ISRAEL: Israeli troops continue to operate in southern Lebanon as Hizbollah rockets hit Israeli towns

Israeli forces continued to operate in southern Lebanon on Tuesday (August 8) as more Hizbollah rockets slammed into northern Israeli towns. In a briefing held in the northern town of Safed an Israeli army official said the army will continue to attack any target that might be in the Hizbollah use. "We are doing nothing in Syria based on what I told you before, but once they cross the border inside Lebanon we attack bridges and we attack these vehicles to try and prevent if possible the reinforcement of the rockets," Brigadier General Shuki Shahur, Former Head of Staff of Israel's Northern Command told reporters. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Beirut's plan to send 15,000 troops to south Lebanon an "interesting step", raising diplomatic hopes even as Israel considered expanding its military offensive. Israel wants a strong international force to join the Lebanese troops before it would agree to withdraw from Lebanese soil, a senior Israeli official said. Olmert urged Western powers to step up discussions on the make-up of the proposed force and said his security cabinet would meet on Wednesday to consider moving Israeli troops deeper into southern Lebanon to push back Hizbollah guerrillas. Western diplomats said Monday's unanimous decision by the Lebanese government, which includes two Hizbollah ministers, could mark a turning point in negotiations and lead to changes in a draft U.N. Security Council resolution seeking to end four weeks of fighting. One Western diplomat called Lebanon's decision a potential "deal-maker". A senior Israeli official said: "It's the beginning of deal-making." Lebanon has said it was unhappy with the initial U.S.-French draft, demanding it include a call for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. Israel wants the revised resolution to make clear that the international force has the mandate and military capacity to keep Hizbollah from moving back into southern Lebanon. Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz has ordered the army to prepare for a possible move to the Litani River, some 20 km (12 miles) inside Lebanon, to push back Hizbollah rocket launchers.

ITN Source | August 10, 2006

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