Israel advances as UN wavers
2006-08-09 15:55
Beirut - Israeli troops thrust deeper into
Lebanon against fierce Hezbollah resistance on Wednesday as
Israel's security cabinet discussed whether to order a bigger
advance ahead of any United Nations move to end the war.
A vote on a UN Security Council resolution may not take
place before Thursday because of wrangling over its content.
Lebanese security sources said Israeli forces based in
Taibeh, 5km from the border, pushed west
towards the village of Qantara and north towards Burj al-Molouk
and Qlaiah villages. The sources also reported fighting near the
town of Bint Jbeil and the village of Aita al-Shaab.
Hezbollah said it had inflicted at least 10 casualties and
knocked out four tanks in battles around Qantara and elsewhere.
It did not say if its own fighters had suffered any losses.
Israel's army, which has about 10 000 troops inside Lebanon,
reported fighting near Qantara, but had no word on casualties.
Small arms fire, interspersed by the thud of mortar bombs
and artillery shells, echoed in the hills along the border.
UN indecision
Residents in the southern town of Marjayoun reported the
fiercest night of bombardment in the surrounding area.
Israeli planes bombed targets across Lebanon. Five people
died in a raid that hit the home of a local Hezbollah official
in the Bekaa Valley town of Mashghara, medics said.
Two people were killed in air strikes on a position of the
Palestinian Fatah movement in Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near
the coastal city of Sidon, hospital sources said.
At least 994 people in Lebanon and 101 Israelis have been
killed in four weeks of bloodshed sparked when Hezbollah seized
two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12.
The United Nations has yet to act to halt the conflict.
An Arab League delegation warned that civil war could erupt
in Lebanon if Beirut's terms were not met. Lebanon wants an
immediate ceasefire and a quick withdrawal of Israeli troops
from the south, where it says 15 000 Lebanese soldiers backed by
UN peacekeepers can deploy to stabilise the area.
Israel, planning to pull out only when a foreign force and
the Lebanese army take over to keep Hezbollah at bay, has vowed
in the absence of agreement to expand an offensive in south
Lebanon to curb Hezbollah's rocket attacks on the Jewish state.
More rockets hit northern Israel and four landed in the
occupied West Bank on Wednesday. No casualties were reported.
A deeper Israeli advance into Lebanon could step up pressure
for a deal on terms that suits Israel and its ally Washington,
but it could also cost Israel more casualties, without
necessarily halting Hezbollah rocket fire.
- Reuters