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| BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is proposing an ambitious plan with up to two international military forces that would help the Lebanese government stabilize the situation in southern Lebanon, Lebanese political sources said. Rice pitched the plan Tuesday to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, then traveled to the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Rice's diplomatic moves came on the 14th day of the conflict sparked by Lebanon-based Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued to pound Lebanese cities, while Hezbollah rockets rained down on northern Israel. (Watch as Lebanese port comes under heavy fire -- 2:11) Since July 12, at least 392 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and as many as 1,383 wounded in Lebanon, Lebanese security officials said Tuesday. (Watch as fresh airstrikes pound Beirut -- 2:53) At least 41 Israelis have died, including 19 civilians, and at least 388 have been wounded, Israeli officials said. (Watch 60 rockets and 'angel of luck' -- 3:27) The plan proposed by Rice initially would involve putting an international force of up to 10,000 Turkish and Egyptian troops under a NATO or U.N. commander into southern Lebanon following a cease-fire, the political sources say. (Watch as Rice lays out U.S. view of crisis -- 2:54) Another international force of up to 30,000 troops then would help the Lebanese government regain control over the region, the sources said. (Full story) Rice presented the plan Monday to Lebanese officials, the sources said, and will show it to European foreign ministers Wednesday in Rome, Italy. (Full story) U.S. and diplomatic sources said Lebanese officials are leaking details of the proposal because they are opposed to many of them. The sources describe the plan as an outline or working proposal and note no one has agreed to it. They also said there are many hurdles to overcome before it could be implemented. (Watch why 'stabilization force' would face tough task -- 2:08) No letup in the fighting An overnight Israeli airstrike hit a house in the village of Nabatiye, killing seven people, Lebanese security sources said. The IDF only said its military operations have hit dozens of militants during ongoing fighting in Bint Jbeil, a town it dubbed Hezbollah's "terror capital." Israel claimed Tuesday it had gained complete control of Bint Jbeil, according to Israel Defense Forces Gen. Gal Hirsch, who commands the Galilee division. The IDF said it had killed between 20 and 30 Hezbollah fighters in that area in the past 24 hours. In Israel, a Katyusha rocket killed a 15-year-old girl Tuesday in the village of Meghar in Galilee, Israeli police and medical service officials said. At least 18 people were injured in the port city of Haifa and one man died of a heart attack after a rocket struck near his home, officials said. Huge explosions reverberated Tuesday afternoon through the southern suburbs of Beirut -- a Hezbollah stronghold -- sending smoke billowing through high-rise buildings. Several Israeli strikes hit the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre. There was no official word yet on casualties. Israel opens aid corridors Israeli officials agreed during talks with Rice to make it easier to get humanitarian aid into Lebanon, a U.S. State Department official said. Lebanese officials have pleaded with the United States to pressure Israel for an immediate cease-fire, but U.S. officials said conditions are not yet ripe for such a move, and they expect Israeli military operations to continue for another week or even longer. The U.S. military Tuesday began delivering medical supplies to Beirut for distribution by aid agencies. Officials said the United States has pledged $30 million for humanitarian aid to Lebanon and immediately will supply 100,000 medical kits, 20,000 blankets and 2,000 rolls of plastic sheeting. The U.S. announcement followed a U.N. appeal for nearly $150 million in humanitarian aid earlier this week. (Full story) CNN's John King, Karl Penhaul, John Roberts, Brent Sadler and Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report. |
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| post 12 13 times also to aim the shelter where the UN peace keepers hide.. İt is not a mistake. İf it is a mistake israeli artlry must be realy dump. |
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AYALON: Well, we can, to the extent that Hezbollah does not interfere. And -- and, Paula, I think that it was your network, CNN, that showed that one of the -- the guys of the -- the UNIFIL position was e-mailing, for the last four or five days, to U.N. headquarters that Hezbollah is being all over them. What Hezbollah is doing, specifically locating themselves smack- dab to U.N. positions. This is why they were caught in the crossfire. This is why they were hurt, because of Hezbollah's tactics. ZAHN: Right, but... AYALON: So... ZAHN: ... they also maintained they had made repeated calls to warn that this fire was coming closer and closer, and to -- to make the Israeli forces not bombard that area. AYALON: Yes, but when you call the forces, which are themselves under fire, things happen. You know, friendly-fire also happens. We, of course, regretted it. But the -- the source of the problem is the Hezbollah tactics. And we will not fall into this. And we will make sure that, because of these tactics, they cannot be -- not vulnerable and they cannot continue. And this is what's... ZAHN: We... AYALON: ... what's at stake here. ZAHN: We have got to leave it there. Ambassador Ayalon, always good to see you. Thanks so much for dropping by. AYALON: Thank you. |