Owais
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UN outlines plan to end Lebanon fighting
BEIRUT (updated on: July 21, 2006, 04:54 PST): Israeli troops battled Lebanese guerrillas on Thursday, the ninth day of a conflict that has killed more than 330 people and set alarm bells ringing about the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe.
UN chief Kofi Annan on Thursday outlined a plan to end the fighting in Lebanon, including a cease-fire, the early release of two captured Israeli soldiers and deployment of a peacekeeping force on the Lebanon-Israel border.
The plan, unveiled before the Security Council, would also involve calling an international conference tasked with ensuring full implementation of UN resolutions demanding the disbanding and disarming of all militias, including Hezbollah, in Lebanon. He also said Israel "must allow humanitarian agencies access to civilians." He suggested that "an expanded peacekeeping force" be deployed along the Blue Line the border between Lebanon and Israel.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intends to travel to the Middle East as early as next week to press for a political solution to reduce fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, her spokesman said on Thursday.
Unlike the United Nations and key European allies that want a cease-fire as soon as possible, the United States stresses the need for what it calls a "durable" solution to the crisis before any cease-fire can be implemented.
A private TV told that four Israeli soldier were killed and others wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon on Thursday. The early saying was three Israeli soldiers had been killed and three wounded. Despite that Israeli media reported eight soldiers had been wounded. An Israeli military source said the firefight took place near the northern Israeli village of Avivim, near an area where Hizbollah guerrillas killed two soldiers and wounded nine others on Wednesday.
Earlier on Thursday, three Israeli soldiers were wounded, two of them seriously, in firefights in the area. The army said two Hizbollah fighters were killed in that clash.
At least 72 people were killed in Lebanon Wednesday, the highest single-day toll since the offensive was launched, sending thousands of Lebanese streaming from their homes to find safe havens.
Thousands of foreigners, mainly Westerners, were also being evacuated by sea from Beirut to the neighbouring Mediterranean island of Cyprus, fleeing an offensive that has now killed nearly 330 people in Lebanon and displaced an estimated half a million others.
Under cover of darkness, Israeli warplanes swung into action over south Beirut, dropping 20 tonnes of bombs on a suspected Hezbollah leadership bunker in the group's militant stronghold, although it appeared to ease off from its usual intensive air bombardments across the country. Hezbollah denied any members had been killed and said the building hit was a mosque.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz warned that Israel would launch a full-scale ground operation if it considered it necessary. "Let no terror organisation feel we would cower from any operation," he said. "We have no intention of conquering Lebanon, but. We will do it without thinking twice."
Israel has made no secret of its desire to liquidate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and has already launched air raids destroying his offices and residence during its blistering campaign.
The international community was bracing for a humanitarian disaster in Lebanon, where food and medical supplies are running short because of an Israeli air and sea blockade. Israel has put the only international airport out of action, bombed houses, roads, bridges, factories, warehouses and even trucks, creating scenes reminiscent of the country's devastating 1975-1990 civil war.
"The most basic human rights of the population are at risk or are being violated, including their rights to life, health and food," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said, warning that perpetrators in the conflict could be held to account for war crimes.
The European Union announced 10 million euros ($12.6 million) in aid on Thursday to help Lebanese fleeing fighting in their country and expressed grave concern over the humanitarian situation in the region.
Leaders of all political groups in the European Parliament issued a statement demanding an immediate cease-fire to allow passage of humanitarian aid and backed the dispatch of a UN intervention force and an immediate start to negotiations.
International diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have yet to get off the ground, with Israel's chief ally the United States refusing to back calls for a cease-fire until Hezbollah halts its rocket attacks.
Twenty-nine Israelis, including a confirmed 14 soldiers, have been killed since a Hezbollah attack on July 12 in which two soldiers were captured, triggering the Israeli onslaught.
Israel, which has sent ground troops back into Lebanon for the first time since it ended its occupation in May 2000, has been emboldened by strong public support at home and the lack of a cease-fire call from its ally Washington. But even in Israel, doubts were emerging about the effectiveness of an offensive that has failed to stop Hezbollah fire, eliminate its leadership or push fighters back from the border.
Israel also pressed on with its air, sea and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, where nearly 100 people have been killed in two weeks, and warned civilians that homes storing weaponry were now targets. Israeli fire and another 17 wounded seven of they fighters from the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement killed two Palestinians.
Although similar leaflets have been dropped on Gaza before, it was the most explicit warning that civilians' homes could be directly targeted in a campaign that has already killed at least 98 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.
US Marines were out in force to secure a port being used to evacuate American citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus, which lies just 100 miles (160 kilometres) to the west and is being used as the evacuation hub. It was the first time they were operating in Lebanon since they quit the country following a guerrilla attack on their barracks in 1983 that left 240 dead, the worst US lost since World War II.
BEIRUT (updated on: July 21, 2006, 04:54 PST): Israeli troops battled Lebanese guerrillas on Thursday, the ninth day of a conflict that has killed more than 330 people and set alarm bells ringing about the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe.
UN chief Kofi Annan on Thursday outlined a plan to end the fighting in Lebanon, including a cease-fire, the early release of two captured Israeli soldiers and deployment of a peacekeeping force on the Lebanon-Israel border.
The plan, unveiled before the Security Council, would also involve calling an international conference tasked with ensuring full implementation of UN resolutions demanding the disbanding and disarming of all militias, including Hezbollah, in Lebanon. He also said Israel "must allow humanitarian agencies access to civilians." He suggested that "an expanded peacekeeping force" be deployed along the Blue Line the border between Lebanon and Israel.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intends to travel to the Middle East as early as next week to press for a political solution to reduce fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, her spokesman said on Thursday.
Unlike the United Nations and key European allies that want a cease-fire as soon as possible, the United States stresses the need for what it calls a "durable" solution to the crisis before any cease-fire can be implemented.
A private TV told that four Israeli soldier were killed and others wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon on Thursday. The early saying was three Israeli soldiers had been killed and three wounded. Despite that Israeli media reported eight soldiers had been wounded. An Israeli military source said the firefight took place near the northern Israeli village of Avivim, near an area where Hizbollah guerrillas killed two soldiers and wounded nine others on Wednesday.
Earlier on Thursday, three Israeli soldiers were wounded, two of them seriously, in firefights in the area. The army said two Hizbollah fighters were killed in that clash.
At least 72 people were killed in Lebanon Wednesday, the highest single-day toll since the offensive was launched, sending thousands of Lebanese streaming from their homes to find safe havens.
Thousands of foreigners, mainly Westerners, were also being evacuated by sea from Beirut to the neighbouring Mediterranean island of Cyprus, fleeing an offensive that has now killed nearly 330 people in Lebanon and displaced an estimated half a million others.
Under cover of darkness, Israeli warplanes swung into action over south Beirut, dropping 20 tonnes of bombs on a suspected Hezbollah leadership bunker in the group's militant stronghold, although it appeared to ease off from its usual intensive air bombardments across the country. Hezbollah denied any members had been killed and said the building hit was a mosque.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz warned that Israel would launch a full-scale ground operation if it considered it necessary. "Let no terror organisation feel we would cower from any operation," he said. "We have no intention of conquering Lebanon, but. We will do it without thinking twice."
Israel has made no secret of its desire to liquidate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and has already launched air raids destroying his offices and residence during its blistering campaign.
The international community was bracing for a humanitarian disaster in Lebanon, where food and medical supplies are running short because of an Israeli air and sea blockade. Israel has put the only international airport out of action, bombed houses, roads, bridges, factories, warehouses and even trucks, creating scenes reminiscent of the country's devastating 1975-1990 civil war.
"The most basic human rights of the population are at risk or are being violated, including their rights to life, health and food," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said, warning that perpetrators in the conflict could be held to account for war crimes.
The European Union announced 10 million euros ($12.6 million) in aid on Thursday to help Lebanese fleeing fighting in their country and expressed grave concern over the humanitarian situation in the region.
Leaders of all political groups in the European Parliament issued a statement demanding an immediate cease-fire to allow passage of humanitarian aid and backed the dispatch of a UN intervention force and an immediate start to negotiations.
International diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have yet to get off the ground, with Israel's chief ally the United States refusing to back calls for a cease-fire until Hezbollah halts its rocket attacks.
Twenty-nine Israelis, including a confirmed 14 soldiers, have been killed since a Hezbollah attack on July 12 in which two soldiers were captured, triggering the Israeli onslaught.
Israel, which has sent ground troops back into Lebanon for the first time since it ended its occupation in May 2000, has been emboldened by strong public support at home and the lack of a cease-fire call from its ally Washington. But even in Israel, doubts were emerging about the effectiveness of an offensive that has failed to stop Hezbollah fire, eliminate its leadership or push fighters back from the border.
Israel also pressed on with its air, sea and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, where nearly 100 people have been killed in two weeks, and warned civilians that homes storing weaponry were now targets. Israeli fire and another 17 wounded seven of they fighters from the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement killed two Palestinians.
Although similar leaflets have been dropped on Gaza before, it was the most explicit warning that civilians' homes could be directly targeted in a campaign that has already killed at least 98 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.
US Marines were out in force to secure a port being used to evacuate American citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus, which lies just 100 miles (160 kilometres) to the west and is being used as the evacuation hub. It was the first time they were operating in Lebanon since they quit the country following a guerrilla attack on their barracks in 1983 that left 240 dead, the worst US lost since World War II.
