Israel hits Lebanon, UN plans stability force

By Lin Noueihed in Beirut
July 18, 2006

ISRAEL bombarded Lebanon for a sixth day yesterday and dismissed as premature a proposal for an international stability force to help end the worst fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border in more than 20 years.

Israeli warplanes hit coastal targets in the north and south, struck Beirut and damaged homes in the east belonging to members of the Hezbollah guerrilla group, which fired more rockets deep into the Jewish state.

An Israeli army spokesman also said some soldiers had crossed the border to destroy Hezbollah positions but denied Israel had ground troops inside southern Lebanon.

"There are no Israeli ground forces in Lebanon," he said. "There was a very small incursion overnight to destroy a few Hezbollah positions... That has been done."

An Israeli security source denied Lebanese television reports that an Israeli plane had been shot down in Lebanon.

The fighting, the worst since Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, was triggered when Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran and is part of the Lebanese Government, seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on northern Israel last week.


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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Security Council members would start hammering out a detailed agreement on deploying a multilateral security force to south Lebanon.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the force would be essential to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks and give Israel a reason to halt strikes which have ruined much of Lebanon's civilian infrastructure.

But Israel said it was too soon to talk of sending the force. "We're at the stage where we want to be sure that Hezbollah is not deployed at our northern border," government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.

Army Radio quoted Israel's chief of staff as saying Israel planned to enforce a 1km "security zone" to keep Hezbollah away from the border.

Hezbollah is seeking the release of Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It has not commented on international efforts to halt the fighting.

Israel's campaign has killed 179 people, all but 13 of them civilians, and wounded more than 500.

Twenty-four Israelis have been killed in the fighting, including 12 civilians hit in rocket attacks.

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