LEBANON: Families flee villages, taking advantage of 48 hour partial halt to Israeli air strikes in south;anti-war demo by doctors and students in Beirut; ICRC members distribute aid to displaced from Elhenniye and Mamsory villages

With Israel declaring that it has partially halted air strikes in the south, movement was more visible on Monday (July 31), with civilians fleeing battered villages and journalists reaching some areas which has been almost impossible to enter. Footage from the southern town of Khiam showed houses reduced to rubble and civilians fleeing their town to northern areas. Aid convoys also headed into southern Lebanon to deliver supplies. Civilians drove towards the southern port city of Tyre, 20 km (13 miles) north of the border, white flags fluttering from their cars, buses and pickup trucks. Some people headed the other way to check on their homes or help relatives trapped in villages by Israeli bombing. Rescue workers found 28 bodies buried for days in destroyed buildings in three south Lebanon villages, the Red Cross said. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a ceasefire could be forged this week. But Israel said the war was not over despite an international outcry over the deaths of at least 54 civilians, most of them children, in an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday. Doctors held a protest in Beirut, demanding an end to Israel's offensive. "We are staying here and we will protect ourselves because so far no side has stood by us. It's all talk. We are the ones who need guarantees, not Israel. We are the ones who need protection, not Israel," said Abdullah Faoun, head of medical department at the American university in Beirut. International aid agencies were hoping to take advantage of a 48-hour Israeli suspension of air strikes on southern Lebanon to deliver much needed aid and help get people out of the area, devastated by daily bombardments since July 12. Two United Nations aid convoys left Lebanon's capital Beirut on Monday for the southern port of Tyre and Qana. Amer Daoudi, a World Food Programme co-ordinator, said that they are hoping to be move up to six convoys a day. "We have started with the first convoys last Wednesday and it's progressing quite well. We are hoping that very soon we'll be moving six convoys a day. This of course, depends on a lot of factors, including security, road conditions, fuel supplies and the availability of supplies in the country." Since the crisis began almost three weeks ago and the continuos bombing of roads and bridges, movement on the ground has been difficult and dangerous. Aid workers say they are finding it impossible to get medical supplies and food safely to isolated villages in southern Lebanon due to the Israeli bombardment. The United Nations estimates up to 800,000 people have been displaced by the bombing and fighting in southern Lebanon but many civilians are still trapped, too poor to get transport or too scared to run the gauntlet of Israeli air strikes. Volunteers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) distributed aid to families in southern Lebanese villages that have been cut off by 20 days of Israeli bombardment. Convoys arrived to the villages of Hinia and Mansouri, on the outskirts of Tyre on Monday after Israel agreed partially to halt air strikes for 48 hours. Two United Nations aid convoys left Lebanon's capital Beirut on Monday for the southern port of Tyre and Qana. Since the crisis began almost three weeks ago and the continuos bombing of roads and bridges, movement on the ground has been difficult and dangerous. Aid workers say they are finding it impossible to get medical supplies and food safely to isolated villages in southern Lebanon due to the Israeli bombardment. Families were desperately trying to flee, using the respite offered by a 48-hour halt to most air strikes. ICRC spokesman Roland Huguenin said: "For more than 2 weeks the ICRC has been assisting civilian refugees in the south. They were living in shelters under the shelling. Today some of them decided to move north. The ICRC will go on helping them in their shelters in the south and wlll set up an operation of relief for those who made the decision to go up north." Civilians drove towards the southern port city of Tyre, 20 km (13 miles) north of the border, white flags fluttering from their cars, buses and pickup trucks. One man said he was heading to Beirut. "I am going to Beirut and don't know where I will end up after that." Strapping white sheets to their cars in an attempt to stave off Israeli strikes, tens of thousands of Lebanese have fled the south, taking side roads to avoid ruined bridges, driving around bomb craters and leaving many villages deserted. But villages right on the border are poor and have been cut off by the violence. Many residents do not own cars and cannot afford taxis, now charging $400 for the journey. Those with cars are finding petrol stations shut or out of fuel. Those able to secure cars and fuel must make the agonising choice of risking death on the roads, where cars full of fleeing families have been hit by Israeli jets, or death in villages in the line of fire between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas. Most of those able to flee have long since gone after weeks of Israeli warnings to leave the south. The United Nations estimates up to 800,000 people have been displaced by the bombing and fighting in southern Lebanon.

ITN Source | August 1, 2006

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