Posted on 08/12/2006 10:05:05 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
JERUSALEM - Israeli army units reached the Litani River on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the government ordered an operation to march toward the river in a final push against entrenched Hezbollah guerrillas, Israel Radio reported.
The units were part of a massive force that flooded into Lebanon, trying to seize as much territory as possible before a U.N. cease-fire comes into effect. The objective was to control southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, about 18 miles from the Israeli border, before handing over the area to the Lebanese army and U.N. troops.
Meanwhile, both sides in the war indicated they would accept a U.N. cease-fire plan to stop heavy fighting still raging in southern Lebanon.
Airstrikes killed at least 19 people in Lebanon, including 15 in one village, and Hezbollah rockets wounded at least five people in Israel. Long columns of Israeli tanks, soldiers and armored personnel carriers streamed over the border.
More than 50 helicopters ferried Israeli commandos into southern Lebanon in what was called the biggest such operation in Israel's history. It was part of an all-put push to drive Hezbollah fighters behind the Litani River, about 18 miles from the border, before the truce.
But Hezbollah fought back hard. Israel said dozen of its soldiers were wounded in the expanded offensive, which has tripled the Israeli troop strength in southern Lebanon.
The Islamic militant group said its fighters killed seven Israeli soldiers and destroyed 21 tanks. Israel said its troops had killed 40 Hezbollah guerrillas over the previous 24 hours.
A senior Israeli official, meanwhile, said Israel expects a Mideast cease-fire to take effect either late Sunday or Monday, depending on an Israeli Cabinet decision Sunday morning and consultations with the U.N. and input from the Lebanese government. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive matter with reporters.
Israeli media reported that the truce would go into effect at 7 a.m. (1 a.m. EDT) Monday but gave no source for the information.
The official's comments contradicted an earlier statement by Israeli army chief, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, that Israel expected to fight for another week despite the cease-fire deal. He said Israeli forces — apparently about 30,000 soldiers now — would stay in Lebanon until an international force arrived.
Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said his militia would abide by the cease-fire blueprint, but said the guerrillas would keep battling Israeli troops while they remained in Lebanon, calling that "our natural right."
His address was televised as Lebanon's Cabinet met to vote on the U.N. plan. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora signaled the Cabinet would accept, saying it serves the interests of his country and "shows that the whole world stood by Lebanon."
The Israeli Cabinet was expected to approve the cease-fire Sunday, but Israel appeared ready to keep up its full-scale military campaign until the U.N. plan worked its way through the region's political leadership over the weekend.
The resolution approved Friday night by the U.N. Security Council would create a peacekeeping force by combining a beefed-up version of ineffective U.N. units already in the war zone and 15,000 soldiers from the Lebanese army. The force, which could number around 30,000, would stand between Israel and Hezbollah's militia.
France, New Zealand, Italy and Ireland said Saturday they were ready to provide troops and Turkey said it was inclined to do so.
President Bush issued a statement urging the world's leaders to implement the U.N. plan and help bring real peace to the Middle East.
"The loss of innocent life in both Lebanon and Israel has been a great tragedy," Bush said. "Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors have brought an unwanted war to the people of Lebanon and Israel, and millions have suffered as a result. I now urge the international community to turn words into action and make every effort to bring lasting peace to the region."
Israel has demanded an airtight buffer zone and wonders if U.N. and Lebanese forces are up for the task. A small U.N. military presence — now about 2,000 observers — has been in Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon since 1978 and has been overwhelmed by the Islamic militant group's rising power, aided by Iran and Syria.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice specifically cited Hezbollah's two sponsors in a statement Friday for all parties to "respect the sovereignty of the Lebanese government and the will of the international community."
But the resolution, approved 15-0 in the U.N. Security Council, did nothing to immediately halt the fighting that erupted exactly a month ago and has claimed nearly 900 lives — including at least 761 in Lebanon and 123 Israelis.
Israeli missiles slammed into the southern Lebanon village of Rachaf, about 10 miles from the Israeli border, killing at least 15 civilians, security officials said. Israeli ground forces also fanned out across southern Lebanon hunting for Hezbollah rocket batteries that have fired unending salvos across the border.
Three people also were killed in strikes on Kharayeb, and a Lebanese soldier was killed in an air raid near an army base in the Bekaa Valley, officials said.
In Sidon, a coastal city between Beirut and the Israeli border, Israeli bombs destroyed a power plant. Farther south, another power facility was hit near Tyre, knocking out electricity to the port, police said.
On Lebanon's northern frontier, Israeli airstrikes hit the highway leading to the Arida border crossing about a mile from the Mediterranean coast. It was the last official border post open for humanitarian convoys and civilians fleeing the country. The highway was impassable, but drivers tried to maneuver through ruts and ditches.
The only other exits from Lebanon are rugged pathways and back roads through deserts or mountains.
Israel seeks to block supply routes for Hezbollah and disrupt their mobility and has warned it would target any vehicles on the roads in southern Lebanon and along other main highways.
On Friday, an Israeli aircraft fired on a convoy of more than 600 civilian vehicles and others carrying 350 Lebanese police and soldiers who left the Israeli-occupied town on Marjayoun in southeast Lebanon. Police said three civilians and an army recruit were killed and 28 people were injured. The mayor of Marjayoun, Fuad Hamra, put the death toll at six.
Israel said the U.N. troops asked permission to lead the convoy, but it was denied. Previous groups were given permission and traveled unharmed, the Israeli military said.
Fighting continued in Hezbollah-held areas around Marjayoun, a strategic hub overlooking valleys used as Hezbollah rocket bases.
Israeli commando units and guerrillas engaged in close combat in a valley near El-Ghandourieh, about 10 miles southwest of Marjayoun, according to Lebanese security officials.
Other Israeli ground forces, backed by aircraft and drones, met stiff resistance as they tried to reach the Litani River.
Israel said its troops destroyed several rocket batteries and killed more than 40 Hezbollah fighters in the last 24 hours. The guerrilla group announced four deaths Friday and three Saturday.
After a morning free of Hezbollah rocket strikes in northern Israel, a barrage of 20 missiles at midafternoon injured two people in Amirim and three in Kiryat Shemona. Hezbollah had been averaging nearly 200 hits each day in the monthlong conflict.
The Litani is seen by Israel as a crucial boundary in its attempt to push back Hezbollah. Israel repeatedly has insisted that the proposed peacekeeping force cannot allow Hezbollah weapons south of the river.
But it will be nearly impossible to rid south Lebanon of the Islamic guerrillas, who are now in the Lebanese Cabinet and run clinics and other charities that are considered essential in rebuilding the region. Their ability to withstand the Israeli military assault has also made Hezbollah heroes across the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Israeli paratroopers gather near the border before advancing inside southern Lebanon from Israel Saturday, Aug. 12, 2006. Israel stepped up its airstrikes and continued its incursions across the border early Saturday, not long after the U.N. Security Council voted on a resolution to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Indian Muslims hold placards with portrait of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah during an anti US and Israel protest, in Bombay, India, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2006. (AP Photo/Rajesh Nirgude)
Israeli soldiers advance inside south Lebanon. Hezbollah has said it would respect a ceasefire as Israel poured thousands more troops into an open-ended offensive on Lebanon, despite a unanimous UN Security Council call for an end to the month-old war.(AFP/Yoav Lemmer)
It would appear Israel is playing the game right. They will be in good bargaining position -- geographically, in Lebanon. The U.N. won't be able to force them to do anything that will again let the Hezzies get near the border, or within rocket range -- if the UN does, Isreal can just say "pack it". I hope they play their hand correctly.
The french have no plans for U.N force to disarm Hizbollah
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060812/ts_nm/mideast_dc_141
Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said his militia would abide by the cease-fire blueprint, but said the guerrillas would keep battling Israeli troops while they remained in Lebanon, calling that "our natural right."So they'll abide by the cease fire while firing. Good DNC logic.
So a lot of people will die so that the Olmert government can save a little face.
Good, but it may not be enough.
Nasrallah's game plan is to take over Lebanon....with help from the UN , Syria and Iran....and Russia etc!!!!
DEAD heros, I hope and pray.
Nasrallah's game plan is to take over Lebanon....with help from the UN , Syria and Iran....and Russia etc!!!!
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And why don't I hear Bolton screaming his head off about this very fact ??? I certainly hope Israel does not cave on the U.N. crap resolution.
Don't worry. This cease fire is a farce. The problem is not solved as much as the idiots at the UN want it to be.
Wrong. Wrong. Lasting peace will never come with a cease fire which is surrender and no destruction of Iran's Hezbollah death squads in Lebanon. They will just continue to infiltrate what is left of Lebanon. The worst part is Hezbollah will obtain better equipment . Hopefully Israel is now taking Hez on and should do much damage to Hez before the surrender. Cease fire=surrender in the Arab world. Iran outsmarted Israel and us. Didn't fool the UN since you can't fool the brain dead.
In INDIA? Geez, we really are in WWIII.
Odd, huh, considering they recently were attacked by
Al Qaeda .. altho the media conveniently manages to downplay that event
"And why don't I hear Bolton screaming his head off about this very fact ??? I certainly hope Israel does not cave on the U.N. crap resolution."
Israel didn't come through with it's side of the bargain.
And I think this "Litani" contact here is only that part within a few miles of the tip of Israel's territory. We'll see.
I'm reading that Israel may actually be doing now what it should have done weeks ago - and after the UN vote.
It's all very confusing..
Bet they have plans to help the hezzies rearm, though.
Was it raining? What is with the strange hats?
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