Naharnet Newsdesk - Evening Roundup: Fierce Fighting between Israel and Hizbullah as Humanitarian Disaster Looms

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Evening Roundup: Fierce Fighting between Israel and Hizbullah as Humanitarian Disaster Looms

Israeli troops battled Hizbullah on Thursday, the ninth day of a conflict that has killed more than 300 people and set alarm bells ringing about the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe.
With no sign the international community is closer to brokering a ceasefire, U.N. chief Kofi Annan condemned Hizbullah for triggering the latest outbreak of violence but also slammed Israel's "excessive use of force" in response.

Four Israeli soldiers were reported killed in the clashes as Israel sent in ground forces across the border in the latest phase of its campaign to crush Hizbullah.

At least 72 people were killed in Lebanon Wednesday, the highest single-day toll since the offensive was launched, sending thousands of Lebanese streaming from their homes to find safe havens.

Thousands of foreigners, mainly Westerners, were also being evacuated by sea from Beirut to the neighboring Mediterranean island of Cyprus, fleeing an offensive that has now killed nearly 330 people in Lebanon and displaced an estimated half a million others.

A U.S. amphibious warship took aboard more than 1,000 people and departed Beirut without incident in the first major military-run evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz warned that Israel would launch a full-scale ground operation if it considered it necessary.

"Let no terror organization feel we would cower from any operation," he said. "We have no intention of conquering Lebanon, but... we will do it without thinking twice."

Annan pressed for an "immediate" end to the Lebanon fighting and floated a settlement plan that would involve the early release of two captured Israeli soldiers and the deployment of a stabilization force.

The international community was bracing for a humanitarian disaster in Lebanon, where food and medical supplies are running short because of an Israeli air and sea blockade.

Israel has put the only international airport out of action, bombed houses, roads, bridges, factories, warehouses and even trucks, creating scenes reminiscent of the country's devastating 1975-1990 civil war.

"The most basic human rights of the population are at risk or are being violated, including their rights to life, health and food," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said, warning that perpetrators in the conflict could be held to account for war crimes.

International diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have yet to get off the ground, with Israel's chief ally the United States refusing to back calls for a ceasefire until Hizbullah halts its rocket attacks.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to support Israel in its new Middle East battles in a resolution which blamed Syria and Iran for the violence.

The seven-page resolution "supports Israel's right to take appropriate action to defend itself, including to conduct operations both in Israel and in the territory of nations which pose a threat to it."

State department spokesman Sean McCormack said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to the Middle East as early as next week to seek an easing of tensions between Israel and Hizbullah.

The French foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, also said he would leave late Thursday for the Middle East, without providing further details of his trip.

In Beirut, the exodus of foreigners from Lebanon picked up pace, with Western nations increasing the flow of evacuations and other countries such as India and the Philippines starting to bring out their nationals.

U.S. Marines were out in force to secure the Dbayeh port being used to evacuate American citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus, which lies just 160 kilometers to the west and is being used as the evacuation hub.

The European Commission announced it was doubling its emergency aid to around 12.6 million dollars while UNICEF was giving 7.5 million and the U.N. refugee agency was planning for a multimillion dollar operation.

"The humanitarian situation is catastrophic," said Lebanese Finance Minister Jihad Azour. "Our main objective is now to ensure basic needs for our citizens."(AFP-Naharnet)

Click here to read the key points of Annan's blueprint to end the fighting between Israel and Hizbullah

Beirut, 20 Jul 06, 21:22


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