LEBANON: Casualties mount as Lebanon conflict continues amid diplomatic efforts to end the fighting and help the victims

A Lebanese ambulance transported a 12-year-old boy named Ali Ghraeib, wounded in Israeli shelling in Tyre, to Beirut to be evacuated to France for eye surgery. French Minister Xavier Bertrand, who arrived in Beirut on Thursday (August 3), paid Ghraieb and his mother a short visit while he was still inside the ambulance. "This a particular situation of a gravely wounded child who needs what we call a facial reconstruction and by that needs a healthy evacuation. I am evidently here today so we can bring to Lebanon all the humanitarian and medical aids the Lebanese people need," said Bertrand. According to doctors at the "Hamoud" hospital in Sidon where the wounded boy stayed, this is the first case in which a Lebanese casualty of the fighting will be taken abroad for treatment. Ghraeib was evacuated to Sidon 12 days ago after an eye injury from the bombardment. He received treatment in Sidon, but doctors say that his case needs further attention. Nazek Hariri, wife of slain former Premier Rafik Hariri, was touched by images of Ghraeib flashed across television sets and newspapers across the country. She called the hospital saying that she will sponsor Ghraeib's treatment in France, as Doctors at Hammud hospital said. A group of French paramedics assisted by Lebanese Red Cross moved Ghraeib to French Military Helicopter that is supposed to evacuate him. Miguel Benzo, the Spanish ambassador to Lebanon, held a press conference at Sidon municipality and expressed the willingness of his country to support displaced Lebanese. "My presence here is to support the municipality and the people of Sidon but also to show our concern about the displaced people and find about what else we can do to try to help," he said. Israeli warplanes, which have been pounding Lebanon on a daily basis since Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in border post attacks on July 12, targeted the Araka Bridge for the second time. The bridge represents a vital road linking most of the coastal villages to mountainous remote areas in the northern Lebanon. U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman headed to Diman to meet with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir at his summer residence for discussions over the crisis that Lebanon is grappling. Meeting reporters outside Patriarch Diman residence, Feltman said his country will do everything to help all displaced come back to their villages. "I assured his eminence that we will do everything possible to make sure that those who fled their villages, who fled their homes will be able to return home as quickly as possible," said Feltman.

ITN Source | August 4, 2006

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