Lebanon’s prime minister, caught in a vice of conflicting demands by Israel and Syria, side-stepped Israeli insistence that international forces be deployed on the Syrian border and said today that Lebanese troops already there posed no threat to its prickly Arab neighbour.

Lebanon’s defence minister threatened today to halt the Lebanese army’s deployment in south Lebanon if the United Nations does not intervene after an Israeli commando raid near Baalbek.

Hezbollah fighters battled Israeli commandos who launched a raid near the militants’ stronghold inside Lebanon early today, killing one soldier, in the first large-scale violation of the ceasefire.

Hezbollah said its guerrillas clashed early today with an Israeli commando force that landed near their stronghold of Baalbek deep inside Lebanon.

Israeli drones and warplanes crisscrossed the skies above Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley tonight near the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek, security officials said.

Israel ordered its army to halt its offensive against Lebanese-based Hezbollah guerillas in as a United Nations-imposed ceasefire went into effect today.

Israeli airstrikes pounded south Beirut and border crossings to Syria, killing at least 13 people across Lebanon as ground fighting picked up intensity.

Israeli artillery pounded villages and hills throughout south Lebanon while a complete curfew was imposed on any civilians still trapped in the heart of the war zone.

Israeli commandos landed on a southern hilltop near Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast today, fighting Hezbollah in close combat in a bid to destroy its rocket launchers, as warplanes launched fresh airstrikes across the country, killing at least 28 people.

Israeli warplanes launched fresh airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and Lebanon’s southern and eastern regions today, killing at least eight people. The stepped-up bombardment came a day after cross-border guerrilla rockets killed 15 Israelis.

Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs and other parts of Lebanon early today, local media reported.

Eight thousand Israeli troops pressed the first full day of a massive new ground attack in southern Lebanon today and said they seized five Hezbollah fighters in a dramatic raid on a north-eastern town.

Israel launched its deepest ground strike into Lebanon today, claiming it had killed 10 Hezbollah guerrillas and captured five in the northeastern city of Baalbek, while nearby air strikes killed at least 15 civilians.

Israeli warplanes staged a series of raids in northern, eastern and southern Lebanon early today, targeting suspected Hezbollah hideouts, striking a Lebanese army base and destroying roads, Lebanese security officials said.

ISRAELI troops met fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas yesterday as they crossed into Lebanon to seek tunnels and weapons after warning residents in a 20-mile swathe of the south along the border to flee.

Israel struck a Lebanese army base outside Beirut and flattened a house near the border, killing at least 10 people in a new wave of bombings.

Westerners fled by land, sea and air as Israel launched waves of bombings that hit south Beirut, the border and the eastern city of Baalbek in the early hours today.

Israeli warplanes repeatedly blasted Beirut’s southern suburbs today, causing a series of huge blasts, Hezbollah’s Al Manar television reported.

YESTERDAY’S developments in the Israel-Lebanon crisis stem from the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah.

Syrian special forces joined Lebanese troops today at a Lebanese air base near the Syrian border, and shouted “long live Bashar!” in homage to the Syrian leader, as they prepared for a farewell ceremony marking the end of Syria’s 29-year military involvement with its smaller neighbour.

Syrian President Bashar Assad was expected to announce today the pull-back of his troops in Lebanon closer to the Syrian border, but US counterpart George W Bush has rejected anything but a full withdrawal as insufficient.

Supporters of dead terrorist Abu Nidal clashed with Lebanese troops in a Palestinian refugee camp today, leaving at least nine people wounded.

Dancer Michael Flatley is in Lebanon for his first performance in the Middle East.

The Lebanese Government is being urged to buy the cannabis crops it is trying to stop farmers from growing.