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Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts [Gallery] [Videos]
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| Smoke billows from the
Israeli village of Beit Hillil adjacent to Lebanon after being hit by
Hizbullah's mortar August 2, 2006. No casualties is reported. (Xinhua
Photo) | BEIJING, Aug. 5
(Xinhua) -- The Israeli-Lebanese military conflict continued on Saturday,
resulting in more casualties as the international community appealed for more
attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the region.
TENSION MOUNTS BETWEEN ISRAEL, LEBANON
Israel launched a new air raid on a two-storey house
in the frontline Taibeh village in southern Lebanon late Friday, leaving seven
Lebanese civilians dead and 10 others wounded.
The victims were sheltering in the house during
fierce battles on the outskirts of the village between Israeli forces and
Hezbollah guerrillas.
Earlier in the same day, Israeli military planes
pounded a farm near the northeastern Lebanese village of Qaa close to the
Lebanon-Syria border, killing at least 23 people and wounding over 10 others.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah resumed rocket attacks on
Israel. On Friday, Lebanon's Hezbollah struck deeper inside Israel than ever
before as its missiles hit open fields near the town of Hadera, about 75 km
south of the Lebanese border.
The Channel 2 television reported that about three
rockets landed in or near Hadera on Friday evening, marking the deepest distance
that rockets fired by the Lebanese guerrila group to Israel.
Over 900 Lebanese have been killed and 3,000 others
wounded in the massive Israeli offensive since Lebanon's Hezbollah captured two
Israeli soldiers on July 12 while over 70 Israelis have also been killed in the
25 days of fighting.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CALLS FOR
MORE ATTENTION TO CRISIS
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| Smoke billows from the
Israeli village of Beit Hillil adjacent to Lebanon after being hit by
Hizbullah's mortar August 2, 2006. No casualties is reported. (Xinhua
Photo) |
The international community expressed concerns over
the crisis in the region and called for more humanitarian assistance. Members of
the UN Security Council were concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian
situation in Lebanon.
On Friday, Ghana's UN Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng,
the council's president for August, urged donating countries to be more generous
in their response to the UN flash appeal for Lebanon where infrastructure was
being destroyed.
The European Union on Friday also expressed concern
at Israeli air strikes on transportation routes north of Beirut and called on
both warring parties to ensure corridors for humanitarian aid remain open.
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Louis
Michel said the bombing of roads that had been previously declared as safe for
evacuation and humanitarian aid could have a major impact on the delivery of EU
aid.
Overnight bombing of the highway north from Beirut to
the Syrian border has cut the road in three or four places and reportedly
destroyed critical bridges, which could effectively sever the vital humanitarian
overland link between Lebanon and the outside world.
Foreign ministers from Arab countries will also hold
an extra-ordinary meeting in Beirut on Monday, which will look into means to
support Lebanon in the face of the brutal Israeli offensive.
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