LEBANON: Israel offensive pushes further into Lebanon, hospitals in Tyre filled to maximum capacity and Red Cross aid arrives

Israeli warplanes struck Beirut's southern suburb on Saturday (August 12) as troops advanced further into southern Lebanon, expanding a ground offensive against Hizbollah guerrillas. The already devastated Hizbollah stronghold in Beirut was empty following the latest raid. Only a few residents could be seen walking amid the ruins of their district, which has been reduced to almost complete rubble. Israel warned residents to flee the area two days ago, saying in will intensify its offensive. Israeli air strikes killed up to 20 people in Lebanon on Saturday, security sources said, hours after the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution to end month-old war. Officials said the Lebanese government accepts the resolution, and will issue a formal acceptance later in the day. Israel said it will continue with the offensive until it is clear how the U.N. resolution will be implemented. A Hizbollah spokesman said that the guerillas group will continue to fight Israel as long as its troops are on Lebanese territory. "As long as there are still Israeli troops on Lebanese territories, we will continue to fight until the very end," said Mohammed Birjawi. Israeli warplanes struck the Beirut-Damascus highway, further cutting routes leading in and out of Lebanon. Warships fired rockets into Lebanon paving the way for Israel's offensive. Hizbollah, acknowledging the advance, said its guerrillas ambushed the force in Ghandouriyeh, east of the port city of Tyre, killing and wounding a number of Israeli soldiers. Two wounded civilians from villages south of Tyre were brought to the coastal city on Saturday. A doctor at the hospital said an eleven year old boy from the village of Malkiya lost both his legs during Israel's bombardment of the village a day earlier. A man was killed and his wife injured when warplanes struck targets in the village of Dheera, the doctor added. In the Bekaa Valley, at least one civilian was killed in a raid. One child being treated at hospital said Israeli planes hit Baalbek's market area, wounding several people. In Beirut, Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets saying that it was up to Lebanon's citizens to 'restore the fragrance of cedar', referring to cedar trees, the famous symbol of country. At least 1,061 people in Lebanon and 124 Israelis have been killed in the war that began after Hizbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Up to one million have been displaced. Also on Saturday, a Red Cross ship has arrived at the port city of Tyre as battles between Israeli troops and Hizbollah guerillas intensified in the south. The ship delivered 250 tonnes of flour, fuel and ready-to-eat meals to Tyre -- whose mayor had warned the city had a day of food left -- after waiting nine days off of Lebanon's coast. "The shelling has been permanent. People are in need of basic commodities, fresh food and vegetables. We are bringing what can help the families keep going for a few days," said ICRC's Roland Huguenin. Aid workers said that the on-going fighting is paralysing their efforts to reach 100,000 people trapped in southern Lebanon. Civilians caught up in a push by Israel deep into Lebanon were running out of food and medicine and afraid to flee after an air strike against a mostly civilian convoy. The United Nations' UNHCR refugee agency said despite the U.N. Security Council's unanimous approval late on Friday (August 11) of a resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities, fighting still continued in the hard-hit south. The U.N. estimates almost a million people have fled their homes in Lebanon. At least 1,061 people in Lebanon and 124 Israelis have been killed in the war. Aid agencies have struggled to send supplies to southern Lebanon since Monday (August 7) when Israel cut the region off from the north by bombing the last bridge over the Litani river.

ITN Source | August 13, 2006

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