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Israeli advance encounters stiff Hizbollah resistance

Atul Aneja

Seven Israeli soldiers were killed on Sunday: Al-Arabiya TV

DUBAI: The rapid Israeli advance in Lebanon is meeting stiff resistance ahead of the ceasefire slated for Monday.

Israeli planes dropped heavy bombs on Hizbollah strongholds in south Beirut early on Sunday, in an apparent bid to target leadership bunkers in the Lebanese capital. However, the Hizbollah said the attack did not harm any of its leaders or cadres.

Later on Sunday, the Hizbollah retaliated with rocket attacks on the Israel's industrial hub of Haifa, Kiryat Shimona and other northern towns.

Hizbollah fires 250 rockets

The group fired at least 250 rockets — the highest in any single day since the conflict began on July 12. The Hizbollah claimed that it had also shot down an Israeli drone.

As the fighting spiralled, Israel resumed bombing of Beirut's southern suburbs in the afternoon. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli fighter jets carried out more than 20 raids on the Rweiss district of Beirut's southern suburbs in the space of two minutes.

In the southern port city of Tyre, warplanes bombed five petrol stations, starting a huge fire that threatened to sweep across a nearby hospital.

On the ground, Israeli troops clashed with the Hizbollah fighters near Tyre. The Al-Arabiya TV network reported that seven Israeli soldiers were killed.

Some Israeli troops have reportedly reached the Litani river, 35 km from the border. However, there were no indications yet that Israel was holding territory in the battle zone between the border and the Litani.

On Saturday, the Hizbollah fighters killed 24 Israeli soldiers, including five who died when the helicopter in which they were travelling was downed.

Ceasefire

Unable to dislodge Hizbollah from southern Lebanon, Israel has accepted the United Nations' call for a ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said after a Cabinet meeting on Sunday that his country would act "in accordance" with the U.N. decision. Mr. Olmert observed that the Security Council Resolution 1701 would prevent the return of the status quo in Lebanon.

Notwithstanding the formal support for the truce, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the Cabinet met in "low spirits" following the killing of the 24 Israeli soldiers.

Earlier, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced after consultations with Lebanese and Israeli Prime Ministers that the ceasefire would come into force on Monday morning. "I am very happy to announce that the two leaders have agreed that the cessation of hostilities and the end of the fighting will enter into force on 14 August, at 0500 hours GMT."

Analysts, however, apprehend that formal declaration of the ceasefire might not halt all the fighting immediately. The Israeli military establishment has said its forces would not be pulled out until regular Lebanese troops were deployed along the border.

That would give it a window for persisting with combat for another 10 days.

Hizbollah, on its part, has said it had the right to continue its attacks till the last Israeli soldier departed from Lebanese soil.

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