Israeli-Hezbollah fight continues despite split on UN resolution

Israeli jets continued to pound south Lebanon and killed seven people on Monday morning as the UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement on a draft resolution to stop the war.

Israeli warplanes bombarded the eastern Bekaa Valley early on Monday, including the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek, Lebanese security sources said.

At least four explosions were heard around Baalbek, 100 km north of Israel's border, witnesses said. The Israeli military confirmed that it had hit several targets in the Baalbek area.

Hezbollah has many bases in the Baalbek region. Israeli commandos on Wednesday landed troops in the area, fought guerrillas and captured several people before withdrawing.

Israeli warplanes also carried out five air raids on the southern market town of Nabatiyeh. Two unleashed seven missiles on an empty, seven-story office building behind local government headquarters.

In south Lebanon, Hezbollah claimed to have killed four Israeli soldiers in heavy ground fighting. But the Israeli military said four soldiers were slightly wounded in Houla, several kilometers inside Lebanese territory.

The bombardment came one day after Lebanon's Hezbollah rocket attack on Kfar Giladi, a community near the northern Israeli town of Kiyat Shemona, killed at least 12 Israelis and wounded four others on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Israel's army said it planned to attack strategic infrastructure targets and symbols of the Lebanese government after Hezbollah rockets killed 15 Israelis on Sunday.

"We are now in a process of renewed escalation. We will continue hitting everything that moves in Hezbollah -- but we will also hit strategic civilian infrastructure," a senior General Staff officer told Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper.

Later on Monday, the security council's five permanent members -- the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France -- are to meet again to discuss whether or not to amend a draft resolution to take into account Lebanon's concerns.

Lebanon has demanded that the draft UN resolution -- drawn up by France and the United States -- include a call for a rapid withdrawal of Israeli troops from its soil.

The resolution calls for "full cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hezbollah which have been involved in a bloody conflict since July 12.

Egypt and Syria said on Sunday that any UN resolution should meet Lebanese aspirations.

"Any decision that breaks away from the Lebanese consensus will further complicate things and increase disorder," Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the official SANA news agency reported.

"Syria supports all that the Lebanese agree upon," Assad said. "There are a number of powers that are trying to secure political gains for Israel that could not be achieved by waging war."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Sunday that the draft UN Security Council resolution had to meet the Lebanese people's aspirations if it wanted to bring a permanent end to the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.

The 27-day-old war between Israel and Hezbollah has killed at least 765 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 94 Israelis. Both sides vowed to keep fighting.

Source: Xinhua