Israel pounded Hezbollah’s southern Beirut strongholds with missiles early today and, in a sharp expansion of its bombing of Lebanon, blasted highway bridges for the first time in the Christian heartland north of the capital during morning rush hour.

Hezbollah’s leader offered for the first time today to stop rocket attacks on northern Israel in return for an end to airstrikes throughout Lebanon.

The United Nations’ top humanitarian official today inspected the destruction caused by Israeli air raids on southern Beirut and called for an end to violence as he began a relief mission to war-ravaged Lebanon.

Diplomatic efforts to stop the week-long conflict between Israel and Lebanon gained momentum, but Israel said it was preparing to fight Hezbollah guerrillas for several more weeks and might send in ground forces.

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.

ISRAELI air strikes reduced entire apartment buildings to rubble and plunged parts of the Lebanese capital of Beirut into darkness in a ferocious response to a Hezbollah attack.

ISRAEL bombed the home of Hezbollah’s leader in Beirut yesterday as part of a widening assault in Lebanon since Shi’ite fighters captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight.

RESIDENTS of Beirut’s southern suburbs hit by Israeli air strikes vowed yesterday to stand by Hezbollah, despite rising casualties from attacks triggered by its capture of two Israeli soldiers.

Israel tightened its seal on Lebanon today, blasting air and road links and bringing its offensive to the capital for the first time.

IRAN’S hardline president marched in the streets of Tehran yesterday alongside tens of thousands of people supporting his call for the destruction of Israel — remarks that have been condemned around the world.

Israel today denied it was behind a car bomb attack that killed a long-time Hezbollah fighter outside his southern Beirut home.