Israel embraced a U.N. cease-fire resolution approved last night – but decided to continue a punishing offensive against Hezbollah until it formally approves an end to the war this weekend.
The sweeping air and ground operation was authorized by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hours before he informed President Bush of his decision to accept the truce plan.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution that calls for an end to the fighting, authorizing the deployment of 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.
The draft – proposed by the U.S. and France – offers the best chance yet for peace after more than four weeks of bloodshed.
The resolution’s passage was the first significant action by the Security Council to address the escalating conflict.
Olmert endorsed the resolution, but said it will not halt fighting until Israel’s Cabinet has approved the cease-fire deal in its weekly meeting tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora also assured Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that his country backed the resolution.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said hundreds of millions of people around the world shared his frustration that the council had taken so long to intervene.
That inaction has “badly shaken the world’s faith in its authority and integrity,” said Annan.
“I would be remiss if I did not tell you how profoundly disappointed I am that the council did not reach this point much, much earlier.”
Rice said the “hard work of diplomacy” was only beginning with the passage of the resolution.
Rice also said the United States would increase its assistance to Lebanon to $50 million and demanded other nations stay out of its affairs.
“We call upon every state, especially Iran and Syria, to respect the sovereignty of the Lebanese government and the will of the international community,” she told the council.
The Security Council resolution leaves out several demands from both Israel and Lebanon.
Despite Lebanese objections, Israel will be allowed to continue defensive operations, and a dispute over the Chebaa Farms area along the Syria-Lebanon-Israel border will be left for later.
There is also no call for the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel or a demand for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Although the draft resolution emphasizes the need for the “unconditional release” of the two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 capture by Hezbollah sparked the conflict, that call is not included in the list of steps required for a lasting cease-fire.
As the resolution was hammered out, Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded Hezbollah strongholds, while ground forces braved withering ambushes en route to strategic high ground skirting the Litani River valley – a launching pad for Hezbollah rocket attacks.
About 105 miles to the north, an Israeli airstrike on a key bridge to Syria killed 12 people, as the conflict spanned the entire length of Lebanon for the first time.
Later in the day, a rocket fired from an Israeli drone struck a convoy of hundreds of cars fleeing the south, killing seven people, Israeli officials said.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah claimed to have sent a barrage of more than 150 rockets into northern Israel.
Rescue workers in the port city of Haifa estimated the rocket attacks to number around 90, but said eight people were wounded by shrapnel. With Post Wire Services
What the U.N. resolution calls for:
* Immediate halt to “all attacks” by Hezbollah and “all offensive military operations” by Israel.
* Deployment of 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese army to eventually
move into the region.
* Southern Lebanon must be free of armed groups.
* Phased withdrawal of Israeli forces.
* Lebanon must secure its borders to prevent arms shipments to Hezbollah.
* No requirement for the release of two Israeli soldiers whose kidnapping started the fighting.
* Specifics of a permanent cease-fire and long-term solution worked out in a few weeks.