Israel’s Cabinet yesterday approved a U.N.-brokered cease-fire – even as Hezbollah and Israeli forces continued to slug it out as today’s early-morning deadline neared.
Israeli air raids killed at least 17 people yesterday while Hezbollah rained down more than 250 rockets into Israel, the largest single-day total yet in the month-long battle.
The Katyusha rockets claimed only one victim, an 82-year-old man, while 53 were wounded.
Five Israeli soldiers were killed, members of a helicopter crew that was struck by a ground missile, and 25 were wounded overall yesterday, the army said. The soldiers’ bodies were recovered after intense fighting, Israel Army forces said. A Dubai TV network said seven Israelis died yesterday.
Officials said 24 Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday, the worst single-day death toll for the nation during the campaign aimed at crippling Hezbollah.
The cease-fire, scheduled to go into effect at 1 a.m. (EDT) today, was approved by Israel’s Cabinet, 24-0, with one abstention, but only after hot debate.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the cease-fire agreement would ensure that “Hezbollah won’t continue to exist as a state within a state.”
The Lebanese Cabinet yesterday canceled a critical meeting that was to discuss the deployment of 15,000 of its troops to southern Lebanon, a key part of the cease-fire deal. Published reports said the Cabinet had been sharply divided over demands that Hezbollah surrender its weapons.
The cease-fire also calls for an additional 15,000-man U.N. force, likely to be led by France, to be deployed from the Litani River to the Israel border, creating an 18-mile buffer zone.
Israel said it hopes the troops will be deployed within a week or two.
“When the Lebanese and multinational force enters, Israel will withdraw and not before,” Israeli Cabinet minister Yaacov Edri said after the Cabinet vote.
The debates came a day after Lebanon approved the truce. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also gave his grudging consent but warned, “the war has not ended.”
As the statesmen talked, Haifa was once again pelted by Hezbollah missiles, some striking the city center. No casualties were reported but several people were treated for shock.
The Israel Defense Forces hammered Hezbollah-held positions in south Beirut. At one point, sources said, 23 blasts were heard within two minutes.
Israeli aircraft launched scores of strikes on more than 50 villages and towns including the southern city of Tyre were at least 15 died when gas stations were hit, Lebanese officials said. Three Lebanese soldiers were killed, officials said.
Fighting was reported in several southern Lebanon locations, especially in the border village of Aaita al-Shaab, where Hezbollah claimed it ambushed an Israeli force and inflicted 25 casualties.
The Dubai-based Al Arabiya television reported seven Israeli soldiers were killed, something the IDF would not comment on. An Israeli spokesman, however, confirmed the bloody exchange.
The invasion has claimed more than 900 lives, at least 782 in Lebanon, the vast majority civilians, while 152 Israelis, including 113 soldiers, have died, The Associated Press said.
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Latest developments
* Northern border: 250 Katyusha missiles rain in, killing an elderly Israeli man and wounding 53 in various locations.
* Tyre : Israeli jets hit gas stations, killing at least 17.
* Haifa: Hit with numerous missiles. Only victims are those treated for shock.
* Aaita al-Shaab: Hezbollah ambush inflicts 25 casualties on IDF terror group claims.
* South Beirut: Israeli jets pound Hezbollah strongholds with a barrage of 23 missiles in two minutes. Eight buildings are collapsed. Body of a child seen being removed from the wreckage.
* Truce set to begin at 1 a.m. today.