to avert such a crisis, Israel eased its blockade of Lebanon's ports to allow the first shiploads of aid to arrive. It remained unclear how that aid would get to the isolated towns and villages where the fighting has been centered.
Israel has attacked mostly with airstrikes, but small units have crossed the border in recent days and fought with Hezbollah fighters.
A far larger force of about 2,000 troops entered the area Saturday trying to root out Hezbollah bunkers and destroy hidden rocket launchers.
The troops, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, raced past a U.N. outpost and headed into Maroun al-Ras. Gunfire could be heard coming from the village, and artillery batteries in Israel also fired into the area.
"The forces have completed, more or less, their control of the area of the village, Maroun al-Ras, and made lots of hits against terrorists," said Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz, chief of Israel's ground forces. "It was a difficult fight that continued for not a short time."
Dozens of Hezbollah fighters were injured or killed in the battle, Gantz said. Hezbollah said two of its fighters were killed Saturday, bringing the total number of acknowledged Hezbollah fighters killed to eight. Israel accuses the group of vastly underreporting its casualties.
The village was strategically important because it overlooked an area where Hezbollah had command posts, Gantz said. The forces seized a cache of weapons and rockets in a village mosque, he added. The village is believed to be a launching point for the rocket attacks on northern Israel.
At one point, a half-ton bomb was dropped on a Hezbollah outpost, about 500 yards from the border and near the village. Other positions were bombarded by Israeli gunboats off the coast.
About 32 residents took refuge at the U.N. observers post. Nearly the entire remaining population of the village - which numbered about 2,300 before the crisis broke out - were believed to have fled, Lebanese security officials said.
Some of the invading forces returned to Israel during the day. U.N. peacekeepers and witnesses said Israel also briefly held the nearby village of Marwaheen before pulling back.
About 35,000 fleeing Lebanese filled Sidon as they searched for a place to stay or a way to get farther north.
"I'm afraid a disaster is going to happen with all these refugees. There's no aid, not from other nations, not from Lebanon," Mayor Abdul-Rahman al-Bizri said.
More than 200,000 Lebanese fled to Syria, according to the Syrian Red Crescent.
A steady stream of foreign nationals boarded ships and planes Saturday to take them away. U.S. officials said more than 7,500 Americans had been evacuated from Lebanon by Saturday night.
"Everybody's crying and kissing and wishing you well, and you have to turn and leave. We have the chance to get out, but they don't," said Susan Abu Hamdan, 44, of Northville, Mich., who was visiting her siblings in Beirut.
The Israeli army said it wanted to completely destroy all Hezbollah infrastructure in an area between a half-mile and two miles from the border, but it had no intention of going deeper into Lebanon.
"We really want to knock out Hezbollah in this area," said Capt. Jacob Dallal, an army spokesman. "We want to wipe them out, and we don't intend for them to ever be there again."
A senior Israeli military official confirmed that Israel did not plan to reoccupy southern Lebanon as it did in 1982-2000 to create a buffer zone to protect northern Israel.
Israel's current offensive began July 12 when Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed three others in a cross-border raid.
Israeli airstrikes on Saturday blasted communications and television transmission towers in the central and northern Lebanese mountains, knocking the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. off the air and killing one person at the station.
The death toll in Lebanon rose to at least 372, Lebanese authorities said.
Over the past 11 days, Hezbollah has launched nearly 1,000 rockets into Israel, killing 15 civilians and sending hundreds of thousands of others fleeing into bunkers. At least 132 rockets landed in Israel on Saturday, wounding 20 people, three seriously, rescue officials said.
A total of 19 Israeli troops have been killed in the fighting so far.
Hezbollah also fired at the army base of Nurit in Israel, wounding one soldier, the army said.
Israel's call for Lebanese to leave much of the area south of the Litani River caused many to fear that a far deeper Israeli ground incursion was being planned, an offensive that would almost certainly lead to far higher casualties.
More than 400,000 people live south of the Litani. Though tens of thousands have left, many are believed still there, trapped by the damaged roads or by fear of being caught in an airstrike.
7/22/2006 19:31:27 EDT
CRISIS in the MIDDLE EAST
Moderators: Cell_Leader, ikaotiki, Julstar
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theone666
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Israeli jets bomb Lebanese cities
Sunday, 23 July 2006, 04:48 GMT 05:48 UK
Israeli warplanes have struck at suspected Hezbollah sites in the south Lebanese port city of Sidon and suburbs of the capital, Beirut.
The air strikes come a day after Israel said it had taken the village of Maroun al-Ras, said to be a rocket base, after days of heavy fighting with militants.
Hezbollah said the village was the scene of an "epic battle".
As thousands of people try to leave southern Lebanon, the United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis.
Its humanitarian chief is en route to Beirut, as the UN seeks to secure safe routes out for fleeing civilians.
The UN's Jan Egeland said half a million people needed assistance - and the number was likely to increase.
One-third of the recent Lebanese casualties, he said, appeared to be children.
As concerns about hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians grew, Israel eased restrictions on Lebanon's blockaded ports to allow aid into the country.
Angry protests condemning Israeli attacks have been held in European cities. London saw the biggest with about 7,000 marchers, according to police.
'More incursions'
Israel's latest aerial attacks focussed on the southern port city of Sidon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Hours earlier, Israel said its forces had driven Hezbollah guerrillas out of the hilltop village of Maroun al-Ras, where six Israeli commandos were killed earlier this week.
The report has not been confirmed independently and Hezbollah's al-Manar TV station reported earlier on Saturday that fighting was under way in the village.
According to the BBC's Crispin Thorold in Jerusalem, the village has a strategic value, overlooking several other sites said to have been used as launch pads for Hezbollah rockets.
Hezbollah continued to fire dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, hitting the towns of Carmiel, Kiryat Shmona and Nahariya, and wounding several Israelis.
There are substantial numbers of Israeli forces near the border, and military sources suggest that there will be continued incursions in the coming days.
Israel insists it has no plans for a large-scale invasion and its ground forces are only entering Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah hideouts that cannot be attacked from the air.
Fleeing civilians
Israel issued a specific warning to civilians in 14 villages, telling them to leave by Saturday evening.
The warnings issued to 14 villages came a day after Israel dropped leaflets warning Lebanese civilians to flee a broad swathe of the south.
The BBC's Martin Asser in the southern city of Tyre described long queues of taxis and cars negotiating bomb-cratered roads and making detours around destroyed bridges.
Many civilians from villages in the region had gathered in the city during the week and are now trying to leave. However, many people say they are reluctant to move without UN protection.
On the 11th day of fighting, Israeli jets knocked out TV and phone masts in the east and north of Lebanon, disrupting broadcasts for Hezbollah's Al-Manar television and the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.
Israel also briefly occupied the village of Marwahin, but has now withdrawn.
'Terrorist group'
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is travelling to the Middle East on Sunday, as is German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, who helped broker a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah in 2004.
In his weekly radio address, US President George Bush stressed the need for "confronting the terrorist group that launched the attacks and the nations that support it".
He described Syria as "a primary sponsor" of Hezbollah, and accused Damascus of helping provide the group with Iranian weapons.
His comments followed a report in the New York Times, citing US officials who said the US was rushing a delivery of satellite and laser-guided bombs to Israel.
The crisis was triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants on 12 July.
Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner told the BBC Israel was not interested in invading, conquering or occupying Lebanon, from where it withdraw troops in 2000.
"We only want to get rid of Hezbollah," he said.
Senior Lebanese officials have warned the country's army will go into battle if Israel invades.
More than 350 Lebanese have been killed in the 11 days of violence, many of them civilians.
Thirty-four Israelis have been killed, including 15 civilians killed by rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel.
Israeli warplanes have struck at suspected Hezbollah sites in the south Lebanese port city of Sidon and suburbs of the capital, Beirut.
The air strikes come a day after Israel said it had taken the village of Maroun al-Ras, said to be a rocket base, after days of heavy fighting with militants.
Hezbollah said the village was the scene of an "epic battle".
As thousands of people try to leave southern Lebanon, the United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis.
Its humanitarian chief is en route to Beirut, as the UN seeks to secure safe routes out for fleeing civilians.
The UN's Jan Egeland said half a million people needed assistance - and the number was likely to increase.
One-third of the recent Lebanese casualties, he said, appeared to be children.
As concerns about hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians grew, Israel eased restrictions on Lebanon's blockaded ports to allow aid into the country.
Angry protests condemning Israeli attacks have been held in European cities. London saw the biggest with about 7,000 marchers, according to police.
'More incursions'
Israel's latest aerial attacks focussed on the southern port city of Sidon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Hours earlier, Israel said its forces had driven Hezbollah guerrillas out of the hilltop village of Maroun al-Ras, where six Israeli commandos were killed earlier this week.
The report has not been confirmed independently and Hezbollah's al-Manar TV station reported earlier on Saturday that fighting was under way in the village.
According to the BBC's Crispin Thorold in Jerusalem, the village has a strategic value, overlooking several other sites said to have been used as launch pads for Hezbollah rockets.
Hezbollah continued to fire dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, hitting the towns of Carmiel, Kiryat Shmona and Nahariya, and wounding several Israelis.
There are substantial numbers of Israeli forces near the border, and military sources suggest that there will be continued incursions in the coming days.
Israel insists it has no plans for a large-scale invasion and its ground forces are only entering Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah hideouts that cannot be attacked from the air.
Fleeing civilians
Israel issued a specific warning to civilians in 14 villages, telling them to leave by Saturday evening.
The warnings issued to 14 villages came a day after Israel dropped leaflets warning Lebanese civilians to flee a broad swathe of the south.
The BBC's Martin Asser in the southern city of Tyre described long queues of taxis and cars negotiating bomb-cratered roads and making detours around destroyed bridges.
Many civilians from villages in the region had gathered in the city during the week and are now trying to leave. However, many people say they are reluctant to move without UN protection.
On the 11th day of fighting, Israeli jets knocked out TV and phone masts in the east and north of Lebanon, disrupting broadcasts for Hezbollah's Al-Manar television and the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.
Israel also briefly occupied the village of Marwahin, but has now withdrawn.
'Terrorist group'
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is travelling to the Middle East on Sunday, as is German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, who helped broker a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah in 2004.
In his weekly radio address, US President George Bush stressed the need for "confronting the terrorist group that launched the attacks and the nations that support it".
He described Syria as "a primary sponsor" of Hezbollah, and accused Damascus of helping provide the group with Iranian weapons.
His comments followed a report in the New York Times, citing US officials who said the US was rushing a delivery of satellite and laser-guided bombs to Israel.
The crisis was triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants on 12 July.
Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner told the BBC Israel was not interested in invading, conquering or occupying Lebanon, from where it withdraw troops in 2000.
"We only want to get rid of Hezbollah," he said.
Senior Lebanese officials have warned the country's army will go into battle if Israel invades.
More than 350 Lebanese have been killed in the 11 days of violence, many of them civilians.
Thirty-four Israelis have been killed, including 15 civilians killed by rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel.
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theone666
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Israel 'presses US on bomb sale'
Sunday, 23 July 2006, 01:34 GMT 02:34 UK
By Nick Miles
BBC News, Washington
Reports from the US suggest Washington has been asked to speed up a shipment of precision bombs sold as part of a deal with Israel last year.
According to a report in the New York Times, Israel made the request after it began its air assault on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon 12 days ago.
The weapons, including five-tonne laser-guided bombs, are part of a sale signed last year.
Unnamed US officials say the request to speed up delivery is unusual.
The disclosure is likely to anger Arab governments because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding Israel at such a sensitive time.
Precision-guided missiles are playing a key part in Israel's military strategy, which has included attempts to destroy bunkers it says are used by Hezbollah.
Israel is one of the largest customers for US armaments.
It also receives several million dollars a year in direct and indirect aid from Washington.
By Nick Miles
BBC News, Washington
Reports from the US suggest Washington has been asked to speed up a shipment of precision bombs sold as part of a deal with Israel last year.
According to a report in the New York Times, Israel made the request after it began its air assault on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon 12 days ago.
The weapons, including five-tonne laser-guided bombs, are part of a sale signed last year.
Unnamed US officials say the request to speed up delivery is unusual.
The disclosure is likely to anger Arab governments because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding Israel at such a sensitive time.
Precision-guided missiles are playing a key part in Israel's military strategy, which has included attempts to destroy bunkers it says are used by Hezbollah.
Israel is one of the largest customers for US armaments.
It also receives several million dollars a year in direct and indirect aid from Washington.
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theone666
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Israelis back border force plan
Sunday, 23 July 2006, 19:45 GMT 20:45 UK
Israel has said it supports the idea of a new international force in south Lebanon, as diplomatic attempts to end the Middle East crisis gather pace.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz suggested such a force could be led by Nato, an idea not yet raised during the crisis.
He spoke during a meeting with the German foreign minister. French and British ministers are also in Israel.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due in the region on Monday on a much-anticipated visit.
Mr Peretz said Israel wanted the Lebanese army deployed in the south to prevent Hezbollah from operating in the border area, from where it has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.
"But we understand that we are talking about a weak army and that in the mid-term period Israel will have to accept a multinational force," he told German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Combat experience
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had initially brushed aside the idea of a peacekeeping force, proposed by British PM Tony Blair and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
On Sunday he said a final decision was yet to be made, but any new force should have combat experience and be made up of European Union members.
Nato officials say there have been no discussions so far on a role for the alliance in a multinational force to replace the current and very limited UN mission, Unifil.
The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said the idea was new, but the US would "take it seriously".
Mr Peretz's comments came amid a flurry of diplomacy, with French and British ministers also holding talks with Israel.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy visited the northern Israeli city of Haifa, and at one point had to take cover from Hezbollah missiles.
He called for a ceasefire "which answers Israel's legitimate aspiration to live in security and a cease-fire which preserves the state of Lebanon".
Civilian areas
British foreign office minister Kim Howells also visited Haifa, after accusing Israel of attacking "the entire Lebanese nation" during a visit to Beirut the previous day.
Britain, like the US, has not called for a ceasefire.
In an interview with the BBC Mr Howells said Britain recognised Israel's need to defend itself, described Hezbollah as a "terrorist" group and criticised it for hiding missiles and fighters in civilian areas.
He also called on Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to put pressure on Iran, widely accused of arming Hezbollah.
Correspondents say diplomacy is starting to coalesce around the idea of a multinational force, and is likely to step up a gear with the arrival of the US Secretary of State.
The BBC's Paul Adams says that senior political sources have said the Israeli government does not think its military operation will completely disarm Hezbollah and a diplomatic solution will be needed.
Syrian offer
Meanwhile, Syria's deputy foreign minister, Fayssal Mekdad, told Reuters that Syria was willing to engage in dialogue with the United States to solve the crisis.
He said Hezbollah could only be disarmed if a peace deal gave back Arab territory occupied by Israel in 1967.
Mr Bolton said the US ruled out talks with Syria.
"Syria doesn't need dialogue to know what they need to do. They need to lean on Hezbollah to get them to release the two captured Israeli soldiers and stop the launch of rockets against innocent Israeli civilians," he told Fox News.
Syria's information minister has told a Spanish newspaper that his country would enter the conflict if a major Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon threatened the security of Damascus.
Israel has said it supports the idea of a new international force in south Lebanon, as diplomatic attempts to end the Middle East crisis gather pace.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz suggested such a force could be led by Nato, an idea not yet raised during the crisis.
He spoke during a meeting with the German foreign minister. French and British ministers are also in Israel.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due in the region on Monday on a much-anticipated visit.
Mr Peretz said Israel wanted the Lebanese army deployed in the south to prevent Hezbollah from operating in the border area, from where it has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.
"But we understand that we are talking about a weak army and that in the mid-term period Israel will have to accept a multinational force," he told German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Combat experience
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had initially brushed aside the idea of a peacekeeping force, proposed by British PM Tony Blair and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
On Sunday he said a final decision was yet to be made, but any new force should have combat experience and be made up of European Union members.
Nato officials say there have been no discussions so far on a role for the alliance in a multinational force to replace the current and very limited UN mission, Unifil.
The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said the idea was new, but the US would "take it seriously".
Mr Peretz's comments came amid a flurry of diplomacy, with French and British ministers also holding talks with Israel.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy visited the northern Israeli city of Haifa, and at one point had to take cover from Hezbollah missiles.
He called for a ceasefire "which answers Israel's legitimate aspiration to live in security and a cease-fire which preserves the state of Lebanon".
Civilian areas
British foreign office minister Kim Howells also visited Haifa, after accusing Israel of attacking "the entire Lebanese nation" during a visit to Beirut the previous day.
Britain, like the US, has not called for a ceasefire.
In an interview with the BBC Mr Howells said Britain recognised Israel's need to defend itself, described Hezbollah as a "terrorist" group and criticised it for hiding missiles and fighters in civilian areas.
He also called on Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to put pressure on Iran, widely accused of arming Hezbollah.
Correspondents say diplomacy is starting to coalesce around the idea of a multinational force, and is likely to step up a gear with the arrival of the US Secretary of State.
The BBC's Paul Adams says that senior political sources have said the Israeli government does not think its military operation will completely disarm Hezbollah and a diplomatic solution will be needed.
Syrian offer
Meanwhile, Syria's deputy foreign minister, Fayssal Mekdad, told Reuters that Syria was willing to engage in dialogue with the United States to solve the crisis.
He said Hezbollah could only be disarmed if a peace deal gave back Arab territory occupied by Israel in 1967.
Mr Bolton said the US ruled out talks with Syria.
"Syria doesn't need dialogue to know what they need to do. They need to lean on Hezbollah to get them to release the two captured Israeli soldiers and stop the launch of rockets against innocent Israeli civilians," he told Fox News.
Syria's information minister has told a Spanish newspaper that his country would enter the conflict if a major Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon threatened the security of Damascus.
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theone666
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UN appalled by Beirut devastation
Sunday, 23 July 2006, 21:06 GMT 22:06 UK
The UN's Jan Egeland has condemned the devastation caused by Israeli air strikes in Beirut, saying it is a violation of humanitarian law.
Mr Egeland, the UN's emergency relief chief, described the destruction as "horrific" as he toured the city.
He arrived hours after another Israeli strike on Beirut. Israel also hit Sidon, a port city in the south crammed with refugees, for the first time.
In Haifa, two people died as Hezbollah rockets struck the Israeli city.
Fifteen people were reportedly injured by the volley of rockets, which struck a house and an industrial zone.
The BBC News website's Raffi Berg visited the scene of one of the rocket attacks in northern Haifa.
He says the rocket exploded next to a carriageway, raking passing cars with shrapnel and ball bearings and killing a man in a nearby vehicle.
A later barrage of missiles was reported to have injured five people.
'Block after block'
Mr Egeland arrived in southern Beirut on Sunday just hours after Israeli strikes on the Hezbollah stronghold.
A visibly moved Mr Egeland expressed shock that "block after block" of buildings had been levelled.
He said the "disproportionate response" by Israel was a "violation of international humanitarian law".
He appealed for both sides to halt attacks and said UN supplies of humanitarian aid would begin to arrive in the next few days.
"But we need safe access," he said. "So far Israel is not giving us access."
Israel has said it will lift its blockade on Beirut's port to allow aid through, but with roads, bridges and trucks among Israel's targets, transporting it around the country is difficult.
In other developments:
UK Foreign Minister Kim Howells is due to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. A day after accusing Israel of targeting "the entire Lebanese nation", he said the British government understood Israel's need to defend itself and criticised Hezbollah for hiding weapons in civilian areas.
The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to leave for the Middle East later on Sunday.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said Israel supports the idea of an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, and suggested it should be led by Nato. A Nato official said there had been no discussion so far of any Nato role.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel had "pushed the button for its own destruction".
Syria's information minister said his country would enter the conflict if a major Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon threatened the security of Damascus.
An unarmed UN observer was seriously wounded during fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in the village of Maroun al-Ras, which Israel said it had taken control of on Saturday.
The French and German foreign ministers are also in Israel for talks on the crisis.
Sidon targeted
Israel's bombing campaign continued, with strikes on Beirut and on southern and eastern Lebanon in the early hours of Sunday.
The Associated Press news agency reported at least eight deaths on Sunday - an eight-year-old boy, a Lebanese photographer, three civilians fleeing in a minibus, and three Hezbollah fighters.
One target was the southern port of Sidon, a city not previously targeted by Israel, where 42,000 refugees from the surrounding area have flooded in the hope of safety.
The BBC's Roger Hearing in the city reports that a mosque was destroyed in one strike, which hit less than 500m (550 yards) from a hospital. At least four people were injured.
While Israel said the mosque was a meeting place for Hezbollah militants, local doctors insisted it was just "a place for prayers".
Bombing intensifies
The BBC's Jim Muir in the southern city of Tyre reports intense bombardment, with Hezbollah firing missiles from the area and Israel launching air strikes in retaliation.
At least 15 civilian vehicles have been hit on the roads, including one taking injured people to a nearby hospital, he says.
Further east, more Israeli air strikes forced engineers to turn back who were trying to repair impassable roads so a UN-escorted aid convoy could get through, our correspondent reports.
He says that bombing has intensified in the region since Israel dropped warning leaflets on Friday, and the Israelis are now shooting at almost anything on moving on the roads.
At least 364 Lebanese have been killed in the 12 days of violence, many of them civilians, and angry protests condemning Israeli attacks have been held in cities around the world.
At least 36 Israelis have been killed, including 17 civilians killed by rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel.
The UN's Jan Egeland has condemned the devastation caused by Israeli air strikes in Beirut, saying it is a violation of humanitarian law.
Mr Egeland, the UN's emergency relief chief, described the destruction as "horrific" as he toured the city.
He arrived hours after another Israeli strike on Beirut. Israel also hit Sidon, a port city in the south crammed with refugees, for the first time.
In Haifa, two people died as Hezbollah rockets struck the Israeli city.
Fifteen people were reportedly injured by the volley of rockets, which struck a house and an industrial zone.
The BBC News website's Raffi Berg visited the scene of one of the rocket attacks in northern Haifa.
He says the rocket exploded next to a carriageway, raking passing cars with shrapnel and ball bearings and killing a man in a nearby vehicle.
A later barrage of missiles was reported to have injured five people.
'Block after block'
Mr Egeland arrived in southern Beirut on Sunday just hours after Israeli strikes on the Hezbollah stronghold.
A visibly moved Mr Egeland expressed shock that "block after block" of buildings had been levelled.
He said the "disproportionate response" by Israel was a "violation of international humanitarian law".
He appealed for both sides to halt attacks and said UN supplies of humanitarian aid would begin to arrive in the next few days.
"But we need safe access," he said. "So far Israel is not giving us access."
Israel has said it will lift its blockade on Beirut's port to allow aid through, but with roads, bridges and trucks among Israel's targets, transporting it around the country is difficult.
In other developments:
UK Foreign Minister Kim Howells is due to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. A day after accusing Israel of targeting "the entire Lebanese nation", he said the British government understood Israel's need to defend itself and criticised Hezbollah for hiding weapons in civilian areas.
The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to leave for the Middle East later on Sunday.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said Israel supports the idea of an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, and suggested it should be led by Nato. A Nato official said there had been no discussion so far of any Nato role.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel had "pushed the button for its own destruction".
Syria's information minister said his country would enter the conflict if a major Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon threatened the security of Damascus.
An unarmed UN observer was seriously wounded during fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in the village of Maroun al-Ras, which Israel said it had taken control of on Saturday.
The French and German foreign ministers are also in Israel for talks on the crisis.
Sidon targeted
Israel's bombing campaign continued, with strikes on Beirut and on southern and eastern Lebanon in the early hours of Sunday.
The Associated Press news agency reported at least eight deaths on Sunday - an eight-year-old boy, a Lebanese photographer, three civilians fleeing in a minibus, and three Hezbollah fighters.
One target was the southern port of Sidon, a city not previously targeted by Israel, where 42,000 refugees from the surrounding area have flooded in the hope of safety.
The BBC's Roger Hearing in the city reports that a mosque was destroyed in one strike, which hit less than 500m (550 yards) from a hospital. At least four people were injured.
While Israel said the mosque was a meeting place for Hezbollah militants, local doctors insisted it was just "a place for prayers".
Bombing intensifies
The BBC's Jim Muir in the southern city of Tyre reports intense bombardment, with Hezbollah firing missiles from the area and Israel launching air strikes in retaliation.
At least 15 civilian vehicles have been hit on the roads, including one taking injured people to a nearby hospital, he says.
Further east, more Israeli air strikes forced engineers to turn back who were trying to repair impassable roads so a UN-escorted aid convoy could get through, our correspondent reports.
He says that bombing has intensified in the region since Israel dropped warning leaflets on Friday, and the Israelis are now shooting at almost anything on moving on the roads.
At least 364 Lebanese have been killed in the 12 days of violence, many of them civilians, and angry protests condemning Israeli attacks have been held in cities around the world.
At least 36 Israelis have been killed, including 17 civilians killed by rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel.
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theone666
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Arabs Press Syria to Help End Violence
By KATHY GANNON, AP
SIDON, Lebanon (July 23) - Mideast diplomats were pressing Syria to stop backing Hezbollah as the guerrillas fired more deadly rockets onto Israel's third-largest city Sunday. Israel faced tougher-than-expected ground battles and bombarded targets in southern Lebanon, hitting a convoy of refugees.
Israel's defense minister said his country would accept an international force, preferably NATO, on its border after it drives back or weakens Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. But his troops reported encountering an intelligent, well-prepared and ruthless guerrilla army whose fighters don't seem to fear death.
With Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arriving in Israel on Monday, both the Arabs and Israelis appeared to be trying to set out positions ahead of Washington's first diplomatic mission to the region since the fighting began. The United States backs Israel's refusal to talk about a cease-fire until it completes the military campaign against Hezbollah, but is under increasing pressure to foster a plan to end the growing suffering and destruction in Lebanon.
Still, daily casualty figures appeared to be lowering -- about nine confirmed Sunday by Lebanese security officials, compared with dozens each day earlier in the week. The decrease could be a result of the exodus from the hardest-hit areas or because of the difficulty for authorities in getting figures from the war zone.
In the 12th day of fighting, guerrillas launched a new barrage of more than a dozen rockets against the Israeli city of Haifa, killing two people and setting an apartment building on fire. Israeli missiles struck a convoy of fleeing Lebanese, killing four people, including a journalist.
In the far south, fighting with Hezbollah raged around the Israeli military's foothold in Lebanon -- the border village of Maroun al-Ras, where the Israeli army has maintained a significant presence since Saturday. But so far they were not advancing. Hezbollah reported three of its fighters killed.
With Israel and the United States saying a real cease-fire is not possible until Hezbollah is reined in, Arab heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia were pushing Syria to end its support for the guerrillas, Arab diplomats in Cairo said.
A loss of Syria's support would deeply weaken Hezbollah, though its other ally, Iran, gives it a large part of its money and weapons. The two moderate Arab governments were prepared to spend heavily from Egypt's political capital in the region and Saudi Arabia's vast financial reserves to break Damascus from the guerrillas and Iran, the diplomats said.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that once the offensive had gotten Hezbollah away from the border, his country would be willing to see an international force move in to help the Lebanese army deploy across the south, where the guerrillas have held sway for years.
"Israel's goal is to see the Lebanese army deployed along the border with Israel, but we understand that we are talking about a weak army and that in the midterm period Israel will have to accept a multinational force," Peretz told the Cabinet, suggesting NATO be in charge of the force.
President Bush's chief of staff, John Bolten, said Sunday that the administration would be open to an international peacekeeping force but does not expect U.S. forces to participate in one.
Israeli troops returning from the front described Hezbollah guerrillas hiding among civilians and in underground bunkers two or three stories deep -- evidence, they say, that Hezbollah has been planning this battle for many years.
"It's hard to beat them," one soldier said. "They're not afraid of anything."
The soldiers, most of whom declined to give their names under orders from superiors, described exchanges of gunfire in between houses on village streets, with Hezbollah guerrillas sometimes popping out of bushes to fire Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.
Peretz said the military would not launch a full-fledged invasion but instead carry out a series of small scale raids into the south. "The army's goal is to create a new reality, mostly that Hezbollah won't be along the border," he told the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, a campaign to get humanitarian aid into Lebanon was gearing up. Officials were trying to speed the delivery of food, medicines, blankets and generators down bomb-shattered roads to the south where they are needed most -- though Israel has not defined a safe route to the region. Tens of thousands have fled the war zone, packing into the southern port city of Sidon and other areas.
The sea-lift evacuating Americans and Britons from Lebanon was nearing completion as more streamed out by ship from Beirut's port. Some 12,000 Americans and 4,500 British citizens have left. British officials said they had no more citizens asking to go.
The top U.N. humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, called for at least $100 million in immediate aid but said billions of dollars would be needed to repair the damage from a conflict that has stunned Lebanon just as it had emerged from reconstruction after years of civil war.
Egeland, on a mission to organize the aid effort, toured the rubble of Beirut's bombed-out southern suburbs, a once-teeming Shiite district where Hezbollah had its headquarters. He condemned civilian casualties on both sides but called Israel's offensive "disproportionate" and "a violation of international humanitarian law."
At least 381 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 20 soldiers and 11 Hezbollah fighters, according to security officials. At least 600,000 Lebanese have fled their homes, according to the WHO -- with one estimate by Lebanon's finance minister putting the number at 750,000, nearly 20 percent of the population.
Israel's death toll stands at 36, with 17 people killed by Hezbollah rockets and 19 soldiers killed in the fighting, which began when the guerrillas snatched two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a brazen cross-border raid July 12.
Along the seafront in Sidon, flames and smoke were visible farther up the coast from a fuel depot still burning days after it was hit by missiles. The city was chaotic, teeming with 35,000 refugees from the south. Cars were parked four deep along streets near schools and the municipality building where families sought housing.
A mosque run by Hezbollah lay in ruins from Israeli strikes the night before, which raised worries that Sidon -- about 20 miles south of Beirut -- was no longer the safe haven it has been.
But there was no mass flight out of the city of 100,000. Instead, Sidon tried to absorb all the new people. Food markets were open longer, and pedestrians looked up glumly to the sound of far-off explosions echoing over the mountainous landscape.
The bombardment across the south grew, with over 120 targets attacked, according to the Israeli military.
A convoy of nearly 70 people fleeing Tairi -- a border village Israel warned residents to evacuate a day earlier -- was driving with Lebanese Red Cross ambulances when missiles hit nearby, some of the ambulance drivers told journalists in the port city of Tyre, where the wounded were taken.
A minibus was struck, knocking a hole in the roof and killing three people and wounding 16 _ including 10 women and four children, said Hassan Nasreddine, an International Red Cross doctor who arrived at the scene soon afterward and saw the bodies in the van.
Layal Nejib, a photographer for a Lebanese magazine, was also killed as her taxi approached the convoy and the missiles landed, said her driver, who escaped unharmed and returned to Tyre. The 23-year-old Nejib, a photographer for Al-Jaras magazine, which confirmed her death, was the first journalist killed in the Israeli campaign.
Outside Tyre, a bombardment left another victim: an 8-year-old boy.
AP correspondents Benjamin Harvey along the Israel-Lebanon border, Nasser Nasser in Tyre, Lauren Frayer, Hussein Dakroub in Beirut and Salah Nasrawi in Cairo contributed to this report.
07-23-06 19:47 EDT
SIDON, Lebanon (July 23) - Mideast diplomats were pressing Syria to stop backing Hezbollah as the guerrillas fired more deadly rockets onto Israel's third-largest city Sunday. Israel faced tougher-than-expected ground battles and bombarded targets in southern Lebanon, hitting a convoy of refugees.
Israel's defense minister said his country would accept an international force, preferably NATO, on its border after it drives back or weakens Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. But his troops reported encountering an intelligent, well-prepared and ruthless guerrilla army whose fighters don't seem to fear death.
With Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arriving in Israel on Monday, both the Arabs and Israelis appeared to be trying to set out positions ahead of Washington's first diplomatic mission to the region since the fighting began. The United States backs Israel's refusal to talk about a cease-fire until it completes the military campaign against Hezbollah, but is under increasing pressure to foster a plan to end the growing suffering and destruction in Lebanon.
Still, daily casualty figures appeared to be lowering -- about nine confirmed Sunday by Lebanese security officials, compared with dozens each day earlier in the week. The decrease could be a result of the exodus from the hardest-hit areas or because of the difficulty for authorities in getting figures from the war zone.
In the 12th day of fighting, guerrillas launched a new barrage of more than a dozen rockets against the Israeli city of Haifa, killing two people and setting an apartment building on fire. Israeli missiles struck a convoy of fleeing Lebanese, killing four people, including a journalist.
In the far south, fighting with Hezbollah raged around the Israeli military's foothold in Lebanon -- the border village of Maroun al-Ras, where the Israeli army has maintained a significant presence since Saturday. But so far they were not advancing. Hezbollah reported three of its fighters killed.
With Israel and the United States saying a real cease-fire is not possible until Hezbollah is reined in, Arab heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia were pushing Syria to end its support for the guerrillas, Arab diplomats in Cairo said.
A loss of Syria's support would deeply weaken Hezbollah, though its other ally, Iran, gives it a large part of its money and weapons. The two moderate Arab governments were prepared to spend heavily from Egypt's political capital in the region and Saudi Arabia's vast financial reserves to break Damascus from the guerrillas and Iran, the diplomats said.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that once the offensive had gotten Hezbollah away from the border, his country would be willing to see an international force move in to help the Lebanese army deploy across the south, where the guerrillas have held sway for years.
"Israel's goal is to see the Lebanese army deployed along the border with Israel, but we understand that we are talking about a weak army and that in the midterm period Israel will have to accept a multinational force," Peretz told the Cabinet, suggesting NATO be in charge of the force.
President Bush's chief of staff, John Bolten, said Sunday that the administration would be open to an international peacekeeping force but does not expect U.S. forces to participate in one.
Israeli troops returning from the front described Hezbollah guerrillas hiding among civilians and in underground bunkers two or three stories deep -- evidence, they say, that Hezbollah has been planning this battle for many years.
"It's hard to beat them," one soldier said. "They're not afraid of anything."
The soldiers, most of whom declined to give their names under orders from superiors, described exchanges of gunfire in between houses on village streets, with Hezbollah guerrillas sometimes popping out of bushes to fire Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.
Peretz said the military would not launch a full-fledged invasion but instead carry out a series of small scale raids into the south. "The army's goal is to create a new reality, mostly that Hezbollah won't be along the border," he told the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, a campaign to get humanitarian aid into Lebanon was gearing up. Officials were trying to speed the delivery of food, medicines, blankets and generators down bomb-shattered roads to the south where they are needed most -- though Israel has not defined a safe route to the region. Tens of thousands have fled the war zone, packing into the southern port city of Sidon and other areas.
The sea-lift evacuating Americans and Britons from Lebanon was nearing completion as more streamed out by ship from Beirut's port. Some 12,000 Americans and 4,500 British citizens have left. British officials said they had no more citizens asking to go.
The top U.N. humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, called for at least $100 million in immediate aid but said billions of dollars would be needed to repair the damage from a conflict that has stunned Lebanon just as it had emerged from reconstruction after years of civil war.
Egeland, on a mission to organize the aid effort, toured the rubble of Beirut's bombed-out southern suburbs, a once-teeming Shiite district where Hezbollah had its headquarters. He condemned civilian casualties on both sides but called Israel's offensive "disproportionate" and "a violation of international humanitarian law."
At least 381 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 20 soldiers and 11 Hezbollah fighters, according to security officials. At least 600,000 Lebanese have fled their homes, according to the WHO -- with one estimate by Lebanon's finance minister putting the number at 750,000, nearly 20 percent of the population.
Israel's death toll stands at 36, with 17 people killed by Hezbollah rockets and 19 soldiers killed in the fighting, which began when the guerrillas snatched two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a brazen cross-border raid July 12.
Along the seafront in Sidon, flames and smoke were visible farther up the coast from a fuel depot still burning days after it was hit by missiles. The city was chaotic, teeming with 35,000 refugees from the south. Cars were parked four deep along streets near schools and the municipality building where families sought housing.
A mosque run by Hezbollah lay in ruins from Israeli strikes the night before, which raised worries that Sidon -- about 20 miles south of Beirut -- was no longer the safe haven it has been.
But there was no mass flight out of the city of 100,000. Instead, Sidon tried to absorb all the new people. Food markets were open longer, and pedestrians looked up glumly to the sound of far-off explosions echoing over the mountainous landscape.
The bombardment across the south grew, with over 120 targets attacked, according to the Israeli military.
A convoy of nearly 70 people fleeing Tairi -- a border village Israel warned residents to evacuate a day earlier -- was driving with Lebanese Red Cross ambulances when missiles hit nearby, some of the ambulance drivers told journalists in the port city of Tyre, where the wounded were taken.
A minibus was struck, knocking a hole in the roof and killing three people and wounding 16 _ including 10 women and four children, said Hassan Nasreddine, an International Red Cross doctor who arrived at the scene soon afterward and saw the bodies in the van.
Layal Nejib, a photographer for a Lebanese magazine, was also killed as her taxi approached the convoy and the missiles landed, said her driver, who escaped unharmed and returned to Tyre. The 23-year-old Nejib, a photographer for Al-Jaras magazine, which confirmed her death, was the first journalist killed in the Israeli campaign.
Outside Tyre, a bombardment left another victim: an 8-year-old boy.
AP correspondents Benjamin Harvey along the Israel-Lebanon border, Nasser Nasser in Tyre, Lauren Frayer, Hussein Dakroub in Beirut and Salah Nasrawi in Cairo contributed to this report.
07-23-06 19:47 EDT
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Blair facing pressure over Israel
Monday, 24 July 2006, 04:58 GMT 05:58 UK
Prime Minister Tony Blair is coming under pressure from within his own party to take a tougher stance with Israel over its bombing of Lebanon.
Labour MP Andrew Love said some in the Cabinet wanted a "more robust attitude" from Mr Blair over the crisis.
Iraqi leader Nuri Maliki is also expected to criticise UK Middle East policy when he meets the PM later.
It comes after Foreign Office minister Kim Howells, who is in the region for talks, criticised Israel's tactics.
At least 362 Lebanese, many of them civilians, and 37 Israelis - about half of them civilians - have been killed since the violence erupted 13 days ago.
Mr Love, who chairs the all-party parliamentary Lebanon group, told the BBC: "I agree with those in the Cabinet who are saying we must have a much more robust attitude towards what is happening in the Middle East.
"You cannot have attacks on civilian infrastructure, over 370 people die, without that being a disproportionate response to what has happened in the Middle East and I think the prime minister needs to say that."
Peace
Mr Love added: "I think he also needs to say that to allow this to go on for another week or 10 days is simply storing up further problems in the Middle East."
Mr Howells, who has met senior ministers from Lebanon and Israel, will meet more key figures on Monday.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will also be arriving in the region later for talks.
Over the weekend, Mr Howells became the first UK minister to condemn Israel's actions, saying its bombing campaign was killing too many civilians.
Downing Street said then that the prime minister would stand by Mr Howells' comments Mr Howells, adding the British government had "always urged restraint on Israel".
And Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called for "extreme caution" on both sides of the crisis.
Israel's ambassador to the UK has insisted his country has the right to defend itself. Zvi Heifetz told a rally of about 7,500 British Jews in north London on Sunday that Israel had the backing of the international community in its struggle with Hezbollah.
Mr Maliki is to meet Mr Blair at Downing Street later for talks which are expected to be dominated by the prospects for peace and stability in Iraq.
Iraq remains in the grip of sectarian violence and some commentators have suggested it is sliding towards civil war.
Mr Maliki will move on from London to Washington, where he will meet US President George W Bush and address Congress.
Prime Minister Tony Blair is coming under pressure from within his own party to take a tougher stance with Israel over its bombing of Lebanon.
Labour MP Andrew Love said some in the Cabinet wanted a "more robust attitude" from Mr Blair over the crisis.
Iraqi leader Nuri Maliki is also expected to criticise UK Middle East policy when he meets the PM later.
It comes after Foreign Office minister Kim Howells, who is in the region for talks, criticised Israel's tactics.
At least 362 Lebanese, many of them civilians, and 37 Israelis - about half of them civilians - have been killed since the violence erupted 13 days ago.
Mr Love, who chairs the all-party parliamentary Lebanon group, told the BBC: "I agree with those in the Cabinet who are saying we must have a much more robust attitude towards what is happening in the Middle East.
"You cannot have attacks on civilian infrastructure, over 370 people die, without that being a disproportionate response to what has happened in the Middle East and I think the prime minister needs to say that."
Peace
Mr Love added: "I think he also needs to say that to allow this to go on for another week or 10 days is simply storing up further problems in the Middle East."
Mr Howells, who has met senior ministers from Lebanon and Israel, will meet more key figures on Monday.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will also be arriving in the region later for talks.
Over the weekend, Mr Howells became the first UK minister to condemn Israel's actions, saying its bombing campaign was killing too many civilians.
Downing Street said then that the prime minister would stand by Mr Howells' comments Mr Howells, adding the British government had "always urged restraint on Israel".
And Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called for "extreme caution" on both sides of the crisis.
Israel's ambassador to the UK has insisted his country has the right to defend itself. Zvi Heifetz told a rally of about 7,500 British Jews in north London on Sunday that Israel had the backing of the international community in its struggle with Hezbollah.
Mr Maliki is to meet Mr Blair at Downing Street later for talks which are expected to be dominated by the prospects for peace and stability in Iraq.
Iraq remains in the grip of sectarian violence and some commentators have suggested it is sliding towards civil war.
Mr Maliki will move on from London to Washington, where he will meet US President George W Bush and address Congress.
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Israel 'would accept' peace force
Monday, 24 July 2006, 03:52 GMT 04:52 UK
Israel has said it is prepared to accept a European peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon providing it is robust and has a strong mandate.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made the announcement after his government met envoys from Germany, France and the UK.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives on Monday for talks with Israeli leaders.
She said there was an "urgent" need for a ceasefire but that it was also vital that any such arrangement would last.
"It is very important to establish conditions under which a ceasefire can take place," she told reporters as she flew from Washington.
"It is important to have conditions that will make it also sustainable."
Nasrallah defiant
Israeli air strikes killed at least eight people in Lebanon on Sunday while rocket attacks on Israel by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah killed two people.
A senior United Nations envoy, Jan Egeland, has strongly condemned Israel's bombing of Beirut.
An Italian UN military observer was wounded during fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah inside Lebanon.
At least 362 Lebanese, many of them civilians, and 37 Israelis - about half of them civilians - have been killed since the violence erupted 13 days ago.
The crisis was triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers on 12 July by Hezbollah which is demanding a prisoner exchange with Israel. The Israelis withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000.
Israel has since vowed to destroy the group's ability to launch rockets at its territory.
But Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon would not succeed.
"Any Israeli incursion will not have political results unless it achieves any of the announced goals, most importantly to stop the bombardment of Zionist settlements," he told As-Safir newspaper.
"I assure you that this will goal will not be achieved."
'Combat experience'
The Israeli prime minister has been making his position clear ahead of Ms Rice's visit, the BBC's Crispin Thorold reports from Jerusalem.
Ehud Olmert's requirements include the enforcement of UN resolution 1559, which calls for the disarming of militias in Lebanon.
But Jerusalem now says that it also wants robust peacekeepers to take the place of Unifil, the largely toothless UN force in southern Lebanon, our correspondent says.
Mr Olmert said he was prepared to accept the deployment of European soldiers in southern Lebanon instead.
This could be a Nato force or a European Union one but the Israeli premier insists that any troops deployed must have combat experience.
They would have, he added, to control border crossings between Syria and Lebanon as well as supporting Lebanon's own army.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held talks with Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz on Sunday.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy visited Haifa, where he called for a ceasefire "which answers Israel's legitimate aspiration to live in security and a ceasefire which preserves the state of Lebanon".
British foreign office minister Kim Howells also visited the city.
The Israelis are hinting at a more realistic assessment of what they can achieve through the application of brute force alone, BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams reports from Jerusalem.
Senior political sources have told the BBC the government does not think its military operation will complete the task of disarming Hezbollah, and it believes it needs another week or 10 days in which to operate.
Saudi Arabia has urged Washington to press for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
'Disproportionate'
After visiting bomb-blasted suburbs of Beirut, Jan Egeland said the "disproportionate response" by Israel to Hezbollah's actions was a "violation of international humanitarian law".
The UN's emergency relief chief had arrived hours after another Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital as well as attacks on Sidon, a port city in crammed with refugees, and the Baalbek region.
Mr Egeland appealed for both sides to halt attacks and said UN supplies of humanitarian aid would begin to arrive in the next few days.
Israel has said it will lift its blockade on Beirut's port to allow aid through.
Within hours of Mr Egeland leaving the suburbs, the bombing resumed with three huge blasts heard across the city, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from the scene.
Israel has said it is prepared to accept a European peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon providing it is robust and has a strong mandate.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made the announcement after his government met envoys from Germany, France and the UK.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives on Monday for talks with Israeli leaders.
She said there was an "urgent" need for a ceasefire but that it was also vital that any such arrangement would last.
"It is very important to establish conditions under which a ceasefire can take place," she told reporters as she flew from Washington.
"It is important to have conditions that will make it also sustainable."
Nasrallah defiant
Israeli air strikes killed at least eight people in Lebanon on Sunday while rocket attacks on Israel by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah killed two people.
A senior United Nations envoy, Jan Egeland, has strongly condemned Israel's bombing of Beirut.
An Italian UN military observer was wounded during fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah inside Lebanon.
At least 362 Lebanese, many of them civilians, and 37 Israelis - about half of them civilians - have been killed since the violence erupted 13 days ago.
The crisis was triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers on 12 July by Hezbollah which is demanding a prisoner exchange with Israel. The Israelis withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000.
Israel has since vowed to destroy the group's ability to launch rockets at its territory.
But Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon would not succeed.
"Any Israeli incursion will not have political results unless it achieves any of the announced goals, most importantly to stop the bombardment of Zionist settlements," he told As-Safir newspaper.
"I assure you that this will goal will not be achieved."
'Combat experience'
The Israeli prime minister has been making his position clear ahead of Ms Rice's visit, the BBC's Crispin Thorold reports from Jerusalem.
Ehud Olmert's requirements include the enforcement of UN resolution 1559, which calls for the disarming of militias in Lebanon.
But Jerusalem now says that it also wants robust peacekeepers to take the place of Unifil, the largely toothless UN force in southern Lebanon, our correspondent says.
Mr Olmert said he was prepared to accept the deployment of European soldiers in southern Lebanon instead.
This could be a Nato force or a European Union one but the Israeli premier insists that any troops deployed must have combat experience.
They would have, he added, to control border crossings between Syria and Lebanon as well as supporting Lebanon's own army.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held talks with Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz on Sunday.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy visited Haifa, where he called for a ceasefire "which answers Israel's legitimate aspiration to live in security and a ceasefire which preserves the state of Lebanon".
British foreign office minister Kim Howells also visited the city.
The Israelis are hinting at a more realistic assessment of what they can achieve through the application of brute force alone, BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams reports from Jerusalem.
Senior political sources have told the BBC the government does not think its military operation will complete the task of disarming Hezbollah, and it believes it needs another week or 10 days in which to operate.
Saudi Arabia has urged Washington to press for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
'Disproportionate'
After visiting bomb-blasted suburbs of Beirut, Jan Egeland said the "disproportionate response" by Israel to Hezbollah's actions was a "violation of international humanitarian law".
The UN's emergency relief chief had arrived hours after another Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital as well as attacks on Sidon, a port city in crammed with refugees, and the Baalbek region.
Mr Egeland appealed for both sides to halt attacks and said UN supplies of humanitarian aid would begin to arrive in the next few days.
Israel has said it will lift its blockade on Beirut's port to allow aid through.
Within hours of Mr Egeland leaving the suburbs, the bombing resumed with three huge blasts heard across the city, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from the scene.
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Indians flee Lebanon devastation
Tuesday, 25 July 2006, 00:54 GMT 01:54 UK
India has sent two planes to Cyprus to help repatriate more than 840 Indian nationals evacuated there to escape the fighting in Lebanon.
The planes were due to touch down in the Indian cities of Madras and Mumbai (Bombay) in the early hours of Tuesday, the Press Trust of India agency said.
On Friday more than 600 Indians arrived home. Indian navy ships and aircraft remain on standby in the Middle East.
Thousands of Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis and Nepalis are also still in Lebanon.
The Indian nationals were evacuated by two Indian naval ship from Beirut to Larnaca earlier on Monday.
Body flown home
Indians who arrived home on Friday told the BBC that a number of Indians had been killed in Lebanon. But the Indian foreign ministry has confirmed only one death.
The body of Debesh Kumar Swain, who was killed in Israeli air raids on Lebanon last week, arrived in his native Orissa state on Monday.
Mr Swain, 42, worked in a glass-blowing factory in the Shatura area of Beirut.
Evacuation is proving a logistical challenge for other South Asian countries.
Many of the South Asian nationals in Lebanon are unskilled or semi-skilled labourers working in factories, industrial units or as domestic staff.
Many of them have been living in Lebanon for more than two decades.
An estimated 10,500 Indians and 90,000 Sri Lankans remain in Lebanon.
The International Organisation for Migration, responding to an appeal by the Sri Lankan government, took 270 Sri Lankan citizens out of Lebanon in two convoys on Thursday and Friday.
Bangladesh has also asked for help locating and evacuating an estimated 10,000 of its nationals stranded in the country.
The Indian government is also in touch with the United Nations to find out the future of its peacekeeping mission stationed in Lebanon, which has more than 600 Indian soldiers in the war zone.
India has sent two planes to Cyprus to help repatriate more than 840 Indian nationals evacuated there to escape the fighting in Lebanon.
The planes were due to touch down in the Indian cities of Madras and Mumbai (Bombay) in the early hours of Tuesday, the Press Trust of India agency said.
On Friday more than 600 Indians arrived home. Indian navy ships and aircraft remain on standby in the Middle East.
Thousands of Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis and Nepalis are also still in Lebanon.
The Indian nationals were evacuated by two Indian naval ship from Beirut to Larnaca earlier on Monday.
Body flown home
Indians who arrived home on Friday told the BBC that a number of Indians had been killed in Lebanon. But the Indian foreign ministry has confirmed only one death.
The body of Debesh Kumar Swain, who was killed in Israeli air raids on Lebanon last week, arrived in his native Orissa state on Monday.
Mr Swain, 42, worked in a glass-blowing factory in the Shatura area of Beirut.
Evacuation is proving a logistical challenge for other South Asian countries.
Many of the South Asian nationals in Lebanon are unskilled or semi-skilled labourers working in factories, industrial units or as domestic staff.
Many of them have been living in Lebanon for more than two decades.
An estimated 10,500 Indians and 90,000 Sri Lankans remain in Lebanon.
The International Organisation for Migration, responding to an appeal by the Sri Lankan government, took 270 Sri Lankan citizens out of Lebanon in two convoys on Thursday and Friday.
Bangladesh has also asked for help locating and evacuating an estimated 10,000 of its nationals stranded in the country.
The Indian government is also in touch with the United Nations to find out the future of its peacekeeping mission stationed in Lebanon, which has more than 600 Indian soldiers in the war zone.
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UN launches Lebanese aid appeal
Monday, 24 July 2006, 21:44 GMT 22:44 UK
The UN has launched a $150m (£81m) aid appeal for strife-torn Lebanon and the US has announced its own $30m package to ease the suffering of civilians.
The UN's top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, said the money was needed to help feed and shelter about 800,000 civilians caught up in the conflict.
The moves came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew to Lebanon and Israel to discuss the regional crisis.
Some 380 Lebanese and up to 40 Israelis have died in 13 days of conflict.
The Israeli offensive began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July.
In fresh violence on Monday:
Israeli forces pushed north from the captured village of Maroun al-Ras in south Lebanon and fierce clashes were reported around Bint Jbeil. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 10 were injured in the border fighting
An Israeli helicopter crashed in northern Israel, killing two pilots. An army spokeswoman blamed technical problems, but Hezbollah reportedly claimed it had been shot down
More Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa and other northern Israeli towns, wounding at least four people, Israel said.
'Awful thing'
Jan Egeland made the UN appeal during a visit to Beirut.
He said the money was needed to help aid organisations cover needs of displaced people for three months.
About $24m was on behalf on Unicef for children who have been displaced inside Lebanon or who have fled to Syria.
Mr Egeland said he was asking the Israelis for safe passage for aid ships to enter the northern port of Tripoli and the southern port of Tyre.
US President George W Bush on Monday ordered helicopters and ships to Lebanon to provide humanitarian aid.
Israeli troops push into Lebanon as their offensive continues
In pictures
White House spokesman Tony Snow said that supplies would start arriving on Tuesday.
"It is a move that is designed in recognition of the fact that innocent men, women and children are being hurt," he said. "And that is an awful thing."
Mr Snow said the US was also working with Israeli and Lebanese officials to open up humanitarian corridors in Lebanon.
The EU has already pledged $12.6m in aid while on Monday the UK increased its pledge to £5m.
Pre-conditions
Amid the aid moves, the diplomatic effort was also being stepped up.
Ms Rice flew to Beirut on an unannounced trip which her officials said was to show support for Lebanon's government.
She met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and said she was "deeply concerned about the Lebanese people and what they are enduring".
But she also said there was no place for "terrorist groups" like Hezbollah to attack from Lebanese territory.
Ms Rice also met Shia parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is said to have lines of communication with Syria and Hezbollah.
According to Lebanese government sources, Ms Rice made the release of the two Israeli soldiers and the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the border the pre-conditions for any ceasefire.
She has flown on to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other officials.
On Monday night Ms Rice met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said that Hezbollah wanted to set the region in flames.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Monday it was important that talks in Rome on Wednesday of Western and Middle Eastern ministerial powers succeeded.
The UN has launched a $150m (£81m) aid appeal for strife-torn Lebanon and the US has announced its own $30m package to ease the suffering of civilians.
The UN's top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, said the money was needed to help feed and shelter about 800,000 civilians caught up in the conflict.
The moves came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew to Lebanon and Israel to discuss the regional crisis.
Some 380 Lebanese and up to 40 Israelis have died in 13 days of conflict.
The Israeli offensive began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July.
In fresh violence on Monday:
Israeli forces pushed north from the captured village of Maroun al-Ras in south Lebanon and fierce clashes were reported around Bint Jbeil. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 10 were injured in the border fighting
An Israeli helicopter crashed in northern Israel, killing two pilots. An army spokeswoman blamed technical problems, but Hezbollah reportedly claimed it had been shot down
More Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa and other northern Israeli towns, wounding at least four people, Israel said.
'Awful thing'
Jan Egeland made the UN appeal during a visit to Beirut.
He said the money was needed to help aid organisations cover needs of displaced people for three months.
About $24m was on behalf on Unicef for children who have been displaced inside Lebanon or who have fled to Syria.
Mr Egeland said he was asking the Israelis for safe passage for aid ships to enter the northern port of Tripoli and the southern port of Tyre.
US President George W Bush on Monday ordered helicopters and ships to Lebanon to provide humanitarian aid.
Israeli troops push into Lebanon as their offensive continues
In pictures
White House spokesman Tony Snow said that supplies would start arriving on Tuesday.
"It is a move that is designed in recognition of the fact that innocent men, women and children are being hurt," he said. "And that is an awful thing."
Mr Snow said the US was also working with Israeli and Lebanese officials to open up humanitarian corridors in Lebanon.
The EU has already pledged $12.6m in aid while on Monday the UK increased its pledge to £5m.
Pre-conditions
Amid the aid moves, the diplomatic effort was also being stepped up.
Ms Rice flew to Beirut on an unannounced trip which her officials said was to show support for Lebanon's government.
She met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and said she was "deeply concerned about the Lebanese people and what they are enduring".
But she also said there was no place for "terrorist groups" like Hezbollah to attack from Lebanese territory.
Ms Rice also met Shia parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is said to have lines of communication with Syria and Hezbollah.
According to Lebanese government sources, Ms Rice made the release of the two Israeli soldiers and the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the border the pre-conditions for any ceasefire.
She has flown on to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other officials.
On Monday night Ms Rice met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said that Hezbollah wanted to set the region in flames.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Monday it was important that talks in Rome on Wednesday of Western and Middle Eastern ministerial powers succeeded.
-
theone666
- Major [O-4]
- Posts: 1434
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
Rice prepares to meet Israeli PM
Tuesday, 25 July 2006, 03:53 GMT 04:53 UK
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is continuing her Middle East visit, with talks due early on Tuesday with Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
She had an unscheduled meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and late-night talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
Ms Rice said she wanted peace based on what she called enduring principles.
Israeli forces say they are continuing operations against suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.
Mr Siniora wants the Israelis to agree to an immediate ceasefire - although a BBC correspondent in Beirut says that, much to the disappointment of the Lebanese, there will be no unconditional call from Condoleezza Rice for an end to the violence.
The UN has launched a $150m (£81m) aid appeal for strife-torn Lebanon and the US has announced its own $30m package to ease the suffering of civilians.
The UN's top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, said the money was needed to help feed and shelter about 800,000 civilians caught up in the conflict.
Some 380 Lebanese and up to 40 Israelis have died in 13 days of conflict.
The Israeli offensive began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July.
In fresh violence on Monday:
Israeli forces pushed north from the captured village of Maroun al-Ras in south Lebanon and fierce clashes were reported around Bint Jbeil. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 10 were injured
An Israeli helicopter crashed in northern Israel, killing two pilots. An army spokeswoman blamed technical problems, but Hezbollah reportedly claimed it had been shot down
More Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa and other northern Israeli towns, wounding at least four people, Israel said.
'Awful thing'
Jan Egeland made the UN appeal during a visit to Beirut.
He said the money was needed to help aid organisations cover needs of displaced people for three months.
About $24m was on behalf on Unicef for children who have been displaced inside Lebanon or who have fled to Syria.
Mr Egeland said he was asking the Israelis for safe passage for aid ships to enter the ports of Tripoli and Tyre.
A White House spokesperson said the US was also working with Israeli and Lebanese officials to open up humanitarian corridors in Lebanon, after President George W Bush promised ships and helicopters to provide aid to Lebanon.
The EU has already pledged $12.6m in aid while on Monday the UK increased its pledge to £5m.
Pre-conditions
Ms Rice flew to Beirut on an unannounced trip which her officials said was to show support for Lebanon's government.
She met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and said she was "deeply concerned about the Lebanese people and what they are enduring".
But she also said there was no place for "terrorist groups" like Hezbollah to attack from Lebanese territory.
Ms Rice also met Shia parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is said to have lines of communication with Syria and Hezbollah.
According to Lebanese government sources, Ms Rice made the release of the two Israeli soldiers and the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the border pre-conditions for any ceasefire.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Hezbollah wanted to set the region in flames, during her meeting with Ms Rice.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said it is important that talks in Rome on Wednesday involving Western and Middle Eastern ministerial powers succeed.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is continuing her Middle East visit, with talks due early on Tuesday with Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
She had an unscheduled meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and late-night talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
Ms Rice said she wanted peace based on what she called enduring principles.
Israeli forces say they are continuing operations against suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.
Mr Siniora wants the Israelis to agree to an immediate ceasefire - although a BBC correspondent in Beirut says that, much to the disappointment of the Lebanese, there will be no unconditional call from Condoleezza Rice for an end to the violence.
The UN has launched a $150m (£81m) aid appeal for strife-torn Lebanon and the US has announced its own $30m package to ease the suffering of civilians.
The UN's top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, said the money was needed to help feed and shelter about 800,000 civilians caught up in the conflict.
Some 380 Lebanese and up to 40 Israelis have died in 13 days of conflict.
The Israeli offensive began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July.
In fresh violence on Monday:
Israeli forces pushed north from the captured village of Maroun al-Ras in south Lebanon and fierce clashes were reported around Bint Jbeil. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 10 were injured
An Israeli helicopter crashed in northern Israel, killing two pilots. An army spokeswoman blamed technical problems, but Hezbollah reportedly claimed it had been shot down
More Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa and other northern Israeli towns, wounding at least four people, Israel said.
'Awful thing'
Jan Egeland made the UN appeal during a visit to Beirut.
He said the money was needed to help aid organisations cover needs of displaced people for three months.
About $24m was on behalf on Unicef for children who have been displaced inside Lebanon or who have fled to Syria.
Mr Egeland said he was asking the Israelis for safe passage for aid ships to enter the ports of Tripoli and Tyre.
A White House spokesperson said the US was also working with Israeli and Lebanese officials to open up humanitarian corridors in Lebanon, after President George W Bush promised ships and helicopters to provide aid to Lebanon.
The EU has already pledged $12.6m in aid while on Monday the UK increased its pledge to £5m.
Pre-conditions
Ms Rice flew to Beirut on an unannounced trip which her officials said was to show support for Lebanon's government.
She met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and said she was "deeply concerned about the Lebanese people and what they are enduring".
But she also said there was no place for "terrorist groups" like Hezbollah to attack from Lebanese territory.
Ms Rice also met Shia parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is said to have lines of communication with Syria and Hezbollah.
According to Lebanese government sources, Ms Rice made the release of the two Israeli soldiers and the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the border pre-conditions for any ceasefire.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Hezbollah wanted to set the region in flames, during her meeting with Ms Rice.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said it is important that talks in Rome on Wednesday involving Western and Middle Eastern ministerial powers succeed.
-
theone666
- Major [O-4]
- Posts: 1434
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
Fierce Fighting Rages Deeper in Lebanon
By LEE KEATH, AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon (July 24) - Backed by tanks, Israeli troops battled their way to a key Hezbollah stronghold in south Lebanon on Monday, seizing a hilltop in heavy fighting and capturing two guerrillas. The U.S. completed its evacuation of 12,000 Americans and said it would switch to bringing in humanitarian aid.
On the 13th day of Israel's offensive, its forces moved one step deeper into Lebanon as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made her first diplomatic foray since the conflict began - and immediately met resistance.
The tangled knots in the negotiations meant fighting was likely to drag on just as the pace of Hezbollah rockets raining down on Israel shows no signs of letting up despite the aerial bombardment of its positions. Air power alone is proving insufficient to rout the guerrillas, who are tough opponents on the ground as well. Mideast observers say Hezbollah only has to remain standing - not beat Israel - to emerge victorious in Arab eyes.
Rice paid a surprise visit to Beirut on the way to Israel, trying to push a blanket plan that would call for a cease-fire simultaneous with the deployment of international and Lebanese troops into southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a prominent Shiite Muslim who has been negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, rejected the idea and said a cease-fire should be immediate, leaving the other issues for much later. Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora took a similar stance and complained bitterly to Rice about the destruction wreaked by U.S. ally Israel.
Israel "is taking Lebanon backward 50 years and the result will be Lebanon's destruction,'' he told Rice, the prime minister's office said.
But a day after criticizing Israel for "disproportionate'' strikes against civilians, U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland accused Hezbollah of "cowardly blending'' among Lebanese civilians.
"Consistently, from the Hezbollah heartland, my message was that Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending ... among women and children,'' Egeland said. "I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don't think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men.''
Israel appeared to be easing bombardment in populated areas and roads in Lebanon that has killed hundreds, displaced as many as 750,000 and dismembered the transportation network. Instead, it appeared to be focusing its firepower on Hezbollah at the front. Beirut saw no strikes all day in apparent deference to Rice's visit.
Lebanese security officials reported three civilian deaths, without specifying where they occurred. Thirty strikes in and around towns and on roads were reported by security officials and Lebanese media - down from 37 the day before.
The numbers do not include strikes on Hezbollah positions that are not in populated areas. Israel reported 270 strikes on Sunday, suggesting that a large number were in more isolated regions.
Still, Hezbollah was able to launch 80 rockets into northern Israel, wounding 13 people, a rate only slightly lower than in past days.
Israel's overall death toll stands at 40, with 17 people killed by Hezbollah rockets and 23 soldiers killed in the fighting. Sixty-eight soldiers have been wounded, and 255 civilians injured by rocket fire, officials said.
On the Lebanese side, security officials said 384 people had been killed, including 20 soldiers and 11 Hezbollah guerrillas.
Israeli military officials say several thousand troops are moving in and out of southern Lebanon, but there are fewer there at any one time.
At the front, Israeli ground forces waged a fierce battle Monday with guerrillas dug in at the closest large town to the border, Bint Jbail, known as "the capital of the resistance'' for its vehement support of Hezbollah during Israel's 1982-2000 occupation of the south.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed - two in fighting and two in a helicopter crash - and 20 were wounded, military officials said.
Four U.N. peacekeepers were wounded, one of them seriously, when they were caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon, the U.N. said.
The army said it captured two Hezbollah guerrillas, the first time it has taken any into custody during the fighting. "When the enemy surrenders, we take them prisoner. The two prisoners are located in Israel and will be held here with the aim of interrogating them,'' said Brig. Gen. Alon Friedman.
Nearly constant gunfire and explosions could be heard, and large plumes of gray smoke rose over the area. Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers entered the fray as guerrillas fought back with anti-tank missiles and mortars. Two tanks sped across the rocky hills back into Israel to ferry out wounded soldiers.
Backed by an intense artillery barrage, troops seized a hilltop inside the town, but the rest of Bint Jbail remained in the hands of up to 200 Hezbollah guerrillas, military officials said.
An Israeli tank was hit by Hezbollah fire, they said. Hezbollah released no casualty figures. It has claimed 11 dead in the entire campaign, though Israel says it has killed more than 100 of its fighters.
A day earlier, a Red Cross doctor visited Bint Jbail and reported an unknown number of families hunkered down in schools and mosques for protection, though much of the population of about 30,000 had fled.
Bint Jbail holds a legendary reputation with Hezbollah, because it was one of three large towns inside Israel's buffer zone and backing for the guerrillas remained strong throughout the occupation. Signs in the town tout its nickname. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah held a large celebration in Bint Jbail, proclaiming that the guerrillas now stood on Israel's border.
The move into Bint Jbail, about 2.5 miles from the border, represents the spear point of Israel's advance, moving forward from Maroun al-Ras, a frontier village captured in more heavy fighting over the weekend.
At the same time, Israeli forces were working to destroy every Hezbollah post within a half mile of the 40-mile Israeli-Lebanese border, Israeli Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said.
The Israeli bombardment hit the southern cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh. An Israeli shell crashed into a house near the Lebanese town of Marjayoun late Monday, wounding two children, witnesses said.
President Bush ordered U.S. Navy ships that have ferried nearly 12,000 Americans out of the country the past week to start on Tuesday taking in humanitarian aid for Lebanon. Tens of thousands of refugees are in temporary shelters, supplies of medicine are tight at many hospitals and fuel is slowly running out.
"We are working with Israel and Lebanon to open up humanitarian corridors,'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said. So far Israel has loosened its blockade of Lebanese ports to let aid ships into Beirut, but has not defined any safe land routes for convoys to the south.
At a hospital in Tyre, where Israeli rockets frequently hit nearby, dirty bandages hid the worst of 8-year-old Zainab Jawad's swollen, bloodied nose. Her arm was strapped to her chest and fractured in two places.
Stretched out on a bed at Najem Hospital, Zainab squeezed shut her brown eyes as memories of the attack flooded back, some of her words muffled as she fought sobs.
A day earlier, Israeli bombs destroyed her family's home in the southern village of Ayta Chaeb. Then rockets slammed into the car as they fled.
"I don't want to remember, but I can't help it. What I remember most is the sound, the sound of the planes and I was scared because I thought there were so many,'' she said. "I fell asleep last night, but all I could hear in my sleep were planes.''
Associated Press reporters Katherine Shrader traveling with Rice, Benjamin Harvey on the Israel-Lebanon border, Kathy Gannon in Tyre and Hussein Dakroub and Lauren Frayer in Beirut contributed to this report.
07/24/06 21:51 EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (July 24) - Backed by tanks, Israeli troops battled their way to a key Hezbollah stronghold in south Lebanon on Monday, seizing a hilltop in heavy fighting and capturing two guerrillas. The U.S. completed its evacuation of 12,000 Americans and said it would switch to bringing in humanitarian aid.
On the 13th day of Israel's offensive, its forces moved one step deeper into Lebanon as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made her first diplomatic foray since the conflict began - and immediately met resistance.
The tangled knots in the negotiations meant fighting was likely to drag on just as the pace of Hezbollah rockets raining down on Israel shows no signs of letting up despite the aerial bombardment of its positions. Air power alone is proving insufficient to rout the guerrillas, who are tough opponents on the ground as well. Mideast observers say Hezbollah only has to remain standing - not beat Israel - to emerge victorious in Arab eyes.
Rice paid a surprise visit to Beirut on the way to Israel, trying to push a blanket plan that would call for a cease-fire simultaneous with the deployment of international and Lebanese troops into southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a prominent Shiite Muslim who has been negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, rejected the idea and said a cease-fire should be immediate, leaving the other issues for much later. Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora took a similar stance and complained bitterly to Rice about the destruction wreaked by U.S. ally Israel.
Israel "is taking Lebanon backward 50 years and the result will be Lebanon's destruction,'' he told Rice, the prime minister's office said.
But a day after criticizing Israel for "disproportionate'' strikes against civilians, U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland accused Hezbollah of "cowardly blending'' among Lebanese civilians.
"Consistently, from the Hezbollah heartland, my message was that Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending ... among women and children,'' Egeland said. "I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don't think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men.''
Israel appeared to be easing bombardment in populated areas and roads in Lebanon that has killed hundreds, displaced as many as 750,000 and dismembered the transportation network. Instead, it appeared to be focusing its firepower on Hezbollah at the front. Beirut saw no strikes all day in apparent deference to Rice's visit.
Lebanese security officials reported three civilian deaths, without specifying where they occurred. Thirty strikes in and around towns and on roads were reported by security officials and Lebanese media - down from 37 the day before.
The numbers do not include strikes on Hezbollah positions that are not in populated areas. Israel reported 270 strikes on Sunday, suggesting that a large number were in more isolated regions.
Still, Hezbollah was able to launch 80 rockets into northern Israel, wounding 13 people, a rate only slightly lower than in past days.
Israel's overall death toll stands at 40, with 17 people killed by Hezbollah rockets and 23 soldiers killed in the fighting. Sixty-eight soldiers have been wounded, and 255 civilians injured by rocket fire, officials said.
On the Lebanese side, security officials said 384 people had been killed, including 20 soldiers and 11 Hezbollah guerrillas.
Israeli military officials say several thousand troops are moving in and out of southern Lebanon, but there are fewer there at any one time.
At the front, Israeli ground forces waged a fierce battle Monday with guerrillas dug in at the closest large town to the border, Bint Jbail, known as "the capital of the resistance'' for its vehement support of Hezbollah during Israel's 1982-2000 occupation of the south.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed - two in fighting and two in a helicopter crash - and 20 were wounded, military officials said.
Four U.N. peacekeepers were wounded, one of them seriously, when they were caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon, the U.N. said.
The army said it captured two Hezbollah guerrillas, the first time it has taken any into custody during the fighting. "When the enemy surrenders, we take them prisoner. The two prisoners are located in Israel and will be held here with the aim of interrogating them,'' said Brig. Gen. Alon Friedman.
Nearly constant gunfire and explosions could be heard, and large plumes of gray smoke rose over the area. Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers entered the fray as guerrillas fought back with anti-tank missiles and mortars. Two tanks sped across the rocky hills back into Israel to ferry out wounded soldiers.
Backed by an intense artillery barrage, troops seized a hilltop inside the town, but the rest of Bint Jbail remained in the hands of up to 200 Hezbollah guerrillas, military officials said.
An Israeli tank was hit by Hezbollah fire, they said. Hezbollah released no casualty figures. It has claimed 11 dead in the entire campaign, though Israel says it has killed more than 100 of its fighters.
A day earlier, a Red Cross doctor visited Bint Jbail and reported an unknown number of families hunkered down in schools and mosques for protection, though much of the population of about 30,000 had fled.
Bint Jbail holds a legendary reputation with Hezbollah, because it was one of three large towns inside Israel's buffer zone and backing for the guerrillas remained strong throughout the occupation. Signs in the town tout its nickname. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah held a large celebration in Bint Jbail, proclaiming that the guerrillas now stood on Israel's border.
The move into Bint Jbail, about 2.5 miles from the border, represents the spear point of Israel's advance, moving forward from Maroun al-Ras, a frontier village captured in more heavy fighting over the weekend.
At the same time, Israeli forces were working to destroy every Hezbollah post within a half mile of the 40-mile Israeli-Lebanese border, Israeli Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said.
The Israeli bombardment hit the southern cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh. An Israeli shell crashed into a house near the Lebanese town of Marjayoun late Monday, wounding two children, witnesses said.
President Bush ordered U.S. Navy ships that have ferried nearly 12,000 Americans out of the country the past week to start on Tuesday taking in humanitarian aid for Lebanon. Tens of thousands of refugees are in temporary shelters, supplies of medicine are tight at many hospitals and fuel is slowly running out.
"We are working with Israel and Lebanon to open up humanitarian corridors,'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said. So far Israel has loosened its blockade of Lebanese ports to let aid ships into Beirut, but has not defined any safe land routes for convoys to the south.
At a hospital in Tyre, where Israeli rockets frequently hit nearby, dirty bandages hid the worst of 8-year-old Zainab Jawad's swollen, bloodied nose. Her arm was strapped to her chest and fractured in two places.
Stretched out on a bed at Najem Hospital, Zainab squeezed shut her brown eyes as memories of the attack flooded back, some of her words muffled as she fought sobs.
A day earlier, Israeli bombs destroyed her family's home in the southern village of Ayta Chaeb. Then rockets slammed into the car as they fled.
"I don't want to remember, but I can't help it. What I remember most is the sound, the sound of the planes and I was scared because I thought there were so many,'' she said. "I fell asleep last night, but all I could hear in my sleep were planes.''
Associated Press reporters Katherine Shrader traveling with Rice, Benjamin Harvey on the Israel-Lebanon border, Kathy Gannon in Tyre and Hussein Dakroub and Lauren Frayer in Beirut contributed to this report.
07/24/06 21:51 EDT
-
theone666
- Major [O-4]
- Posts: 1434
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
Israeli Missile Strike Kills Seven Civilians
By JOSEPH PANOSSIAN, AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon (July 25) - Israeli troops surrounded and sealed off a southern Lebanese town on Tuesday, encountering fierce resistance from Hezbollah fighters two weeks into a conflict that showed no sign of abating. An Israeli missile strike destroyed a house, killing seven civilians, as rockets rained down on northern Israel.
Hundreds of Americans were reported stranded in the heart of Lebanon's war zone, when a ship evacuating foreigners had to pull out of a southern port without them.
In Jerusalem, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who said his government was determined to carry on fighting Hezbollah.
"We will ... stop them. We will not hesitate to take severe measures against those who are aiming thousands of rockets and missiles against innocent civilians," Olmert told reporters before the start of his talks with Rice.
For the first time since their offensive began July 12, the Israelis put a limit on how far their troops and tanks would advance in Lebanon. Israeli commander Col. Hemi Livni said Tuesday that Israeli ground troops aimed to destroy the Hezbollah infrastructure "within reach."
"That means in southern Lebanon, not going beyond that," Livni, who commands Israeli troops in the western sector of southern Lebanon, told Israel Army Radio.
There was no letup from Hezbollah either. The group's television channel Al-Manar broadcast Tuesday that its guerrillas were mounting a strong defense in the vicinity of Bint Jbail, a Hezbollah stronghold that the Israeli have been trying to capture since early Monday.
By Tuesday, military officials said Israeli forces had surrounded the town and sealed it off, seizing houses on the outskirts. At least two Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting.
Israel appeared to be easing bombardment in populated areas and roads in Lebanon that has killed hundreds, displaced as many as 750,000 and dismembered the transportation network. Instead, it appeared to be focusing its firepower on Hezbollah at the front.
On Tuesday Israeli missiles destroyed a house in Nabatiyeh, 16 miles north of Bint Jbail. Seven people were killed, four from the same family, security and hospital officials said. The motive for the attack was not immediately apparent.
Rice, who is on the second leg of a Middle East tour, is pushing a plan that would produce both a cease-fire and the deployment of international and Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon to stop Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
In Beirut on Monday, Rice met with disapproval. Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Shiite Muslim politician close to Hezbollah, rejected the U.S. plan, arguing that the cease-fire should be imposed immediately and other issues could follow.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, whose government is backed by the U.S., took a similar stance and complained to Rice that Israeli airstrikes were destroying the country.
Israel "is taking Lebanon backward 50 years and the result will be Lebanon's destruction," Saniora told Rice.
When she arrived in Israel, Rice defended the need to ensure that Hezbollah is dislodged from the south Lebanon border region before any cease-fire is declared.
"Every peace has to be based on enduring principles," Rice said Monday.
Hezbollah fired at least 10 rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa on Tuesday, and one hit a city bus and another a house. Five people were hurt, doctors and medics said.
The Cypriot ship Princesa Marissa sailed into the southern port city of Tyre and picked up about 300 foreigners stuck there _ a joint effort by the U.S., Switzerland, Norway and others, said Erik Rattat, a German official involved in the evacuation.
Rattat said 300 Americans were trapped southeast of Tyre on Monday, and had called the U.S. Embassy for help. He said the embassy called him, asking the Cypriot ship to wait as long as possible in hopes the Americans could climb aboard.
U.S. officials confirmed they had been trying to get Americans onto the ship, but were unsure if any had made it on time. The last scheduled evacuations of Americans from Lebanon were planned for Wednesday.
The U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland appealed for $150 million in aid to Lebanon. He also called on Israel to open Tyre to allow ships to deliver aid to the south of the country.
President Bush ordered U.S. Navy ships that have evacuated nearly 12,000 Americans from Lebanon to start delivering humanitarian aid to the country on Tuesday.
Two ships docked at Beirut and convoys entered from Syria, bearing blankets, food, medicine _ and two convoys of trucks took material to the worst hit areas in the south along dangerous and broken roads.
So far Israel has loosened its blockade of Lebanese ports to let aid ships into Beirut, but has not defined any safe land routes for convoys to the south.
Tens of thousands of refugees are in temporary shelters, supplies of medicine are tight at many hospitals and fuel is slowly running out under Israel's blockade of Lebanon's ports.
7/25/2006 06:53:14
BEIRUT, Lebanon (July 25) - Israeli troops surrounded and sealed off a southern Lebanese town on Tuesday, encountering fierce resistance from Hezbollah fighters two weeks into a conflict that showed no sign of abating. An Israeli missile strike destroyed a house, killing seven civilians, as rockets rained down on northern Israel.
Hundreds of Americans were reported stranded in the heart of Lebanon's war zone, when a ship evacuating foreigners had to pull out of a southern port without them.
In Jerusalem, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who said his government was determined to carry on fighting Hezbollah.
"We will ... stop them. We will not hesitate to take severe measures against those who are aiming thousands of rockets and missiles against innocent civilians," Olmert told reporters before the start of his talks with Rice.
For the first time since their offensive began July 12, the Israelis put a limit on how far their troops and tanks would advance in Lebanon. Israeli commander Col. Hemi Livni said Tuesday that Israeli ground troops aimed to destroy the Hezbollah infrastructure "within reach."
"That means in southern Lebanon, not going beyond that," Livni, who commands Israeli troops in the western sector of southern Lebanon, told Israel Army Radio.
There was no letup from Hezbollah either. The group's television channel Al-Manar broadcast Tuesday that its guerrillas were mounting a strong defense in the vicinity of Bint Jbail, a Hezbollah stronghold that the Israeli have been trying to capture since early Monday.
By Tuesday, military officials said Israeli forces had surrounded the town and sealed it off, seizing houses on the outskirts. At least two Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting.
Israel appeared to be easing bombardment in populated areas and roads in Lebanon that has killed hundreds, displaced as many as 750,000 and dismembered the transportation network. Instead, it appeared to be focusing its firepower on Hezbollah at the front.
On Tuesday Israeli missiles destroyed a house in Nabatiyeh, 16 miles north of Bint Jbail. Seven people were killed, four from the same family, security and hospital officials said. The motive for the attack was not immediately apparent.
Rice, who is on the second leg of a Middle East tour, is pushing a plan that would produce both a cease-fire and the deployment of international and Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon to stop Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
In Beirut on Monday, Rice met with disapproval. Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Shiite Muslim politician close to Hezbollah, rejected the U.S. plan, arguing that the cease-fire should be imposed immediately and other issues could follow.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, whose government is backed by the U.S., took a similar stance and complained to Rice that Israeli airstrikes were destroying the country.
Israel "is taking Lebanon backward 50 years and the result will be Lebanon's destruction," Saniora told Rice.
When she arrived in Israel, Rice defended the need to ensure that Hezbollah is dislodged from the south Lebanon border region before any cease-fire is declared.
"Every peace has to be based on enduring principles," Rice said Monday.
Hezbollah fired at least 10 rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa on Tuesday, and one hit a city bus and another a house. Five people were hurt, doctors and medics said.
The Cypriot ship Princesa Marissa sailed into the southern port city of Tyre and picked up about 300 foreigners stuck there _ a joint effort by the U.S., Switzerland, Norway and others, said Erik Rattat, a German official involved in the evacuation.
Rattat said 300 Americans were trapped southeast of Tyre on Monday, and had called the U.S. Embassy for help. He said the embassy called him, asking the Cypriot ship to wait as long as possible in hopes the Americans could climb aboard.
U.S. officials confirmed they had been trying to get Americans onto the ship, but were unsure if any had made it on time. The last scheduled evacuations of Americans from Lebanon were planned for Wednesday.
The U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland appealed for $150 million in aid to Lebanon. He also called on Israel to open Tyre to allow ships to deliver aid to the south of the country.
President Bush ordered U.S. Navy ships that have evacuated nearly 12,000 Americans from Lebanon to start delivering humanitarian aid to the country on Tuesday.
Two ships docked at Beirut and convoys entered from Syria, bearing blankets, food, medicine _ and two convoys of trucks took material to the worst hit areas in the south along dangerous and broken roads.
So far Israel has loosened its blockade of Lebanese ports to let aid ships into Beirut, but has not defined any safe land routes for convoys to the south.
Tens of thousands of refugees are in temporary shelters, supplies of medicine are tight at many hospitals and fuel is slowly running out under Israel's blockade of Lebanon's ports.
7/25/2006 06:53:14
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theone666
- Major [O-4]
- Posts: 1434
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
Americans Stranded in War Zone
By LAUREN FRAYER, AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon (July 25) - Hundreds of Americans and Russians were reported stranded in the heart of Lebanon's war zone Tuesday when a ship evacuating foreigners had to pull out of a southern port without them.
The Cypriot ship Princesa Marissa picked up about 300 foreigners stuck in the southern port city of Tyre - a joint effort by the U.S., Switzerland, Norway and others, said Erik Rattat, a German official involved in the evacuation.
Rattat said 300 Americans trapped southeast of Tyre had called the U.S. Embassy for help. He said the embassy called him and asked that the Cypriot ship wait as long as possible for the Americans to get on board. But the boat had a deadline to leave by 5 p.m., he said.
U.S. officials confirmed they had been trying to get Americans onto the ship, but were unsure if any had made it on time. The last scheduled evacuations of Americans from Lebanon were planned for Wednesday, U.S. officials said.
A Canadian ship was due in Tyre on Wednesday to evacuate more people, officials said.
Boatloads of evacuees have been leaving from Beirut for nearly a week, but Israeli airstrikes have damaged roads leading to the capital, and few people in the south have risked the trip.
More than 12,000 Americans have fled Lebanon since hostilities started two weeks ago, and officials said the effort was winding down.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said more than 100 Russians and citizens of other ex-Soviet republics also might be caught in Lebanon's south, the stronghold of the Hezbollah militant group targeted by Israel's offensive. Russia and Israel were negotiating a safe corridor for their passage to the Syrian border, he said.
Nearly 2,000 citizens from Russia and other ex-Soviet republics have been evacuated, and scores more were to be bused from Beirut to Syria this week, Lavrov said.
The Princess Marissa boat arrived at Larnaca, Cyprus, after midnight Tuesday carrying some 230 mostly European nationals. Ambulances stood by for several injured evacuees.
Some 500 Americans left Monday morning on the USS Nashville, a troop transport vessel that last week took multiple loads of more than 1,000 people. It had been scheduled to leave Sunday, but did not fill up, and officials held it in port overnight.
The cruise ship Orient Queen left Beirut on Monday night with several hundred more American evacuees, U.S. officials said.
U.S. Embassy officials said they were meeting Monday night to discuss whether to reduce the fleet of seven naval ships involved in the effort.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. military would shift to a humanitarian mission, carrying tons of medical equipment and other supplies from Cyprus to Beirut.
The last large group of Britons requesting evacuation sailed out of Beirut's harbor Sunday. The British have pulled out a total of about 4,500 people.
Canadian officials said about 1,200 of their nationals left on two ships Monday, bringing the total number of Canadians evacuated to nearly 8,000. Officials said they had stopped phoning Canadians to notify them of evacuations and urged them to report to boarding areas without waiting for a call.
7/25/2006 20:20:44 EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (July 25) - Hundreds of Americans and Russians were reported stranded in the heart of Lebanon's war zone Tuesday when a ship evacuating foreigners had to pull out of a southern port without them.
The Cypriot ship Princesa Marissa picked up about 300 foreigners stuck in the southern port city of Tyre - a joint effort by the U.S., Switzerland, Norway and others, said Erik Rattat, a German official involved in the evacuation.
Rattat said 300 Americans trapped southeast of Tyre had called the U.S. Embassy for help. He said the embassy called him and asked that the Cypriot ship wait as long as possible for the Americans to get on board. But the boat had a deadline to leave by 5 p.m., he said.
U.S. officials confirmed they had been trying to get Americans onto the ship, but were unsure if any had made it on time. The last scheduled evacuations of Americans from Lebanon were planned for Wednesday, U.S. officials said.
A Canadian ship was due in Tyre on Wednesday to evacuate more people, officials said.
Boatloads of evacuees have been leaving from Beirut for nearly a week, but Israeli airstrikes have damaged roads leading to the capital, and few people in the south have risked the trip.
More than 12,000 Americans have fled Lebanon since hostilities started two weeks ago, and officials said the effort was winding down.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said more than 100 Russians and citizens of other ex-Soviet republics also might be caught in Lebanon's south, the stronghold of the Hezbollah militant group targeted by Israel's offensive. Russia and Israel were negotiating a safe corridor for their passage to the Syrian border, he said.
Nearly 2,000 citizens from Russia and other ex-Soviet republics have been evacuated, and scores more were to be bused from Beirut to Syria this week, Lavrov said.
The Princess Marissa boat arrived at Larnaca, Cyprus, after midnight Tuesday carrying some 230 mostly European nationals. Ambulances stood by for several injured evacuees.
Some 500 Americans left Monday morning on the USS Nashville, a troop transport vessel that last week took multiple loads of more than 1,000 people. It had been scheduled to leave Sunday, but did not fill up, and officials held it in port overnight.
The cruise ship Orient Queen left Beirut on Monday night with several hundred more American evacuees, U.S. officials said.
U.S. Embassy officials said they were meeting Monday night to discuss whether to reduce the fleet of seven naval ships involved in the effort.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. military would shift to a humanitarian mission, carrying tons of medical equipment and other supplies from Cyprus to Beirut.
The last large group of Britons requesting evacuation sailed out of Beirut's harbor Sunday. The British have pulled out a total of about 4,500 people.
Canadian officials said about 1,200 of their nationals left on two ships Monday, bringing the total number of Canadians evacuated to nearly 8,000. Officials said they had stopped phoning Canadians to notify them of evacuations and urged them to report to boarding areas without waiting for a call.
7/25/2006 20:20:44 EDT
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theone666
- Major [O-4]
- Posts: 1434
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
Gaza offensive 'disproportionate'
Tuesday, 25 July 2006, 12:01 GMT 13:01 UK
The UN's top humanitarian official Jan Egeland has described Israel's month-long military offensive in Gaza as a "disproportionate use of force".
Mr Egeland, who is in Gaza to assess the damage, said he was shocked by the targeting of civilian infrastructure including Gaza's only power plant.
More than 100 Palestinians have died in the violence in Gaza since June.
Israel says its attacks are aimed at freeing a captured soldier and stopping militants firing rockets into Israel.
Mr Egeland said that the bombing of the power plant would affect schools and hospitals more than the militants.
"This is very clear, a disproportionate use [of power]," Mr Egeland told reporters.
"Civilian infrastructure is protected. The law is very clear. You cannot have any interpretation in any other way."
Power shortages
Israel launched its offensive in June after Cpl Gilad Shalit was abducted by militants linked to Hamas's military wing.
More than 100 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have since died in clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants.
Many of the dead have been militants, but civilians have also died under Israeli fire and air strikes.
Jerusalem says it is targeting civilian areas because militants use them as cover to launch rockets, and it is striking infrastructure to prevent militants moving Cpl Shalit around Gaza.
But human rights groups say electricity shortages and blockages are threatening medical services and causing businesses to close.
Israel's assault has prompted international calls for restraint, but a UN resolution urging Israel to stop the offensive was vetoed by the US at the Security Council earlier this month.
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, along with the militants who seized Cpl Shalit, have been insisting that the soldier only be handed over in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ruled out any negotiations with the Hamas-led Palestinian government, calling the militant group a "terrorist bloody organisation".
The UN's top humanitarian official Jan Egeland has described Israel's month-long military offensive in Gaza as a "disproportionate use of force".
Mr Egeland, who is in Gaza to assess the damage, said he was shocked by the targeting of civilian infrastructure including Gaza's only power plant.
More than 100 Palestinians have died in the violence in Gaza since June.
Israel says its attacks are aimed at freeing a captured soldier and stopping militants firing rockets into Israel.
Mr Egeland said that the bombing of the power plant would affect schools and hospitals more than the militants.
"This is very clear, a disproportionate use [of power]," Mr Egeland told reporters.
"Civilian infrastructure is protected. The law is very clear. You cannot have any interpretation in any other way."
Power shortages
Israel launched its offensive in June after Cpl Gilad Shalit was abducted by militants linked to Hamas's military wing.
More than 100 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have since died in clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants.
Many of the dead have been militants, but civilians have also died under Israeli fire and air strikes.
Jerusalem says it is targeting civilian areas because militants use them as cover to launch rockets, and it is striking infrastructure to prevent militants moving Cpl Shalit around Gaza.
But human rights groups say electricity shortages and blockages are threatening medical services and causing businesses to close.
Israel's assault has prompted international calls for restraint, but a UN resolution urging Israel to stop the offensive was vetoed by the US at the Security Council earlier this month.
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, along with the militants who seized Cpl Shalit, have been insisting that the soldier only be handed over in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ruled out any negotiations with the Hamas-led Palestinian government, calling the militant group a "terrorist bloody organisation".