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Israel mulls ground invasion
19/07/2006 07:25 - (SA)
Beirut - Israel struck Lebanon from the air and made limited attacks across the border on Wednesday as thousands awaited evacuation and the death toll mounted in a conflict that has entered its second week with no end in sight.
The Israeli army said Israeli ground troops crossed into
southern Lebanon to attack Hezbollah outposts in
"restricted" attacks while its jets pounded the group's Beirut
stronghold and the Shweifat area outside the capital.
At least 10 civilians were killed in overnight air strikes
on south and east Lebanon, security sources. The conflict has
forced around 100 000 Lebanese to flee their homes and many
foreigners to flee the country.
Mass evacuations
Nine US military ships were set to evacuate more than
2 400 US citizens by air and sea on Wednesday, the first big
group of up to 8 000 the Pentagon expects to bring out.
Britain said six ships were in the region to start moving
its citizens, with around 5 000 to be evacuated this week. A
Royal Navy warship with 170 British evacuees on board arrived at
Limassol in Cyprus on Wednesday.
Other nations mustered boats and planes to reach citizens
stranded by the bombing of Beirut's airport and dozens of roads
and bridges in an Israeli campaign that began after Hizbollah
captured two Israeli soldiers in a border attack on July 12.
Gaza offensive
Israeli armoured forces also clashed with Palestinian
militants after pushing into the central Gaza Strip early on
Wednesday, killing three, in a three-week old offensive there to
recover another soldier, captured by Palestinians on June 25.
Civilians on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border were
angry about the attacks but Israel and Hizbollah showed no
desire to stop the fighting, which has killed 245 people in
Lebanon and 25 Israelis, or heed proposals for a new UN-backed
stabilisation force.
Syrian connection
US President George W Bush described Hezbollah as the
root cause of the current conflict and said Syria, which
supports the Shi'ite Muslim group, was trying to "get back into
Lebanon" one year after ending its 29-year military presence.
Bush spoke to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah about the crisis
in Lebanon, with both expressing concern about the humanitarian
situation and agreeing to assist those displaced or in need.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said the US
secretary of state would go to the region on Friday, but an aide
to Condoleezza Rice said she would not go abroad on Friday and
there was no final decision on any foreign travel.
Ground invasion
While UN peace envoys held talks in Israel, the Israeli
army was refusing to rule out a ground invasion, only six years
after it ended a 22-year occupation of south Lebanon.
Israeli troops have crossed into southern Lebanon several
times in recent days, returning soon afterwards.
Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Hezbollah had
co-ordinated the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers with Iran,
enabling Tehran to divert attention from its nuclear programme.
Olmert said there was no time limit to Israel's offensive
and there would be no negotiations with Hezbollah.
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