The Hindu : Front Page : Israel vows more airstrikes

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Friday, Jul 28, 2006

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Israel vows more airstrikes

Atul Aneja

Decision follows killing of nine Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah

BEIRUT: A day after it lost nine soldiers in fighting with theHizbollah, Israel on Thursday threatened to flatten entire villages in southern Lebanon with air strikes and shelling before committing its ground troops.

At a Cabinet meeting, Israel decided to reinforce air strikes but not to expand ground operations.

Ahead of the meeting, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said: "All those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to the Hizbollah."

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), civilians were trapped in the battle zone. In Bilda village alone, near the embattled Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, there were 300 children among 700 people who had taken refuge in a mosque.

New wave of bombardment feared

Fearing a new wave of aerial bombardment, residents of the southern villages were clamouring for "safe passages" to calmer areas. Aid agencies said disposal of dead bodies had become a problem, as few volunteers in the southern villages and towns dared to venture out. According to an U.N. estimate, the war had so far affected about 800,000 civilians, including 710,000 who had to flee their homes.

Contrary to earlier Israeli claims, the Hizbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil had not been captured. On Wednesday, the group launched 150 rockets, the highest in a single day since hostilities broke out on July 12.

Australia has decided to withdraw its contingent from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, following Wednesday's Israeli attack in which four U.N. peacekeepers were killed.

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