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Devastation is horrific: U.N.

Atul Aneja

We will support the deployment of NATO forces, says Tel Aviv

DUBAI: A top United Nations official has described the destruction caused by the air strikes by Israel inside Lebanon as a violation of humanitarian law as Israeli ground troops battled the Lebanese militant group, Hizbollah, for the control of border villages. The U.N.'s emergency relief chief, Jan Egeland, said that the devastation caused by the Israeli bombardment in Beirut was " horrific.''

The U.N. official arrived in the Lebanese capital on Sunday and toured areas which had borne the brunt of the Israeli attacks. Some of the apartment blocks were still smouldering because they had been hit only hours before. Mr. Egeland, who was visibly moved, said he was shocked to see that the air strikes had demolished buildings "block after block". "It makes it a violation of humanitarian law." He urged both sides to stop the attacks. Earlier on Sunday, Hizbollah rockets killed two Israelis in the industrial city of Haifa. One of the dead was in a vehicle close to a carriageway which bore the brunt of the attack. Around 15 persons were injured on account of the strike.

Mr. Egeland said the humanitarian supplies to Lebanon were on their way, but a "safe passage'' for their delivery was still not available. "So far Israel is not giving us access." Analysts point out that even if a supply corridor is available, the destruction of roads and bridges would make the delivery of relief material difficult.

Detailed response

In the first detailed response to the U.N. appeal for positioning a robust international peacekeeping force along the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz has said his Government would support the deployment of NATO forces.

After talks in Jerusalem with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Mr. Peretz said Israel was supporting the move "due to the weakness of the Lebanese army." Mr. Peretz emphasised that the Israeli military actions would continue till Hizbollah militants were cleared from the border areas.

He reiterated that the fate of the two Israeli soldiers captured by the group on July 12 was central to resolving the crisis. Meanwhile, Israeli ground troops and Hizbollah were engaged in fierce fighting for the control of border villages. The Hizbollah said that an "epic battle'' was raging in the village of Marun Al-Ras. A top Israeli military official had earlier said the troops had "more or less completed taking over the village of Marun Al-Ras."

Israeli military officials have maintained that they wanted to push Hizbollah beyond the Litani River, and the border zone could then be policed by the Lebanese army, backed by an international peacekeeping force.

Residents warned

An Israeli radio station has warned residents to flee 13 border villages, escalating the mass evacuation from southern Lebanon. An estimated 42,000 refugees have converged in Sidon. However, for the first time since the conflict began, Israeli aircraft on Sunday morning bombed the southern port city.

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