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Rice's concern over Lebanon suffering

Israeli troops move in deeper to besiege ``capital of the resistance''; Arabs pile pressure on Syria

TOUCH OF DIPLOMACY: Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora (second left) and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in downtown Beirut on Monday. Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh is at right. — PHOTO: AP

BEIRUT: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, making a surprise visit to Lebanon on Monday, said she was ``deeply concerned about the Lebanese people and what they are enduring,'' as she held talks with the country's leaders.

``I am obviously concerned about the humanitarian situation," she told reporters after going from a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to another with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Her discussions in Beirut were to be followed by talks with Israeli leaders later on Monday as Ms. Rice made her first visit to West Asia since the violence on the Israel-Lebanon border erupted on July 12.

On her way to the region, Ms. Rice said ``we believe a ceasefire is urgent,'' but she repeated her Government's position that she would only work towards a ``sustainable'' truce.

Secret trip

In a sign of the gravity of the security situation in Beirut, Ms. Rice's trip here was kept secret until just before she arrived on a heavily armed U.S. military helicopter.

``Thank you for your courage and your steadfastness,'' Ms. Rice said as she started talks with Mr. Siniora and Foreign Minister Fawzi Sallukh — a Hizbollah ally — which lasted two hours.

Although the U.S. has given Israel international cover to pursue its war on Hizbollah, there were no signs of the Shia militia being significantly weakened. It continues to fire rockets on northern Israel and its leader Hassan Nasrallah has escaped at least two bombardments.

Mr. Saniora has pleaded with Washington to press Israel to call a ceasefire in bombardment.

On Monday, fierce fighting was raging at the border as Israeli troops moved deeper into Lebanon to besiege the biggest town close to the border — Bint Jbail, nicknamed the ``capital of the resistance'' due to its intense support of Hizbollah during Israel's 1982-2000 occupation of the south.

Nine Israeli soldiers were wounded in the battle. An Israeli helicopter also crashed in northern Israel near the border after hitting an electrical wire while making an emergency landing, causing two casualties and starting a large brush fire atop a hill, the army said.

Israeli artillery barrages sent plumes of smoke into the air and the military said soldiers moved in and took control of a hilltop inside Bint Jbail, about 4 km from the border. But the remainder of the town was still in Hizbollah hands, Israeli military officials said.

Ten Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack. Hizbollah claimed to have caused Israeli casualties in hits on five tanks moving on the road to Bint Jbail and around Maroun al-Ras, a hilltop village closer to the border that Israeli ground forces seized in heavy fighting over the weekend.

Israel said its troops captured two Hizbollah guerillas, the first in the Lebanon fighting.

Hizbollah threat

Hizbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in remarks published on Monday that an Israeli ground invasion would not protect Israel from Hizbollah rocket attacks. He said the priority is for a ceasefire and was open to discussing ideas on how to end the crisis.

Overnight, a precarious calm prevailed, with no rocket attacks on northern Israel and few reports of Israeli air strikes in Lebanon. Sunday was one the heaviest days of Israeli bombardment in the campaign, with 270 targets, compared to 120 the day before, according to the military. On Monday morning, Israeli strikes resumed and 10 Hizbollah rockets landed in Israel.

At least 384 people were killed in Lebanon, including 20 soldiers and 11 Hizbollah fighters, according to security officials. At least 600,000 Lebanese have fled their homes, according to the WHO.

Arab heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia were pushing Syria to end its support for the guerillas, Arab diplomats in Cairo said. Israel signalled a policy shift, saying it would accept an international force — preferably from NATO — to ensure the peace in southern Lebanon. — AFP, AP

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