Aid convoy could arrive in southern Lebanon tomorrow

A humanitarian aid convoy could move from Beirut to southern Lebanon tomorrow if the Israeli army gives final approval, UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said today.

Egeland said he had received a “positive response” from Israeli army officials responsible for co-ordinating shipments from Beirut into the areas where Israel launched a military offensive on July 12.

“We hope to have the first convoy going down from Beirut tomorrow morning and another one on Friday,” Egeland told Israel Army Radio after arriving in Israel during a visit in the region.

The Israeli army said final approval to open such a safe passage had not yet been given.

About 750,000 Lebanese have been displaced by Israel’s land, sea and air operation. Almost 400 Lebanese have been killed.

Israel says it is targeting points of the Hezbollah militia. The fighting began when Hezbollah militants infiltrated Israel, attacking a military border patrol, killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two others.

The army has said it has established two safe passages, one off the coast of Beirut to allow for the evacuation of foreigners, and second along a coastal road leading north from Beirut.

Egeland today visited the Gaza Strip, where Israel on June 28 launched an incursion in response to an attack on an army base in which two soldiers were killed and one kidnapped.

Israel says one of the goals of the operation is to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets into southern Israel.

Egeland criticised Israel for the Gaza campaign, saying that an air strike on a power plant at the beginning of the offensive was unjustified.