Israel maintains Lebanon offensive

Israeli forces kept up their offensive in Lebanon today, with troops battling Hezbollah for control of a southern town as their jets flattened a house in an unrelated strike and killed seven civilians.

For the first time since their offensive began on July 12, the Israelis put a limit on how far their troops and tanks would advance in Lebanon. Israeli commander Col. Hemi Livni said today he knew of no plan “to go 70 kilometres into Lebanon.”