Israeli warplanes hit Beirut suburbs
[author:HAMZA HENDAWI Public time:Aug 3, 2006] |
|
Three weeks into the conflict, six Israeli brigades — or roughly 10,000 troops — were locked in fighting with hundreds of Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon, and the battle looked likely to be bitter and long.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said more than 900 people had been killed and 3,000 injured in the fighting, though did not say whether the new figure — up from 548 confirmed dead — included those missing.
More than 1 million people — a quarter of Lebanon's population — had been displaced, he said, adding the fighting "is taking an enormous toll on human life and infrastructure, and has totally ravaged our country and shattered our economy."
Although diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting have thus far faltered, diplomats said the United States and France were working on two U.N. resolutions to overcome the impasse.
The first resolution would call for an immediate cease-fire and lay out political principles for a long-term settlement of the dispute, while the second would deal with deploying an international force to secure the border between Lebanon and Israel and other long-term issues.
Diplomats said the key elements in that framework include halting the fighting, disarming Hezbollah, deploying peacekeepers and creating a buffer zone in south Lebanon free of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops.
Up to this point, the U.S. has opposed an immediate cease-fire without simultaneous steps to deploy peacekeepers and tackle Hezbollah's disarmament. France, on the other hand, has insisted that the fighting be halted first to pave the way for a wider peace.
The Israeli army said its soldiers had taken up positions in or near 11 towns and villages across south Lebanon as they try to carve out a 5-mile-wide Hezbollah-free zone ahead of what it hopes will be a speedy deployment of a multinational force there.
Most of the villages are close to the Israel-Lebanon border; the one deepest inside Lebanon, Majdel Zoun, is about four miles from the frontier. However, many tanks pushed even further north, controlling open areas from higher ground, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation.
In heavy ground fighting, one Israeli soldier was killed and four wounded around the south Lebanon village of Ayt a-Shab, the Israeli military said. It claimed four Hezbollah fighters were killed and two wounded in the region, but Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the report.
Lebanese security officials said a missile crashed into a two-story house in the border village of Taibeh, killing a couple and their daughter.
Hezbollah's Al-Manar television reported that guerrillas also clashed with Israeli troops in the village, less than three miles from the border, destroying a tank and two bulldozers and injuring its crew members. The Israeli army said a tank had been lightly hit in clashes but that there were no casualties or serious damage.
In the first air raids on the Lebanese capital in almost a week, witnesses said at least four missiles hit the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh, a Shiite Muslim sector that has been repeatedly shelled by Israel since fighting began three weeks ago.
Abdullah proposed an immediate cease-fire followed by diplomacy to "deal with the crisis from its roots."
But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his country would stop its offensive only after a robust international peacekeeping force was in place in southern Lebanon to protect Israel from border raids and rocket attack.
At least 548 Lebanese have been killed since the fighting began three weeks ago, including 477 civilians confirmed dead by the Health Ministry, 25 Lebanese soldiers and at least 46 Hezbollah guerrillas. The health minister says the toll could be as high as 750, including those still buried in rubble or missing.
In all, 56 Israelis have died — 37 soldiers as well as 19 civilians killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks.
Source: By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press
Website:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060803/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel
Printed From:http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200608/1154605702.html
Source:Free Press Release
Similar news >>
Israel and Middle East Volatility Dominate Security Market Discussions [Jul 18, 2006]
Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza wounds one Palestinian militant [Dec 29, 2005]
|
|
