Troops pour into Lebanon ahead of ceasefire

Israeli helicopters airlifted hundreds of troops into the Hezbollah heartland and warplanes launched wide-ranging airstrikes today as officials raced to enforce a UN ceasefire and end fierce fighting still raging across southern Lebanon.

Israel appeared ready to keep up a full-scale campaign until the UN plan works it way through the region’s political leadership over the weekend.

Hopes for a settlement received a significant boost when Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said his militia would grudgingly abide by the ceasefire framework. But he warned that fighting would continue until all Israeli forces leave Lebanon – which depends on how fast peacekeepers can arrive and could take weeks or longer.

“The war has not ended,” said Nasrallah, whose backers hold two seats in Lebanon’s cabinet.

“Today nothing has changed,” added Nasrallah, wearing his traditional black turban, “and it appears tomorrow nothing will change”.

In southern Lebanon, more than 50 Israeli helicopters ferried commandos into Hezbollah territory in what was called the biggest such military operation in Israeli history. It was part of all-put push to drive Hezbollah fighters behind the Litani River, about 18 miles away, before a possible truce is imposed.

But Hezbollah fought back hard. Israel said dozen of soldiers were wounded in the expanded offensive, which has tripled the Israeli troop strength in southern Lebanon.

Both sides also claimed they killed enemies in the battlefield – Israel saying more than 40 Hezbollah dead; the guerrillas saying seven Israelis.

Elsewhere, Israeli air raids killed at least 19 people and blasted a main road near the last open border crossing to Syria.

The Security Council resolution, passed unanimously yesterday, is the United Nations’ first attempt to enforce a ceasefire in a battle that began exactly a month ago.

Lebanese prime minister Fuad Saniora said his cabinet could formally back the plan today. Israel’s Cabinet could give its approval tomorrow.

“This resolution shows that the whole world stood by Lebanon,” Saniora said.

But even if both sides approve, it is not likely to mean the guns will immediately fall silent. Instead, another tense phase would begin: trying to rapidly mobilise a credible peacekeeping force. The possible 30,000-member contingent – half UN, half Lebanese – would stand between Israel and the Hezbollah militia. Yet both sides might not stop fighting until it deploys.

The UN envoy to the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, said he hoped the first wave of UN peacekeepers could arrive in coming days, but cautioned that no timetable has been set yet.

Israel has demanded an airtight buffer zone and wonders if UN and Lebanese forces are up for the task. A small UN military presence – now about 2,000 soldiers – have been in Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon since 1978 and have been overwhelmed by the Islamic group’s rising power, aided by Iran and Syria.

In Texas, US President George Bush said it was now time for “the international community to turn words into action and make every effort to bring lasting peace to the region”.

But the resolution, approved 15-0, did nothing to immediately halt the fighting that has killed at least 761 people on the Lebanese side and 123 Israelis.

In the day’s deadliest strike, Israeli missiles slammed into the southern Lebanon village of Rachaf, about eight miles from the Israeli border, killing at least 15 civilians, security officials said.

Israeli ground forces also fanned out across southern Lebanon hunting for Hezbollah rocket batteries that have fired unending salvos across the border. Four other Lebanese were killed in strikes elsewhere.

Israel’s army chief, Lt Gen Dan Halutz, said ground forces have tripled in size in attempts to put Hezbollah on the run. He did not give a specific troop figure, but it would mean the current force is about 30,000.

Israel TV’s Channel Two said the ceasefire is expected to go into effect at 7am (6am Irish time) Monday. An Israeli official said it could come either late Sunday or Monday.

On Lebanon’s northern frontier, Israeli airstrikes hit the road leading to the Arida border crossing about a mile from the Mediterranean coast. It’s the last official border post open for humanitarian convoys and civilians fleeing the country. The only other exits from Lebanon are rugged pathways and back roads through deserts or mountains.

Aid groups have complained that Israel has not given the green light for any trucks in the past week, leaving thousands of people trapped in southern villages with dwindling food and supplies.

But Israel today allowed a ship full of food, fuel and other relief goods to dock in Tyre. The supplies, including 110 tons of flour and 200,000 ready-to-eat meals, were stored to await Israeli clearance to begin distribution.

Further inland, fighting continued in Hezbollah-held areas around Marjayoun, a strategic hub overlooking valleys used as Hezbollah rocket bases.

Israeli commando units and guerrillas engaged in close combat in a valley near Ghandourieh, about 9 miles southwest of Marjayoun, according to Lebanese security officials.

Overhead, Hezbollah rockets streamed toward Israel. At least five people were injured in northern Israeli towns, rescue workers said. But only about 20 rockets had been launched by midday – far fewer than the average of nearly 200 strikes a day.

Israel said it had killed more than 40 Hezbollah fighters in a 24-hour span since midday Friday, but did not give locations. Hezbollah said four militiamen have been killed during the period. The two sides have widely conflicting casualty counts.

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, meanwhile, reported that guerrillas killed seven Israeli soldiers and destroyed 21 tanks in Wadi al-Hujair valley southwest of Marjayoun.