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Israel set to broaden offensive

Atul Aneja

U.N. divided on Lebanon's offer

DUBAI: The war between Israel and Hizbollah is set to prolong with the Israeli Cabinet deciding on Wednesday to broaden its ground offensive in Lebanon.

Israel's Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai said after the meeting that it was the Cabinet's understanding that the fresh operation would last around a month. "The assessment is, it will last 30 days. I think it will take a lot longer," he said. Ahead of the meeting, the Cabinet appeared divided on the proposal by the Israeli military to capture Lebanese territory, a little beyond the Litani river, in order to eliminate the Hizbollah's capacity to launch short-range rockets.

Around 30,000 additional troops might be required for the estimated 30-km advance. The Israeli English daily Haaretz reported on its website that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had asked the military to draw up alternative plans, apprehending that hundreds of Israeli troops could be killed if a heavy ground offensive was undertaken.

Fierce fighting

As the Cabinet met, fierce fighting between Israeli troops and Hizbollah fighters was raging around the border villages of Ayt Al-Shaab and Dibel. The Israeli army acknowledged that five of its soldiers were killed and 23 wounded in combat on Tuesday. Al Jazeera television, however, claimed that 11 Israeli troops had died in the fighting.

In New York, the United Nations Security Council was divided on the Hizbollah-backed proposal by Lebanon to deploy 15,000 of its troops along the border. These forces could coordinate their activities with the already deployed United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The United States and Israel have serious reservations about the Lebanese proposal, as it does not envisage disarming Hizbollah. The U.S. and Israel have so far been in favour of positioning a heavily armed international "stabilisation force" in Lebanon, capable of disarming the militant group.

In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac said giving up on efforts for an immediate ceasefire would be "the most immoral of solutions". Anticipating a long haul, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said a "[diplomatic]

war," which would be fiercer than the fighting on the ground had begun to unfold. In an interview with the Al Arabyia television, he said Hizbollah's resistance had strengthened Lebanon's hand during negotiations. "The legendary effort exerted in holding off the brutal Israeli aggression, combined with the steadfastness of the Lebanese... are all essential means we use to fight the other fierce war" he said.

Meanwhile, the death toll resulting from an Israeli air strike on a building in south Beirut on Monday has risen to 44, security officials said. Israel's decision on Tuesday to impose a curfew in the battle zone stretching from the border to the Litani river had also "frozen" humanitarian relief supplies. Christiane Berthiaume, a spokeswoman for the U.N. World Food Programme said a reconnaissance team would cross the Litani to assess the possibility of resuming aid supplies.

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