Israel drops troops near Syrian border
Soldiers parachute into Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek

MSNBC | August 2 2006

BOURJ AL-MULOUK, Lebanon - Helicopters landed Israeli soldiers on hills near the northeastern Lebanese town of Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold, on late Tuesday, Lebanese security sources said.

Israeli warplanes also attacked at least five suspected Hezbollah positions near Baalbek in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, three hours before the official end of a two-day pause in the air war.

The aim of the operation was not immediately clear, they said. An Israeli army spokesman declined to comment.

Also on Tuesday, Heavy ground fighting raged Tuesday near a border village and Israel resumed frequent airstrikes after it decided, in a major expansion of its offensive, to send thousands more troops deeper into Lebanon.

The soldiers will go as far as the Litani River, 18 miles from the Israeli border, to clear out Hezbollah fighters and hold the territory until a multinational force is deployed there, senior Israeli officials said Tuesday.

The resumption of the Israeli air campaign against Hezbollah strongholds and supply routes came despite an earlier pledge to suspend such attacks for another day. That 48-hour suspension was announced after the world expressed outrage over the killing of 56 Lebanese — mostly women and children — in a weekend Israeli bombing.

On Tuesday, warplanes pounded Shiite villages in south Lebanon and struck Hezbollah strongholds deep inside the country.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers called for Israel and Hezbollah to agree to an “immediate cessation of hostilities” followed by international efforts to get agreement on a sustainable cease-fire.

Reducing capability, draining strength
Intense gun battles also were reported in several south Lebanon villages, and Hezbollah said four of its fighters were killed. The guerrilla group claimed that 35 Israeli soldiers had been killed or wounded in the fighting, but Israel had no immediate public comment.

The heaviest fighting centered on the Lebanese border village of Aita al-Shaab. Arab satellite channels carried live pictures as Israeli forces unleashed a relentless bombardment of artillery shells on the town, from which Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the border on July 12 and captured two Israeli soldiers, sparking the crisis.

Diplomatic efforts to end the crisis have faltered, despite increased world pressure for a cease-fire after the devastating weekend strike in the town of Qana.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it was not in Israel’s interest to agree to an immediate cease-fire because continued fighting weakens Hezbollah.

“Every additional day is a day that drains the strength of this cruel enemy. Every extra day is a day in which the (army) reduces their capability, contains their firing ability and their ability to hit in the future,” he said.

Olmert expressed hopes that a cease-fire would be based on a formula that would push Hezbollah away from Israel’s border and prevent it from attacking in the future.

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