OMEN
07-25-2006, 11:28 PM
JERUSALEM: Israel said on Tuesday it was determined to pursue its war against Hizbollah and would establish a no-go zone for the guerrillas in southern Lebanon until an international force arrives.
At least four UN observers were killed late on Tuesday when an Israeli air raid destroyed their position in southern Lebanon. And in fierce fighting near the border, the Israeli army said its troops shot dead a senior Hizbollah commander.
After meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said both agreed that disarming Hizbollah and deploying a foreign force in its place were key to resolving the two-week-old crisis.
The war will take centre stage at an international conference in Rome on Wednesday where Arab and some European nations are expected to call for an immediate ceasefire over Washington's objections. Rice later flew to Italy.
A total of 418 people in Lebanon and 42 Israelis have been killed in a conflict that erupted after Hizbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz, who held separate talks with Rice, said Israel would control a "security strip" along the 80km frontier and fire at anyone who entered.
He did not say how wide it would be. Israeli government sources estimated the zone's width at 3-4km. Israel currently has full control over only one Lebanese border village after a week of fierce ground fighting.
"We will have to build a. . . security strip that will be a cover for our forces until international forces arrive," Peretz told reporters.
While it was not immediately clear whether Israel planned to control the area by putting more troops into Lebanon, such talk will revive memories of Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon for 22 years until it withdrew in 2000.
BATTLE FOR STRONGHOLD
On the battlefield inside southern Lebanon, Israeli troops and tanks fought Hizbollah in the guerrilla stronghold town of Bint Jbeil. Israel said it killed up to 30 fighters.
The army said Hizbollah commander Abu Jaafar was killed in an exchange of fire near the Lebanese border village of Maroun al-Ras. The army said he commanded Hizbollah's "central sector" on the Lebanese border.
Israeli warplanes bombarded south Beirut and launched 100 strikes across south Lebanon. One attack killed a family of seven, Lebanese security sources said.
Hizbollah rockets killed a 15-year-old girl in an Arab Israeli town in the Galilee, medics said.
US President George W Bush said Rice's message was: "We care about the (Lebanese) people. We will help to get aid to the people. And that we want a sustainable cease-fire. We don't want something that's, you know, short term in duration."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the conflict could sweep through the Middle East like a hurricane and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said it could ignite a wider war.
But Rice, who visited bomb-battered Beirut on Monday, said it was time for a "new Middle East".
"A durable solution will be one that strengthens the forces of peace and democracy in the region," she said.
Amid mounting international concern at civilian casualties and the plight of people displaced in Lebanon, Olmert said Israel would allow aid airlifts to reach the country.
BLOCKADE
Israel has imposed an air and sea blockade and bombed Beirut airport runways.
Lebanon says Israel's bombardment has displaced a fifth of its population. Most of its dead are civilians.
United Nations humanitarian agencies said they were still largely blocked from bringing relief supplies into Lebanon and from getting injured and very sick people to hospitals.
Ground raids and air strikes have failed to stop Hizbollah firing around 1,200 rockets into northern Israeli towns and cities, where they have killed 18 civilians so far.
One of the key sticking points for a ceasefire in Lebanon is the sequence of events for a deal.
Many Lebanese politicians want a ceasefire first. Israel wants Hizbollah to leave the border area immediately and free the captured soldiers without conditions.
Israel's Lebanon offensive has coincided with its push into the Gaza Strip to try to recover a soldier captured on June 25 by Palestinian militants and halt rocket fire. Israeli forces have killed at least 121 Palestinians in the month since then.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/masthead/reuters.gif
At least four UN observers were killed late on Tuesday when an Israeli air raid destroyed their position in southern Lebanon. And in fierce fighting near the border, the Israeli army said its troops shot dead a senior Hizbollah commander.
After meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said both agreed that disarming Hizbollah and deploying a foreign force in its place were key to resolving the two-week-old crisis.
The war will take centre stage at an international conference in Rome on Wednesday where Arab and some European nations are expected to call for an immediate ceasefire over Washington's objections. Rice later flew to Italy.
A total of 418 people in Lebanon and 42 Israelis have been killed in a conflict that erupted after Hizbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz, who held separate talks with Rice, said Israel would control a "security strip" along the 80km frontier and fire at anyone who entered.
He did not say how wide it would be. Israeli government sources estimated the zone's width at 3-4km. Israel currently has full control over only one Lebanese border village after a week of fierce ground fighting.
"We will have to build a. . . security strip that will be a cover for our forces until international forces arrive," Peretz told reporters.
While it was not immediately clear whether Israel planned to control the area by putting more troops into Lebanon, such talk will revive memories of Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon for 22 years until it withdrew in 2000.
BATTLE FOR STRONGHOLD
On the battlefield inside southern Lebanon, Israeli troops and tanks fought Hizbollah in the guerrilla stronghold town of Bint Jbeil. Israel said it killed up to 30 fighters.
The army said Hizbollah commander Abu Jaafar was killed in an exchange of fire near the Lebanese border village of Maroun al-Ras. The army said he commanded Hizbollah's "central sector" on the Lebanese border.
Israeli warplanes bombarded south Beirut and launched 100 strikes across south Lebanon. One attack killed a family of seven, Lebanese security sources said.
Hizbollah rockets killed a 15-year-old girl in an Arab Israeli town in the Galilee, medics said.
US President George W Bush said Rice's message was: "We care about the (Lebanese) people. We will help to get aid to the people. And that we want a sustainable cease-fire. We don't want something that's, you know, short term in duration."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the conflict could sweep through the Middle East like a hurricane and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said it could ignite a wider war.
But Rice, who visited bomb-battered Beirut on Monday, said it was time for a "new Middle East".
"A durable solution will be one that strengthens the forces of peace and democracy in the region," she said.
Amid mounting international concern at civilian casualties and the plight of people displaced in Lebanon, Olmert said Israel would allow aid airlifts to reach the country.
BLOCKADE
Israel has imposed an air and sea blockade and bombed Beirut airport runways.
Lebanon says Israel's bombardment has displaced a fifth of its population. Most of its dead are civilians.
United Nations humanitarian agencies said they were still largely blocked from bringing relief supplies into Lebanon and from getting injured and very sick people to hospitals.
Ground raids and air strikes have failed to stop Hizbollah firing around 1,200 rockets into northern Israeli towns and cities, where they have killed 18 civilians so far.
One of the key sticking points for a ceasefire in Lebanon is the sequence of events for a deal.
Many Lebanese politicians want a ceasefire first. Israel wants Hizbollah to leave the border area immediately and free the captured soldiers without conditions.
Israel's Lebanon offensive has coincided with its push into the Gaza Strip to try to recover a soldier captured on June 25 by Palestinian militants and halt rocket fire. Israeli forces have killed at least 121 Palestinians in the month since then.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/masthead/reuters.gif