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Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006

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Israel rules out early ceasefire

Atul Aneja

BEIRUT: Israel ruled out an early ceasefire as it resumed air strikes across the Lebanese border on Monday.

"Israel is continuing to fight," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a public address from Tel Aviv. He declared that the offensive in southern Lebanon would end only after Hizbollah stopped firing rockets and the two Israeli soldiers taken captive were returned.

Earlier, Defence Minister Amir Peretz told Parliament that Israel would "expand and strengthen" attacks on Lebanon.

Soon after a 48-hour suspension of bombing, planes attacked several targets, including areas near the Lebanese border village of Taibe. Israel justified them as air support for ground troops after a Hizbollah rocket hit a tank, injuring three soldiers. The villages of Kila and Adasya were also being shelled. There were reports that 60 armoured bulldozers had crossed the border to demolish Hizbollah bunkers and obstacles.

Amid heavy fighting, Hizbollah claimed that it had hit a warship off the coast of Tyre, which has been denied.

Israeli planes raided the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, wounding four customs employees and a civilian. An area near Yanta, five km from the Syrian border, was also attacked at 0130 local time on Monday, half an hour before the supposed halt in air raids took effect.

Hizbollah had not fired any rockets till mid-day. Its legislator Hassan Fadlallah hinted that his organisation might suspend attacks if Israel showed restraint. "When Israel stops its aggression on the south, on Lebanon, on civilians... naturally this reaction could stop. But has Israel stopped its aggression?"

The Lebanese Government declared a day of mourning on Monday in the wake of the Qana carnage.

In Beirut banks and most public offices were closed, while flags flew at half-mast. Several petrol stations were shut down as the city began to experience serious fuel shortages.

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