BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) _ Israeli forces pounded theHezbollah-controlled side of the border on Sunday as theLebanese guerrilla said it had fired a new barrage ofrockets into Israel.
The crossfire came as diplomats stepped up efforts to finda solution to the 19-day crisis, with U.S. Secretary ofState Condoleezza Rice returning to the Middle East to pusha refined U.S. peace plan and France circulating a draftresolution at the United Nations.
Israeli media reported early Sunday that Rice s packageincluded a cease-fire and posting an armed internationalforce in south Lebanon that would help the Lebanese armydeploy there, in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from adisputed parcel along the border called Chebaa Farms _ akey Hezbollah demand.
Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah marked Rice sarrival in Jerusalem with a threat to fire rockets evendeeper into Israel. Appearing on Hezbollah television,Nasrallah claimed victory, saying Israel had failed to makea single military achievement during its offensive.Still, Rice said she was encouraged by a tentativeHezbollah commitment to allow international troops intosouthern Lebanon and eventually disarm. Though no visit wasannounced, she was expected to stop in Lebanon after hermeeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert onSaturday.
Compromises will be needed from everyone, she said. These are really hard and emotional decisions for bothsides, under extreme pressure in a difficult set ofcircumstances, Rice said. And so I expect thediscussions to be difficult but there will have to begive-and-take.
Israel Radio reported Rice plans to travel to the UnitedNations on Tuesday and hopes the Security Council canprepare a resolution calling for a cease-fire on Wednesday.France has circulated a draft resolution among U.N.Security Council members that would call for an immediatehalt to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and seek awide new buffer zone in south Lebanon monitored byinternational forces and the Lebanese army.
The question of Hezbollah s sincerity toward negotiationsis crucial to Rice s second attempt to broker a cease-fire.The United States and Israel insist any deal must ensureHezbollah guerrillas are pushed back from Israel s northernborder before fighting can stop.
Nasrallah said he would cooperate with the Lebanesegovernment in negotiations toward ending the crisis. But hewas vague about how far he would go, and suggested thatdisarmament would be off the table if conditions outlinedby Lebanon are not met _ including the resolution of aborder dispute with Israel.
The bearded Shiite Muslim cleric, wearing his trademarkblack headdress, gave his latest televised address a dayafter Hezbollah fired its deepest strike in to Israel yet,hitting outside the town of Afula. No matter how long the war lasts, whatever sacrifices ittakes, we are ready. We will not be broken or defeated, he said.
Many cities in the center (of Israel) will be targeted… if the savage aggression continues on our country,people and villages.
Despite its intense bombardment of Lebanon _ and heavyground fighting near the border _ Israel has been unable tostop barrages of hundreds of Hezbollah rockets. Guerrillasfired about 90 rockets into Israel on Saturday, lightlyinjuring five people.
Israel has said it will launch a series of limited groundincursions into Lebanon to push back guerrillas, ratherthan carrying out a full-fledged invasion. The pullbackSaturday from the town of Bint Jbail suggested this thrust,launched a week ago, had halted.
But Lebanese officials reported a massing of troops and 12tanks near the Israeli town of Metulla further to thenortheast, on the tip of the Galilee Panhandle near theGolan Heights, suggesting another incursion could beginsoon.
The town of Khiam, just across the border in Lebanon,resembles Bint Jbail in that it is one of the largest townsin the immediate border zone. Khiam has been under intensebombardment in recent days _ including a strike that hit aU.N. post nearby, killing four observers.
On Saturday, Israel made its closest strike yet toHezbollah s ally Syria. Warplanes hit the Lebanese side ofa Syrian-Lebanese border crossing, forcing the closure ofthe main transit point for refugees fleeing andhumanitarian aid supplies entering Lebanon. Two moremissiles hit the area early Sunday.
On the Lebanon-Israel border, an Israeli strike hit near aU.N. peacekeepers station, wounding two. The world bodyhad just relocated unarmed U.N. observers to thepeacekeepers posts for safety after the hit on the Khiampost.
Throughout, Lebanese civilians have suffered the most fromthe fighting, which broke out after Hezbollah kidnapped twoIsraeli soldiers in a cross-border raid July 12 and killedeight others.
A strike outside the market town of Nabatiyeh crushed ahouse, killing a woman and her five children, and a man ina nearby house, Lebanese security officials said.
Elsewhere, six bodies were dug from the rubble of a housedestroyed Friday in the town of Ain Arab, they said.In the southern port city of Tyre, volunteers buried 31victims of the bombardment in a mass grave. Among the lineof plywood coffins was a tiny one holding the body of aone-day-old girl.
The weeklong battle at Bint Jbail underscored Israel sdifficulty in pushing back guerrillas who have beenpreparing for years for this fight, building up arsenalsand digging in with tunnels and shelters in caves.
Maj. Gen. Udi Adam, head of Israel s northern command,said Israel never intended to occupy Bint Jbail or to get stuck in one place. He insisted the real mission _ todestroy infrastructure and kill terrorists _ had been asuccess.
Regardless, the pullback gave Hezbollah the opportunity toclaim its fighters had driven out Israel s war machine.Nasrallah said his guerrillas had dealt Israel a seriousdefeat in the town. This elite force was fleeing andscurrying like mice from the battleground, he said.
Even Israeli officials said the battle was tougher thanexpected in Bint Jbail, a mainly Shiite town with deepsymbolism for Hezbollah. Nicknamed the capital of theresistance, the town showed vehement support for theguerrillas during the 1982-2000 Israeli occupation of thesouth.
Eighteen soldiers were killed in Bint Jbail _ nine of themin Hezbollah ambushes Wednesday, the military s worstone-day loss in the campaign. Adam said dozens ofguerrillas were killed in the week of fighting. ButHezbollah acknowledges the deaths of only 35 fighters inthe entire 18 days of warfare.
Israeli troops still hold Maroun al-Ras, a nearby village,as well as the high ground above Bint Jbail, Adam said,adding that the air force would continue to pound BintJbail and ground forces could return at any time.
At least 458 Lebanese have been killed in the fighting,according to a Health Ministry count Friday based on thenumber of bodies in hospitals, plus Saturday s deaths. Someestimates range as high as 600 dead, with many bodiesburied in rubble.
Thirty-three Israeli soldiers have died, and Hezbollahrocket attacks on northern Israel have killed 19 civilians,the Israeli army said.
The United States is under increasing pressure to quicklyend the fighting, which in the last weeks has spiraled intoan all-out Israeli attempt to end Hezbollah s domination ofsouth Lebanon.
The peace package Rice brings to the region addresses someof the demands made in the Lebanese government proposalthat Hezbollah reluctantly supported.
A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity becauseof the sensitive nature of the discussions said the dealalso called for: disarming Hezbollah and integrating theguerrilla force into the Lebanese army; Hezbollah s returnof Israeli prisoners; a buffer zone in southern Lebanon toput Hezbollah rockets out of range of Israel; a commitmentto resolve the status of a piece of land held by Israel andclaimed by Lebanon; and the creation of an internationalreconstruction plan for Lebanon.
The latter appeared to fall short of Hezbollah s demandfor a prisoner swap to free Lebanese held for years inIsraeli prisons.
Nasrallah hinted that if the Lebanese government
backsdown on Hezbollah demands, his fighters won t supportdisarmament and or an international force.
For Lebanon to win the battle, it needs political willno less than the will of the resistance fighters in thefield, the Hezbollah leader said. The government isrequired to act in a way that reflects the Lebanesepeople s steadfastness and unity. AP
