Israel rejects UN aid truce call

[Lahori paa jee]

Israel has rejected a United Nations call for a three-day truce in southern Lebanon, as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Israel.
The UN says children, the elderly and disabled people are trapped and supplies are short.

But an Israeli spokesman said there was no need for a truce as a humanitarian corridor to the area had been opened.

Ms Rice is expected to discuss proposals to deploy a multinational force in southern Lebanon.

However, the UN has warned the deaths of four of its personnel in an Israeli airstrike may deter countries from contributing to a future force.

The UN says some 600 people - about a third of them children - have been killed by Israeli action in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has continued firing hundreds of rockets into Israel.

A total of 51 Israelis, including at least 18 civilians, have been killed during the conflict.

The Israeli assault began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on 12 July.

In other developments:



Israeli forces say they have pulled out of the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, which has seen heavy clashes

A mother and her five children have been killed in a new wave of Israeli air raids on Lebanon

Lebanon has said an Israeli attack on fuel tanks at a power plant has created the biggest environmental disaster the Mediterranean region has known

Several rockets have been launched at the northern Israel town of Safed amid further fire by Hezbollah
Israeli officials have indicated to the BBC that Israel may be willing to stop fighting as soon as a UN resolution is passed next week - and before the arrival of international peacekeepers.

But they say a ceasefire must meet certain key conditions, including a guarantee that Hezbollah will not move back into positions close to the border.

Meanwhile, Israeli military sources have indicated that the fighting could intensify.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams says Israel would prefer a deal but it is publicly prepared to continue fighting if it does not get one.

'Think hard'

The US secretary of state is expected to talk to Israeli and Lebanese leaders about proposals to deploy a multinational force, as part of what US President George W Bush calls a viable plan for ending hostilities.

World leaders are due to discuss a deployment at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said countries which may be in a position to contribute troops would attend the meeting on the proposal, which is due for discussion by the Security Council later next week.

Earlier, the UN deputy chief issued a warning over the observers' deaths in an Israeli strike on a UN base.

Mark Malloch-Brown said they had accepted Israel's apology, but still had "serious concerns" about what happened.

UN officials said they had contacted Israel a dozen times before the bombing and asked them to stop firing, which Israel did not.

Mr Malloch-Brown said the losses posed a "very serious threat to the whole concept of neutral peacekeeping.

"Peacekeeping is a dangerous business and we depend on the support of the international community," he said.

Washington would have to "think hard" about the consequences of its failure to condemn the killings for the recruitment of an international force, he added.

The UN Security Council issued a statement voicing "shock and distress" at the deaths, after the US blocked calls for harsher criticism of Israel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5226996.stm

 

[Owais]

Israel rejects U.N. request for cease-fire

JERUSALEM: Israel on Saturday rejected a request by the U.N. for a three-day cease-fire in Lebanon to deliver humanitarian supplies and allow civilians to leave the war zone.

Avi Pazner, a government spokesman, said Israel already has opened safe corridors across Lebanon for such shipments and that Hezbollah guerrillas were blocking them to create a humanitarian crisis.

"There is no need for a temporary, 72-hour cease-fire because Israel has opened humanitarian corridors to and from and Lebanon," he told reporters.

"The problem is completely different. It is Hezbollah who is deliberately preventing the transfer of medical aid and of food to the population of southern Lebanon in order to create a humanitarian crisis, which they want to blame Israel for," he added.

Jan Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian chief, on Friday called for a three-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah to evacuate trapped civilians and replenish supplies to areas cut off by the fighting.

He said thousands of children, elderly and disabled had been stranded after more than two weeks of fighting, while supplies of food and medicines were dwindling.

Meanwhile, relief aid continued to arrive by air and sea on Saturday.

A U.S. Navy high-speed HSV-2 catamaran arrived at the Beirut port from Cyprus bringing 20,000 blankets, 1,000 tarpaulins, large medical kits and other materials for immediate distribution, said a spokeswoman for the international aid organization Mercy Corp.

Egyptian and Jordanian military transport planes also arrived at Beirut's airport with medicine, food and medical teams, while a third plane brought 40 tons of food and medical supplies from the United Arab Emirates.

 

[Bull]

Finally they have allowed a 48 hr window for relief efforts,i think they were also taken aback after yesterdays attacks.

 

[Owais]

US says Israel suspends south Lebanon air strikes for 48 hours

WASHINGTON: Israel has suspended air strikes in south Lebanon for 48 hours while it investigates the Qana bombings, an aide to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said early Monday.

"Israel has agreed to a 48-hour suspension of aerial activity in south Lebanon, while it investigates today's tragic incident in Qana," spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters just after midnight following talks between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and top Israeli officials.

Israel would also coordinate with the United Nations on a 24-hour period of "safe passage" for civilians that wish to leave the area, Ereli said.

"Israel has, of course, reserved the right to take action against targets preparing attacks against it," Ereli told reporters travelling with Rice.

"During this time, Israel will coordinate with the United Nations to allow a 24-hour period of safe passage for all residents of south Lebanon who wish to leave," Ereli added.

The suspension of air strikes starts immediately, a senior State Department official later said on condition of anonymity, adding that the 24-hour safe passage could be renewed once it expires.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes launched a series of air raids on Monday on unihabited areas near the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbeck in the east of the country, security sources said.

The raids targeted areas in the southwest of the city, with no reports of casualties. Baalbeck was also bombarded on July 20.

 

[Lahori paa jee]

Finally they have allowed a 48 hr window for relief efforts,i think they were also taken aback after yesterdays attacks.

International pressure on Israel would have been so great that they had to declare a temporary ceasefire. But they have said it would be used to gather more military force

 

[Bull]

International pressure on Israel would have been so great that they had to declare a temporary ceasefire. But they have said it would be used to gather more military force

yeah they couldnt carry on like that fore ever.I think it was qana that forced them to stop.But they have only given a breather for the air assualt.