More than 1,600 Katyuhas fired at Israel during first week of fighting
Cabinet Minister Isaac Herzog said Thursday that Hezbollah has fired more than 1,600 Katuysha rockets at Israel since hositilies began a week ago Wednesday.
Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said plans do exist for a large ground operation in Lebanon, but at the moment this is not on the agenda.
Secretary Maimon said the primary objective right now is the destruction of Hezbollah positions opposite Israel's northern border via pinpoint operations of small forces.
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EU calls for ceasefire followed by int'l monitors in southern Lebanon
The European Union has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and said an international peace keeping mission may be needed after the violence ends.
The prime minister of Finland, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said what is needed now is a strong international presence in southern Lebanon, approved by the United Nations Security Council. He said that first all parties to the conflict must commit to a ceasefire.
In New York, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will convene a meeting of the 15 nation Security Council on Thursday in an effort to formulate steps to end Israel's operations in Lebanon. He will meet later with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss U.S. opposition to calling for a ceasefire before Hezbollah is disarmed.
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Hezbollah reportedly rejects German proposal to end hostilities
A Kuwaiti newspaper reports that Germany has presented Lebanon and Israel with a proposal calling for the release of captive IDF soldiers in exchange for an end to the IDF bombardment of Lebanon, a pullout of IDF forces currently operating in the Gaza Strip, and the release of Hamas legislators and cabinet ministers arrested by Israel in June.
Hezbollah has reportedly rejected the proposal, demanding the release of Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners, and an end to the Israeli strikes as a condition for negotiations.
The newspaper did not say how Israel responded to the reported German proposal.
In another development, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has accused Hamas leadership in Damascus of sabotaging efforts to resolve the crisis over kidnapped IDF soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was abducted in a Palestinian raid on an army position south of the Gaza Strip in June.
President Mubarak told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Musawar that the matter of Hezbollah is an internal Lebanese issue, and his country will not intervene.
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Lebanese PM wants help in halting Israeli raids, then disarming Hezbollah
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora says the international community must help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah. In an interview with Italy's Corriere Della Sera newsppaer, Siniora said the Israeli bombardments have just increased popularity of the Shiite group.
Prime Minister Siniora said Hezbollah has become a state within a state, and that it follows the political agendas of Damascus and Teheran. But, he said, the first thing is for a ceasefire to be obtained to stop the Israeli actions.
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This comment was from an AP article earlier today, quoting an interview with Italian media, but Seniora later claimed (in a subsequent AP article) he was "misquoted," and said nothing of the kind. I tend to believe Siniora, since the remarks (blaming Hezbollah) are out of character with the sniveling he's been doing since day one of this war.