DAY 8, BEIR
UT — At least 55 Lebanese civilians were killed as Israeli warplanes pounded the capital and countryside, making today the deadliest day in a week of attacks and pushing this country’s civilian death toll to more than 300. Fearful Westerners fled the country in droves.Violence also struck northern Israel, where two children were killed in a rocket attack in the town of Nazareth.
For the first time since fighting erupted last Wednesday, killing eight Israeli soldiers, Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops engaged in a deadly border clash today. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and one guerrilla was killed, the Israeli army said. The clash took place near the Israeli border farming community of Avivim, north of Safat, and continued for several hours.
The deaths bring Israeli military losses to 14 soldiers and sailors over eight days, a toll comparable to those during the height of the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, that began in 2000.
In recent days, small contingents of Israeli ground forces have been operating along the frontier to demolish Hezbollah outposts and clear terrain, but there has been no large-scale movement of troops. However, the border zone began to reflect more signs of an Israeli military buildup. Tank carriers lumbered northward on roads heading to the frontier.
Israeli soldiers advance towards southern Lebanon near the northern Israeli village of Avivim Wednesday July 19, 2006. Fierce firefights between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants erupted Wednesday along Lebanon‘s southwestern border with Israel , leaving two Israeli soldiers dead, the Israeli army said. (AP Photo/Yaron Kaminsky)
Israel also has begun calling up military reservists, an indication that it might be preparing to step up ground operations.
In south Lebanon’s borderlands, intense bouts of rocket fire, crashing missiles and shelling made the roads impassable, a spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the area said.
Hezbollah guerrillas were setting up rocket launchers near U.N. positions to fire upon Israel, spokesman Milos Strugar said. Three of the U.N. stations along the border had taken direct hits from Israeli artillery, and the organization was unable to transport desperately needed aid convoys, he said.
About half the civilian population was still in the south, according to Strugar.
"They are caught in the crossfire," he said. "They have suffered a very heavy toll in terms of casualties and fatalities, and now this humanitarian crisis is developing."
Lebanese officials renewed pleas for a halt to the Israeli offensive.
"The ferocity and inhumane aggression has reached unbelievable proportions," said Sami Haddad, Lebanon’s minister of economy and trade. "Things are getting worse. We are on an all-out effort to obtain an immediate cease-fire."
In an emotional meeting with Western news agencies, Haddad pleaded with reporters to spread word of Lebanon’s suffering — and harshly criticized the United States for not urging an immediate cease-fire.
"My message to the American people is: Stop this barbaric attack," the finance minister said. "If you think it’s promoting the goals of the U.S. and the U.S. government, I think you’re making a very big mistake."
In Israel, more than 130 rockets had fallen on the country’s north by nightfall. The deaths of two children in Nazareth were the first from a rocket attack in the predominantly Arab town, about 20 miles south of the frontier.
In frontier towns, the near-constant boom of Israeli artillery could be heard, and streets were deserted.
"It’s nerve-racking," said Nati Dahan, a convenience store clerk in the northern Israeli town of Rosh Pina, which at this time of year would normally be crowded with Israeli tourists. "It’s completely quiet."
Israel has been stung by international criticism of the rising civilian death toll in Lebanon, and the lopsidedness of the casualty counts on the two sides of the border. Across the Israeli political spectrum, however, there was a broad consensus that the offensive must go on until Hezbollah is crippled militarily.
"We must not do half of a job, and not stop now and bring in a multinational force that will only fall apart over time, but eliminate these rocket caches and free Israel from their threat," said former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the conservative Likud Party.
Shimon Peres, Israel’s dovish elder statesman, told Israel Radio: "This is a just war."
A bulldozer clear the rubble of a four-story building following an Israeli air raid in the village of Nabi Sheet, near the ancient city of Baalbek. The United States said that Israel continued to have broad international support for military operations against Hezbollah, as violence along its border with Lebanon entered a second week.(AFP)
German nationals wait to be evacuated to Damascus by buses organized by the German embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 19, 2006, as members of the Lebanese security stand guard (unseen in photo). About 3,000 Germans gathered in Beirut Wednesday morning to be taken in as many as 60 buses to Damascus, where they would be flown home, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said in Berlin. More then 700 Germans have already have left Lebanon. (AP Photo)
Black smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut. The United States drew a link between Israel ‘s week-long military conflict in Lebanon against Hezbollah and Washington’s continuing "war on terror."(AFP/Ramzi Haidar)
A Lebanese woman with a foreign passport registers her family with an United Nations officer, before being evacuated out of Lebanon, at a hotel at the southern Lebanon city of Tyre, Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Many foreign nationals have gathered at this hotel over the past few days as they wait for their countries to arrange their departure. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
American evacuees escorted by U.S. personnel alight from a U.S. helicopter at Larnaca airport in Cyprus July 19, 2006. The United States expects to evacuate more than 6,000 of its citizens fleeing Israeli air raids against Lebanon by Friday, the commander of the operation said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Thanassis Stavrakis/Pool (CYPRUS)
American evacuees from Lebanon alight an American helicopter at Larnaca airport in Cyprus July 19, 2006. The United States expects to evacuate more than 6,000 of its citizens fleeing Israeli air raids against Lebanon by Friday, the commander of the operation said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Thanassis Stavrakis/Pool (CYPRUS)
An unidentified American Federal Agent, left, and U.S. embassy security officer search the bags of American citizens as they wait to board the Orient Queen cruise ship in the port of capital Beirut in Lebanon Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Hundreds of Americans wiped tears, hugged relatives and grumbled about delays in evacuation efforts as well as confusing directions as they boarded a luxury cruise ship on Wednesday that was to evacuate them from war-torn Lebanon to Cyprus. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Flags fly on the USS Nashville, docked in Lemosos, Cyprus as U.S. Marines prepare ahead of a mission to Lebanon to bring back evacuees Wednesday July 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
A damaged building is seen after an Israeli missile struck a neighborhood in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 19, 2006, killing five people, police and hospital officials said. The target was a commercial office of a firm belonging to Hezbollah, but those killed were residents. Israeli troops clashed with Hezbollah guerrillas on the Lebanese side of the border Wednesday, while warplanes flattened buildings and killed at least 20 people overnight as fighting entered its second week with the U.S. signaling
Russian nationals and tourists gather in Beirut waiting to be evacuated from Lebanon. Thousands of evacuees from the warfare in Lebanon poured into Cyprus on the first leg of their journey home, while thousands more wait their turn to be taken to safety.(AFP)
A mother shows U.S. passports to a French U.N. officer after hearing that evacuation by U.N. boat from the southern Lebanese town of Soure (Tyre) was cancelled July 19, 2006. REUTERS/Nikola Solic
Israeli soldiers operate along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon following heavy clashes with Lebanese-based Hezbollah guerrillas in the vicinity. At least 55 civilians were killed as Israeli jets and gunboats pummelled towns and villages across Lebanon and tens of thousands of people fled a conflict that both sides defiantly warned would have no limit.(AFP/David Furst)
Israeli soldiers evacuate a wounded comrade from southern Lebanon near the northern Israeli village of Avivim , Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants exchanged heavy gunfire on the Lebanese side of the border and Israelis have been injured, security officials said. The Israeli army confirmed that there were clashes with Hezbollah in the area and Israelis had suffered casualties. They would not elaborate. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Lebanese inspect the destruction of a four-storey building following and Israeli air raid in the village of Nabi Sheet, near the ancient city of Baalbek. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that it has "serious questions" over Israel ‘s conduct, as civilians bear the brunt of the Jewish state’s strikes on Lebanon.(AFP/Hekmat Chreif)
Israeli soldiers advance towards southern Lebanon near the northern Israeli village of Avivim, Wednesday July 19, 2006. Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants exchanged heavy gunfire on the Lebanese side of the border and Israelis have been injured, security officials said. The Israeli army confirmed that there were clashes with Hezbollah in the area and Israelis had suffered casualties. They would not elaborate. (AP Photo/Meir Azulay)
A convoy of Israeli tanks prepares to enter southern Lebanon near the northern Israeli village of Avivim, Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants exchanged heavy gunfire on the Lebanese side of the border and Israelis have been injured, security officials said. The Israeli army confirmed that there were clashes with Hezbollah in the area and Israelis had suffered casualties. They would not elaborate. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli soldiers patrol near Avivim, along the Lebanese border, July 19, 2006. Israeli troops crossed the border to raid Hizbollah posts and Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV said two soldiers had been killed and two wounded in clashes with the Shi’ite Muslim guerrillas. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL)
A Lebanese military jeep, left, and a civilian van are destroyed after an Israeli warplane missile attack in the souther port town of Tyre, Lebanon, Wednesday July 19, 2006. Israel declared Tuesday it was ready to fight Hezbollah guerrillas for several more weeks, raising doubts about international efforts to broker an immediate cease-fire in the fighting that has killed more than 260 people and displaced 500,000. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A Lebanese man inspects the wreckage of a truck that was destroyed when a convoy of trucks was targeted before dawn by Israeli warplanes, in Hadath, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Israeli fighter-bombers destroyed nearly 20 houses and buildings in Lebanon overnight in their campaign to wipe out the rockets that guerrillas have been firing into Israel . (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Lebanese girl takes part in the a protest rally outside the Israeli embassy in Kiev July 19, 2006. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich (UKRAINE) 
Pigeons fly over the building of Beirut city, Lebanon, Wednesday July 19, 2006. Israeli troops clashed with Hezbollah guerrillas on the Lebanese side of the border and warplanes flattened buildings Wednesday, while rockets and fighting killed four Israelis. Lebanon‘s prime minister said 300 people had been killed in his country as fighting entered its second week.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
