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troung · 08-02-2006, 00:40 AM

Israeli troops trapped inside Lebanese hospital by Hezbollah fighters: reports

Canadian Press
Published: Tuesday, August 01, 2006

BOURJ AL-MULOUK, Lebanon (AP) - Israel launched a major attack deep into Lebanon and Hezbollah said its guerrillas were fighting Israeli commando forces trapped inside a hospital in the eastern city Baalbek early Wednesday.

The Israeli army would not comment on the operation in the ancient city, which was once a Syrian army headquarters some 130 kilometres north of Israel. The website of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported "helicopters put down IDF (military) commandos near Baalbek," without adding details.
Hezbollah's chief spokesman, Hussein Rahal, said Israeli troops landed near Dar al-Hikma Hospital and fierce fighting continued to rage for more than one hour.

"A group of Israeli commandos was brought to the hospital by a helicopter. They entered the hospital and are trapped inside as our fighters opened fire on them and fierce fighting is still raging," Rahal said.

Rahal said Hezbollah guerrillas were using automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. He dismissed as "untrue" reports the Israelis managed to snatch some patients from the hospital and spirit them away in helicopters. He said Israel jets were attacking the surrounding guerrilla force with rockets.

Witnesses said the hospital was hit in an Israeli air strike and was burning. Repeated telephone calls to the hospital went unanswered.

The attack in Baalbek, the ferocity of other battles Tuesday, the determination of the Israelis to keep fighting and the minimal diplomatic progress toward an immediate ceasefire all indicated the war is more likely to escalate than end soon.

In announcing the expanded operation, Israeli officials said their soldiers were to go as far as the Litani, about 30 kilometres from the border. But the army later said it had distributed leaflets northeast of the river at villages where Hezbollah was active. The leaflets told people to leave, suggesting that the new offensive could take Israeli soldiers even deeper into Lebanon.

Late Tuesday, Lebanese security officials reported a major Israeli operation involving helicopters was underway near Baalbek in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, well north of the Litani.

The Israelis want to keep Hezbollah off the border so their patrols and civilians along the fence are not in danger of attack, such as the July 12 raid in which guerrillas killed three soldiers and seized two others. The army also hopes to push Hezbollah far enough north so that most of the guerrillas' rockets cannot reach the Jewish state.

Despite mounting civilian deaths, President George W. Bush held fast to support for Israel and was pressing for a UN resolution linking a ceasefire with a broader plan for peace in the Middle East. Staking out a different approach, European Union foreign ministers called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" followed by efforts to agree on a sustainable ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it was not in Israel's interest to agree to an immediate ceasefire because every day of fighting weakens the guerrillas.

"Every additional day is a day that drains the strength of this cruel enemy," he said.

"Every extra day is a day in which the (army) reduces their capability, contains their firing ability and their ability to hit in the future."

Until the arrival of an international force, Israel hopes to create a temporary buffer zone in a region that it occupied for 18 years until 2000. It is not yet clear that an international force will be formed, but the intention would be to bolster the Lebanese military's ability to control southern reaches of the country where Hezbollah has been launching its rocket attacks on Israel.

Israel resumed sporadic air strikes, hitting Hezbollah strongholds and supply lines from one end of Lebanon to the other, despite a pledge to suspend such attacks for another day in response to world outrage over the killing of 56 Lebanese in a weekend bombing.

Aid groups had hoped to take advantage of the supposed 48-hour lull in air strikes to get food and medicine to civilians trapped in the south. But Israel denied access to two UN convoys. Others who made the journey described air strikes close to their convoys, and bodies along the road.

Hezbollah fired just 10 rockets across the border Tuesday, well below an average of about 100 a day since the fighting began 21 days ago, Israel said.

But the ground battles were intense.

At nightfall Tuesday, Israeli troops were fighting Hezbollah at several points along the common border. Reporters and Arab television reported especially heavy fighting and Israeli artillery bombardment at the village of Aita al-Shaab.

The Israeli army said late Tuesday that three Israeli soldiers died and 25 were slightly wounded by small arms fire and anti-tank rockets in Aita al-Shaab.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Haim Ramon said the fighting to date had killed about 300 of Hezbollah's main force of 2,000 fighters, which does not include its less-well trained reserves. "That's a very hard blow," he said.
Hezbollah has said only 46 of its fighters were killed. Four were lost in battles with Israeli ground troops in Adaisse and Taibeh, near the Christian town of Marjayoun, about eight kilometres from the border with Israel, Hezbollah said.

To the east at Kfar Kila, reporters saw at least three air strikes, and the thud of artillery shells from Israeli ground troops was constant. About 20 shells landed in the hills around Kfar Kila in the course of one 45-minute period.

Israeli jet fighters also struck deep inside Lebanese territory, hitting Hermel, 120 kilometres north of the Israeli border in the Bekaa Valley. Warplanes fired at least five air-to-surface missiles on the edge of the town, targeting a road linking eastern Lebanon to western regions and the coastline.

Six hours later, warplanes returned to Hermel, hitting a pickup truck loaded with cooking gas tanks, security officials said. The canisters exploded, sending flames shooting up from the vehicle for nearly an hour. The driver was out of the truck and not hurt.

Fifty kilometres to the south, Israeli warplanes attacked at least five suspected Hezbollah positions near Baalbek late Tuesday.

In the west, Israeli warships fired artillery into the villages of Mansouri, Shamaa and Teir Harfan around the port city of Tyre. No casualties were reported.

Another strike at an area near the Syrian border, about 10 kilometres north of Hermel, targeted the Qaa-Homs road, one of four official crossing points between Lebanon and Syria. Two of the four border crossings are now closed because of damage, and repeated air strikes have made the main Beirut-Damascus highway impassable.

Polls in Israel show wall-to-wall support for Israel's fight against Hezbollah, even with Israeli civilians enduring a barrage of rocket fire and the army poised for a sweeping ground offensive that is sure to lead to more casualties.

But the deaths of 56 Lebanese in the devastating weekend strike in Qana focused attention on civilian casualties.

Three more civilians were killed and three seriously wounded when Israeli warplanes hit a house in the southern Lebanese town of Lweizeh, Lebanese security officials said Tuesday.

Also, the Lebanese Red Cross said the bodies of 12 civilians were retrieved from the rubble of buildings destroyed in air strikes on four villages in southern Lebanon and many more were believed still buried. It was not clear when the victims were killed.

At least 532 Lebanese have been killed, including 461 civilians and 25 Lebanese soldiers and at least 46 Hezbollah guerrillas. The health minister says the toll could be as high as 750, including those still buried in rubble or missing. Fifty-four Israelis have died; 36 soldiers as well as 18 civilians killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks.

But human lives are not the only casualties of this war. The United Nations warned Tuesday that the longer a spill of 110,000 barrels of oil is not cleaned up from Lebanon's coast, the more severe the environmental impact will be. The oil spilled two weeks ago after Israeli warplanes hit a coastal power plant.

© The Canadian Press 2006

08-02-2006, 00:40 AM	#32 (permalink)
troung A Self Important *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 08-03-03 Posts: 4,390 Country:	Israeli troops trapped inside Lebanese hospital by Hezbollah fighters: reports Canadian Press Published: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 BOURJ AL-MULOUK, Lebanon (AP) - Israel launched a major attack deep into Lebanon and Hezbollah said its guerrillas were fighting Israeli commando forces trapped inside a hospital in the eastern city Baalbek early Wednesday. The Israeli army would not comment on the operation in the ancient city, which was once a Syrian army headquarters some 130 kilometres north of Israel. The website of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported "helicopters put down IDF (military) commandos near Baalbek," without adding details. Hezbollah's chief spokesman, Hussein Rahal, said Israeli troops landed near Dar al-Hikma Hospital and fierce fighting continued to rage for more than one hour. "A group of Israeli commandos was brought to the hospital by a helicopter. They entered the hospital and are trapped inside as our fighters opened fire on them and fierce fighting is still raging," Rahal said. Rahal said Hezbollah guerrillas were using automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. He dismissed as "untrue" reports the Israelis managed to snatch some patients from the hospital and spirit them away in helicopters. He said Israel jets were attacking the surrounding guerrilla force with rockets. Witnesses said the hospital was hit in an Israeli air strike and was burning. Repeated telephone calls to the hospital went unanswered. The attack in Baalbek, the ferocity of other battles Tuesday, the determination of the Israelis to keep fighting and the minimal diplomatic progress toward an immediate ceasefire all indicated the war is more likely to escalate than end soon. In announcing the expanded operation, Israeli officials said their soldiers were to go as far as the Litani, about 30 kilometres from the border. But the army later said it had distributed leaflets northeast of the river at villages where Hezbollah was active. The leaflets told people to leave, suggesting that the new offensive could take Israeli soldiers even deeper into Lebanon. Late Tuesday, Lebanese security officials reported a major Israeli operation involving helicopters was underway near Baalbek in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, well north of the Litani. The Israelis want to keep Hezbollah off the border so their patrols and civilians along the fence are not in danger of attack, such as the July 12 raid in which guerrillas killed three soldiers and seized two others. The army also hopes to push Hezbollah far enough north so that most of the guerrillas' rockets cannot reach the Jewish state. Despite mounting civilian deaths, President George W. Bush held fast to support for Israel and was pressing for a UN resolution linking a ceasefire with a broader plan for peace in the Middle East. Staking out a different approach, European Union foreign ministers called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" followed by efforts to agree on a sustainable ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it was not in Israel's interest to agree to an immediate ceasefire because every day of fighting weakens the guerrillas. "Every additional day is a day that drains the strength of this cruel enemy," he said. "Every extra day is a day in which the (army) reduces their capability, contains their firing ability and their ability to hit in the future." Until the arrival of an international force, Israel hopes to create a temporary buffer zone in a region that it occupied for 18 years until 2000. It is not yet clear that an international force will be formed, but the intention would be to bolster the Lebanese military's ability to control southern reaches of the country where Hezbollah has been launching its rocket attacks on Israel. Israel resumed sporadic air strikes, hitting Hezbollah strongholds and supply lines from one end of Lebanon to the other, despite a pledge to suspend such attacks for another day in response to world outrage over the killing of 56 Lebanese in a weekend bombing. Aid groups had hoped to take advantage of the supposed 48-hour lull in air strikes to get food and medicine to civilians trapped in the south. But Israel denied access to two UN convoys. Others who made the journey described air strikes close to their convoys, and bodies along the road. Hezbollah fired just 10 rockets across the border Tuesday, well below an average of about 100 a day since the fighting began 21 days ago, Israel said. But the ground battles were intense. At nightfall Tuesday, Israeli troops were fighting Hezbollah at several points along the common border. Reporters and Arab television reported especially heavy fighting and Israeli artillery bombardment at the village of Aita al-Shaab. The Israeli army said late Tuesday that three Israeli soldiers died and 25 were slightly wounded by small arms fire and anti-tank rockets in Aita al-Shaab. Israeli Cabinet Minister Haim Ramon said the fighting to date had killed about 300 of Hezbollah's main force of 2,000 fighters, which does not include its less-well trained reserves. "That's a very hard blow," he said. Hezbollah has said only 46 of its fighters were killed. Four were lost in battles with Israeli ground troops in Adaisse and Taibeh, near the Christian town of Marjayoun, about eight kilometres from the border with Israel, Hezbollah said. To the east at Kfar Kila, reporters saw at least three air strikes, and the thud of artillery shells from Israeli ground troops was constant. About 20 shells landed in the hills around Kfar Kila in the course of one 45-minute period. Israeli jet fighters also struck deep inside Lebanese territory, hitting Hermel, 120 kilometres north of the Israeli border in the Bekaa Valley. Warplanes fired at least five air-to-surface missiles on the edge of the town, targeting a road linking eastern Lebanon to western regions and the coastline. Six hours later, warplanes returned to Hermel, hitting a pickup truck loaded with cooking gas tanks, security officials said. The canisters exploded, sending flames shooting up from the vehicle for nearly an hour. The driver was out of the truck and not hurt. Fifty kilometres to the south, Israeli warplanes attacked at least five suspected Hezbollah positions near Baalbek late Tuesday. In the west, Israeli warships fired artillery into the villages of Mansouri, Shamaa and Teir Harfan around the port city of Tyre. No casualties were reported. Another strike at an area near the Syrian border, about 10 kilometres north of Hermel, targeted the Qaa-Homs road, one of four official crossing points between Lebanon and Syria. Two of the four border crossings are now closed because of damage, and repeated air strikes have made the main Beirut-Damascus highway impassable. Polls in Israel show wall-to-wall support for Israel's fight against Hezbollah, even with Israeli civilians enduring a barrage of rocket fire and the army poised for a sweeping ground offensive that is sure to lead to more casualties. But the deaths of 56 Lebanese in the devastating weekend strike in Qana focused attention on civilian casualties. Three more civilians were killed and three seriously wounded when Israeli warplanes hit a house in the southern Lebanese town of Lweizeh, Lebanese security officials said Tuesday. Also, the Lebanese Red Cross said the bodies of 12 civilians were retrieved from the rubble of buildings destroyed in air strikes on four villages in southern Lebanon and many more were believed still buried. It was not clear when the victims were killed. At least 532 Lebanese have been killed, including 461 civilians and 25 Lebanese soldiers and at least 46 Hezbollah guerrillas. The health minister says the toll could be as high as 750, including those still buried in rubble or missing. Fifty-four Israelis have died; 36 soldiers as well as 18 civilians killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks. But human lives are not the only casualties of this war. The United Nations warned Tuesday that the longer a spill of 110,000 barrels of oil is not cleaned up from Lebanon's coast, the more severe the environmental impact will be. The oil spilled two weeks ago after Israeli warplanes hit a coastal power plant. © The Canadian Press 2006 __________________ To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway