Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert delivers a speech at the
Knesset, Israel 's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, July 17, 2006. After
six days of fighting in Lebanon, Olmert said Monday that the fighting
would end when the two soldiers captured by Hezbollah guerrillas were
freed, rocket attacks on Israel stopped and the Lebanese army deployed
along the border. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo
Gallery>> |
JERUSALEM,
July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israel did not rule out negotiations to resolve the conflict
with Hezbollah, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said when he paid a surprise
visit to the rocket-battered city of Haifa on Tuesday evening.
But the negotiations should be "on the condition the
hostages are returned and UN resolution 1559 is enforced," Olmert said in a
meeting with heads of about 60 regional councils in northern Israel, Israeli
Channel 10 TV reported.
Resolution 1559 called for the deployment of the
Lebanese army along the border with Israel and disarming Hezbollah. Olmert
hinted that it was premature to discuss the stationing of international
peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as suggested by UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan.
He also pointed out that Hezbollah's operation was
coordinated with Iran and was aimed at drawing the international attention from
Iran.
Earlier on Tuesday, Olmert said Israel would continue
a seven-day-old massive assault in Lebanon until two Israeli soldiers taken
hostage by Lebanon's Hezbollah guerillas were released and rocket attacks on
Israel stopped. Enditem
Special report: New clash
between Israeli, Lebanese troops
Related: Israeli PM vows to
continue Lebanon assault
Israeli soldiers stand near a mobile artillery unit as it
fires into southern Lebanon from its position near the town of Kiryat
Shmona July 17, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) |
JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday that Israel would continue a seven-day-old massive
assault in Lebanon until two Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Lebanon's
Hizbollah guerillas were released and rocket attacks on Israel halt. Enditem
Israeli overnight air
strike kills 10 Lebanese soldiers: reports
Rescuers carry a corpse from the rubble of residential
buildings hit by the Israeli bombardement in the southern Lebanese city of
Tyre on July 18, 2006. Israeli jets have pounded Lebanon with a blistering
new wave of deadly raids, the seventh day of an assault that has killed at
least 230 people and sent tens of thousands of Lebanese and foreigners
fleeing for their lives.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) |
BEIRUT, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli warplanes continued to
pound Lebanon early Tuesday as an overnight strike at a Lebanese army barracks
at Jomhour area east of Beirut killed 10 Lebanese soldiers and wounded dozens of
others, said media reports.
Lebanese military and security officials were quoted
as saying that some 10 Lebanese soldiers were killed and 40 others wounded by an
overnight Israeli air strike on a military base in Beirut's eastern suburb of
Jamhour.
The base was targeted several times during the night,
including some occurred during rescue operations, said the state ANI news
agency.
Israeli warplanes also raided another Lebanese army
base in Kfarshima, southeast of Beirut, it was reported.
Medics and police sources said at least 51 people
were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday alone, pushing the death toll from
Israel's offensive launched on July 12 to 230, most of them are civilians.
Enditem
Israel promises
diplomatic efforts with military operations
JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday morning that Israel starts up the diplomatic
process in parallel to military operations to resolve the conflict with
Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hizbollah.
"The time for diplomacy has arrived," Livni told a
press conference after meeting with UN special envoy Vijay Nambiar.
But this does not meant to give up military
operations to halt the Hizbollah attacks as well as ensure the release of the
kidnapped soldiers, Livni emphasized. Full story>>
Israeli officer says massive
ground invasion not ruled out
Israeli soldiers clean the cannon of a mobile artillery unit
after it fired into southern Lebanon from its position near the town of
Kiryat Shmona July 17, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) |
JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army could not
rule out a massive land invasion of Lebanon unless Hizbollah guerrillas freed
two Israeli soldiers and stopped firing rockets, a senior Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) officer said Tuesday.
IDF deputy chief of staff Moshe Kaplinski told Israel
Radio that the army would consider many possibilities for action and the
offensive to halt the attacks and the capabilities of Hizbollah would continue
"in a matter of weeks".Full story>>
