LEBANON: Egypt, Jordan send more aid to Lebanon, as fuel crisis looms

Egyptian and Jordanian planes landed in Beirut's airport on Thursday (August 10, 2006) bringing more aid to Lebanon as fears of a fuel crisis continued to grow. An Egyptian government spokesman said that earlier, a ship carrying 20 tonnes of aid, including bottled water and medication, arrived at the port. Both Egypt and Jordan have set up field hospitals in the capital to accommodate the growing number of casualties in the four weeks of fighting. On Wednesday (August 9), aid agencies said they were unable to reach tens of thousands of people trapped by heavy fighting in southern Lebanon. They said their efforts to get to southern Lebanon had stalled for a second successive day after Israel imposed an indefinite ban on movement south of the Litani river, saying it could attack any vehicle not in an approved convoy. Israeli bombardments and ground incursions have so far killed around 1,000 Lebanese, the vast majority civilians, attracting widespread criticism from the international community. Israel says the offensive is the only way it can stop Hizbollah guerrillas from firing rockets into northern Israel which have killed nearly 50 people in the conflict. With the crisis entering its 30th day, fuel supplies were becoming more rare. The U.N. and Lebanon's government say the country will come to a halt soon when fuel runs out. Cars queued for hours at petrol stations trying to get as much fuel as possible. Two tankers with 87,000 tonnes of fuel oil and diesel are docked outside of Israel's naval blockade off Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, but they have refused to bring the supplies in without a written safety guarantee. In the latest violence, Israeli troops seized the Christian towns of Marjayoun and Qlaiah in south Lebanon, witnesses said, even though Israel says it has put off plans for a broader offensive against Hizbollah guerrillas. Fierce fighting erupted in the area, as Hizbollah's chief vowed to turn the south into a graveyard for the invaders. "People were more at ease after hearing the speech of (Hizbollah chief Hassan) Nasrallah. He reassured them that, if the Israeli push harder (in their offensive), then we will as well. We still have the power and resistance to do that and are willing to do even more than that. They still have not seen anything yet," said Abdullah Batah in Beirut. World powers were still split on a U.N. resolution on Lebanon. Paris and Washington disagree on when the foreign force, possibly led by France, should move in and when Israel should withdraw. Lebanon wants Israeli troops out quickly, but Israel says it will leave only when foreign troops supporting the Lebanese army take over. The United States agrees with Israel, warning against a security vacuum that would allow Hizbollah to regroup. A senior Israeli political source said an expanded offensive in the south could last 30 days.

ITN Source | August 10, 2006

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