Israeli troops surge into Lebanon
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, August 12, 2006
BEIRUT, Lebanon – More Israeli troops surged into southern Lebanon on Saturday, reaching the Litani River and engaging in some of the heaviest combat of the monthlong war just hours after the U.N. Security Council adopted a cease-fire plan. Israel lost 19 soldiers – its highest one-day toll.
The leader of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah grudgingly joined Lebanon’s government in accepting the U.N. resolution but vowed to keep fighting until Israeli troops leave and hand over territory to a muscular U.N. peacekeeping force intended to separate the antagonists.
Israel also signaled its intention to approve the plan, at a Cabinet meeting today, and a senior official predicted fighting would stop Monday morning, but there was no slowing in the bloodshed.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced that a cease-fire would take effect at 8 a.m. Beirut time Monday (10 p.m. today PDT), saying both Israeli and Lebanese leaders agreed to the start time. In his statement issued in New York, Annan called for an immediate halt to the fighting.
Israel was determined to batter Hezbollah until the end, while the guerrillas seemed to be fighting as fiercely as ever after a month of intense Israeli air, artillery and ground assaults.
Israel’s military said 19 soldiers had been killed, five more were missing and more than 70 were wounded after first day of the expanded offensive. The broadened push tripled troop strength to 30,000 in southern Lebanon. Israel Radio reported 100 troops wounded, which if confirmed would be the Jewish state’s highest one-day injury toll of the fighting.
Israel confirmed that guerrillas shot down a military transport helicopter in the south and the five people aboard, all crew members, were missing. Hezbollah said a battle raged for hours as Israel attempted to reach the crew, but there were no details of that fighting. Hezbollah claimed to destroy 21 tanks.
Israel said it killed more than 40 Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah issued a statement saying three of its fighters had been killed but gave no date.
Nineteen Lebanese civilians died from Israeli airstrikes, while Hezbollah rockets wounded eight people in northern Israel. The 32-day struggle has claimed nearly 900 lives – including at least 763 in Lebanon and 130 in Israel.
Aid convoys were stuck in ports or at warehouses because Israel refused to guarantee their safety on the roads. Thousands of people trapped in southern villages were believed to have run out of food and medicine and were drinking unsafe water.
