Israel Renews Attacks On Beirut Suburb

(CBS/AP)  Israeli aircraft renewed attacks on Beirut's southern Dahiyeh suburb at daybreak Friday.

Eight powerful explosions were heard in central Beirut within a span of 20 minutes, but the exact target of the attacks were not known. The Voice of Lebanon said several fires erupted and thick smoke rose from the area.

There were not immediate reports of damage or casualties.

VOL and LBC TV said a bridge was also attacked by the Israeli jets at Heitsa in the Akkar province in north of Lebanon. Both stations said initial reports from the area indicated there were casualties.

This comes one day after Israel grabbed strategic high ground in south Lebanon but said it was delaying a new ground offensive toward the Litani River, as diplomats said the United Nations had made progress toward constructing a cease-fire agreement that could go to a vote before the weekend.

Israel lost one soldier in fierce battles with Hezbollah guerrillas, and the Lebanese interior minister said Israeli forces detained 350 Lebanese soldiers and police in their garrison in the southern city of Marjayoun. Israeli denied the report.

With fighting in its fifth week and Israeli troops closer to Beirut than at any time since the war began, reports emerged of progress toward unlocking the stalemate on a United Nations cease-fire resolution. At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said there could be a vote by Friday.

"We've closed some of the areas of disagreement with the French," he said.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora met twice Thursday with U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, and a senior aide to the Lebanese leader, who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity, said new ideas for ending the fighting involved combining two envisioned resolutions into one overarching document.

A similar report arose in Israel where lawmaker Otniel Schneller, an adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said the United Nations was at work on a new approach.

"A new proposal is being drafted, which has positive significance that may bring the war to an end," Schneller said.

Broadly speaking, a much debated U.S.-French plan called for establishing a cease-fire in one document, with a second and later resolution that would organize a peacekeeping force and outline details of the peace.

In other developments:

Russia circulated a draft U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday calling for a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, Russia's U.N. ambassador said. Vitaly Churkin said the crisis in Lebanon was too urgent to wait for negotiations on a separate U.S.-French Securty Council resolution seeking a permanent cease-fire. "This diplomatic activity is not being conducted in a quiet academic environment," Churkin said. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said he did not think it was helpful to distract attention from negotiations over the U.S.-French draft.

Richard Huguenin, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said Israel had repeatedly denied request to reach "a whole list of places," including a plan to rescue a family believe trapped in an abandoned orphanage in Maarub, about 12 miles from Tyre. The Red Cross estimates roughly 33,000 people are still living in villages in south Lebanon, another 27,000 are still in Tyre and 40,000 Palestinians in four camps in the south.

The World Food Program's coordinator in Lebanon, Zlatan Milisic, said Israeli bombing of bridges and roads was creating huge obstacles for aid convoys to reach tens of thousands of displaced Lebanese.

The United Nations' top humanitarian official criticized Israel and Hezbollah on Thursday for hindering aid agencies' access to trapped civilians in southern Lebanon, calling their failure to allow convoys to get through "a disgrace." "The Hezbollah and the Israelis could give us access in a heartbeat," Jan Egeland told reporters at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Gaza-Egypt border partially reopened Thursday, allowing hundreds of people stuck in Gaza to leave after a weeks-long closure imposed during Israel's military offensive in the coastal strip, a spokeswoman for European border monitors said. However, the border was closed a few hours later by Israel, citing security concerns.

Long-distance charges for dialing the Palestinian-run lands will carry their own designation rather than appearing as calls to Israel on AT&T bills. The company also is raising the rates sharply for calling the West Bank and Gaza, citing the rising fees AT&T needs to pay other carriers in that region to connect calls.

While Israel appeared braced for a prolonged conflict after leaders there authorized a major new ground offensive deeper into Lebanon, officials said they were temporarily holding back to give diplomats time to craft the cease-fire deal.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the military would use "all of the tools" to cripple Hezbollah if diplomacy was not successful soon, but later Thursday he softened those remarks, perhaps in response to diplomatic progress.

"If we can achieve that by diplomatic means and are sure that there is an intention to implement that document, we shall definitely be in a position where the military operation has achieved diplomatic space and a new situation has been created here in the north," Peretz said.

Israeli ground troops took control of the mainly Christian town of Marjayoun before dawn and blasted away throughout the day at strongly fortified Hezbollah positions in several directions.

And Israeli soldiers worked their way through southern Lebanese neighborhoods, breaking through earthworks and looking through the basements of homes where Hezbollah fighters hide with their weapons, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.

A huge explosion rocked the center of the town and the surrounding countryside about sunset and a big fire could be seen raging from a vantage point in Ibl el-Saqi, about 2 miles to the east.

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[jms_cheung]

While Israel may `overkill' in its battles against the Hezbollah guerrilas , it has in fact done the done a BIG FAVOR to wipe out the a chief sponsor of global terrorism linked to Al Qaeda. What Israel is doing is like what the Chinese says, `You need to cut off the roots if you cut the grass.' We hope and pray that the wars in Lebannon will end soon, but it will not end as long as Hezbollah remains a terrorist army which gets its military hardwares from Iran or any other countries. Allowing the Lebanese Army to keep the peace can be a problem too--- for who knows there are no Hezbollah sympathizers or supporters in the Lebanese Army?
The best solution would be neutral UN soldiers supported by the Israelis Army...will definitely keep the peace in both Lebannon and Israel for a very very long time.

[emanualhyman]

Abe 124 wrote, Congratulations to the nation of Israel for demonstrating that the Jews could be as brutal as the Nazis when dealing with people they do not consider their equals. Reply, Did you mean as brutal as the UN in Kosovo, as Britain in Dresden, as the US in Hiroshima? When an aggressor unleashes the hounds of war, war is brutal. As to repecting other peoples, it is Jihad which is calling for destruction of Israel and of Jews, it is Arab nations who desecrated and are desecrating Jewish religious sites, while Israel has carefully preserved Muslim and Christian religious sites and their access to them. We have not called Muslims sons of pigs and dogs, it is they who have called us that, and who quote that the stones and the trees will call out, there is a Jew behind us, kill him. Abe 124 wrote, No matter how you put it, the kidnapping of two soldiers cannot justify the destruction of a nation and displacement of millions of people. Reply, The kidnapping was a symptom that Iran's agent Hizbula, which Lebanon and the UN were supposed to disarm, had become sufficiently certain of their strength that they felt they could act against Israel with impunity. Given the failure of the UN and of Lebanon to keep their commitment of several years ago to disarm Lebanon, Israel needed to preempt a severe threat to its security and existence.

[emanualhyman]

I have just seen an item on the Washington Post site which said that the currently considered UN resolution calls for an expanded UN security force consisting of an added 2,000 international troops with authorization to use force. I hope that is a misprint. 2,000 troops will be able to use force against Hizbula? A Jerusalem Post reporter just walked into a UNIFIL post two weeks ago, and found the UNIFIL soldiers didn%u2019t have a clue, never stepped outside their post, said they never saw any arms being brought in by Hizbula, got their war news over TV, and were even unaware of the hole in the fence through which the reporter had just entered. Of course they don%u2019t step outside, they wouldn%u2019t dare in the face of Hizbula. A 2,000 international troop force will only join UNIFIL in the reading lounge. They better bring plenty of magazines and chewing gum along. I hope the number of troops mentioned is a misprint. Otherwise, this is a very bad joke, and a total mockery of the sacrifices the Israel and the captive Lebanese nation has already suffered.

[abe124]

Jews were once a symbol of peaceful and rather intelligent race persecuted over their entire history by other races. Congratulations to the nation of Israel for having changed that wimpy image and demonstrating that the Jews could be as brutal as the Nazis when dealing with people they do not consider their equals. No matter how you put it, the kidnapping of two soldiers cannot justify the destruction of a nation and displacement of millions of people.

[emanualhyman]

Alpha 10 says - Israel must maintain its own defense. But the key to its survival lies in cultivation of the tools of compromise, conciliation -- remembering abuse has been dealt by both sides through history. Reply %u2013 Let%u2019s see. When has Israel threatened to destroy Arab nations or peoples, as the Arab League did and attempted by massive invasions in 1948, 1967 and 1973, and Hizbula, Hamas, Syria and Iran now? Jordan invaded and occupied territory mandated to Israel, Jews were expelled, Jewish religious sites desecrated, tombstones made into paving stones, synagogues into privies, while Israel has been extraordinarily respectful of Moslem and Christian religious sites and rights. Israel gave and gave again, %u201Cgood will%u201D measures, arming PA police, releasing prisoners who killed again, Oslo I, Oslo II, Roadmap. The Palestinans having kept NONE of their obligations. When Israel left Gaza, NOT under duress and with great pain to 10,000 Israelis, Israel got rocket bombardments and a terrorist neighbor. When Israel entered Lebanon previously, it was to prevent daily barrages of rockets on northern Israel. When Israel left Lebanon last time, having entered to prevent daily bombardment, UN and Lebanon promised Hizbula disarmament %u2013 were they? War did not preempt diplomacy - repeated breech of trust led to war!

[alphaa10-2009]

emanualhyman-- Who could not agree with you? Except for certain countervailing points...

1. Israel certainly has the right to defend itself, but not the right to fight Hezbollah as though it were attacking the whole of Lebanon. A declaration of war against Lebanon defies reason. Hezbollah and all indigenous armed movements from the Tamil Tigers to the Shining Path are like parasites on the host, but they are not the host.

2. Killing the host, therefore, cannot be the cure. Yet, the Israeli assault, in response to the Hezbollah border attack, became a full-fledged air invasion of Lebanon, crushing its still-fragile infrastructure barely restored since the civil war ended. Power stations, hospitals, roads and bridges no longer function. Refugees are everywhere, a catastophe that will scar the Lebanese for years to come and help turn the next generation of leaders against Israel.

3. Peace is not merely the cessation of armed hostilities. True peace comes when the both sides put their chief concerns on the table and explore routes to peace. The alternative is not only ugly but unthinkable.

Israel must maintain its own defense in a hostile neighborhood. But the key to its survival, paradoxically, lies in cultivation of the tools of compromise, conciliation and, yes-- using your analogy of the battered wife-- remembering abuse has been dealt by both sides through history, and must be faced honestly.

[pwrslm]

Lets see here....Hezbollah has 16 thousand rockets and launchers to shoot them. Hezbollah is not a nation, it is not a government, it is not a peace keeping force, nor is it the standing military for lebanon or any other sovern nation. Hezbollah is a terrorists organization with plans to shoot the rockets into Israel.

Hezbollah trespassed into Israel, again, and this time they abducted Israeli citizens and returned to Lebanon. Hezbollah has been acknowledged by lebanon and given leave to conduct its operations within the Lebanese borders by the Lebanese Government. Hezbollah committed an act of war, with or without Lebanons governments accent, it does not matter. History supports Israels actions, the Lebanese Government failed to check Hezbollah, so Israel has to to insure the safety of its borders and citizens.

Want to stop the war? Return Israels abducted citizens. Want to stop putting out biased BS? Recognize that Israel has with held armed force against these people for years, after hundreds of incidents killing and wounding hundreds of Israeli citizens.. Its time to end the game.

[angelsix-2009]

The people of Israel just want to be allowed to live peaceful lives. The Islamists are dedicated to subjugating all of humanity to live according to the laws of their religion.
Hezbollah stockpiled thousands of missiles to kill Israeli civilians -- obviously not for defense or military use. Hezbollah started this conflict, and began firing their missiles into Israeli cities. No one rational believes Hezbollah ever considered telling Iran "Thanks for the millions of dollars worth of missiles. We have now decided to live in peace. Do you want the missiles back?"
Lebanon harbored Hezbollah, which makes no secret of its terrorism. Thousands of missiles could not have been accumulated by Hezbollah in secret. Now, when Israel is forced to fight back against Hezbollah, the Lebanese people are not saying "Israel, help free us from Hezbollah. Here is where the missiles are, so you can destroy them without injuring innocent people." Having sided with terrorists, Lebanon is now outraged that they are paying the price. Most Arabs and followers of Islam agree with what Hezbollah is doing, and condemn Israel for fighting back.
Hezbollah cynically draws Israeli attacks into civilian areas, and celebrates the photos of the deaths and injuries to Lebanese civilians.
What I can't figure out is how Hezbollah convinces people to feel sympathy for them.

[omarmtaleb]

Israel has killed too many children, mothers and fathers whom are mostly innocent people in Lebanon, they also destroyed Lebanon%u2019s info structure and it will take Lebanon years to rebuild. This tragedy needs to come to immediate cease fire.
I would like anybody who disagrees with me to please visit the following website: fromisrael2lebanon.info to see with their own eyes (The pictures on the website may not be appropriate for children).

[emanualhyman]

Part 2 of 2 %u2013 Patricia 903 states - Lebanon is one of the weakest of the Middle East countries, both politically and militarily. Reply %u2013 Israel is engaged with Hizbula, agent of Iran, hardly the weakest of Middle-East nations, whose hijacking of Lebanon has created this suffering. Patricia 903 states - Yet, by not surrendering, by not accepting a ceasefire detrimental to their own interests, and by fighting back, Lebanon has managed to do what the Arab governments of the past failed to do - stand up to Israeli aggression. Reply %u2013 Which aggression did Patricia have in mind? The murderous attack on Israel by Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, joined by Lebanon / Syria in 1948? The Egyptian-sponsored Fedaim constantly raiding Israel from Gaza before 1956? The Arab league surrounding Israel with armies, blockading Elat, and proclaiming Israel%u2019s imminent destruction in 1967? The murderous Arab league attack in Israel in 1973? Intafadas killing over 1,000 Israeli citizens? Hizbulas indiscriminate shelling of civilians? Patricia 903 states - By doing so, the myth of the Israeli military superiority %u2013 build on quick cease fires - has been exposed. Reply %u2013 The cease fire of 1967 when Israel could easily have reached Cairo or Damascus? But Egypt celebrates 1967 and 1973 as great victories, so, don%u2019t let the truth get in the way. The verdict will yet be evident.