Home News Daily news from Lebanon Israel hits Lebanon from air and by land

Israel hits Lebanon from air and by land



Lebanon news, Lebanese radio station , world news, music, discover Lebanon, visit Beirut,  Radio sawt Beirut
Book Hotels to Lebanon and the middle east , Europe, America for a very cheap prices
Mobile contents, ring tones, games, wallpapers , backgrounds and more..

Written by News Editor

Tuesday, 18 July 2006

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 Hizbollah guerrilla 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.Nine U.S. military ships were set to evacuate more than 2,400 U.S. 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.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?U.S. President George W. Bush described Hizbollah 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 U.S. 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.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 Hizbollah had coordinated 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 Hizbollah.World powers have said Hizbollah must first free the two soldiers and stop cross-border attacks. Israel also demands that Hizbollah disarm in line with UN Security Council resolutions.France proposed late on Tuesday that the UN Security Council consider a resolution calling for a lasting cease-fire in the Middle East, the release of captured Israeli soldiers and the disbanding of all militia in Lebanon.Lebanon’s government, which wants an immediate ceasefire, said it had not received any clear proposals to end the assault.The Beirut government is too weak and divided to impose its authority on Hizbollah, which wants to swap the soldiers for Lebanese and Arabs in Israeli jails.UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for a bigger, more robust international force to stabilise southern Lebanon and buy time for the Lebanese government to disarm Hizbollah guerrillas. Israel, bent on driving Hizbollah from the south, says it is too early to discuss such a force. Washington has queried how it could restrain the Islamist group

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 July 2006 )

 

Lebanon news, Lebanese radio station , world news, music, discover Lebanon, visit Beirut,  Radio sawt Beirut , Lebanese music, president elections in Lebanon
get info about the Lebanese Political Parties by visiting http://www.sawtbeirut.com/lebanese-party

< Prev		Next >