Thursday, July 27, 2006

News on Middle East Conflict

Home
News
Business
Sports
Travel
Entertainment
Homes
Jobs
Cars
Shopping
Place ads
Newspaper services


88° F Latest forecast





Top headlinesTour winner fails drug testSurgery for cardinal Al Qaeda warns Israelis2nd Hammond shooting reportedInmate hangs self in jail
Images in the newsThe day Photo page Set sails for Mackinac-->Sponsored by Ritz Camera
Sales & Deals in ChicagoDigital Cameras Video games iPods Laptop computers Power tools
Need advice?Amy Manners Abby Horoscopes Tales
The latest from ChicagoSports.comCubs Sox Bears Bulls Fire Blackhawks Columnists Forums

VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRSCOLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTYread more & applyINTERNATIONAL STUDENT RECRUITMENT COORDINATORCOLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTYread more & applyORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTPALOS COMMUNITY HOSPITALread more & applyTRANSFER INFORMATION COORDINATORCOLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTYread more & applyREGISTERED NURSE CORPORATE DIRECTOR OF RISK MANAGEMENTREGISTERED NURSE CORPORATE DIRECTOR OF RISK MANAGEMENTread more & applySearch Chicago jobs
All Chicago jobs Post resume Post a job
Breaking news: Injuries reported in building collapse
Please register or log in Subscribers: Get the Advantage
Search:



chicagotribune.com >> Nation/World
CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Israeli casualties, war doubts on riseSummit ends without deal to stop fightingBy Joel Greenberg, Tribune foreign correspondent. Tribune correspondent Cam Simpson contributed from RomePublished July 27, 2006
JERUSALEM -- On a day of heavy Israeli casualties and failed international talks to end more than two weeks of fighting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced growing domestic doubts Wednesday about the army's tactics and the overall wisdom of Israel's offensive in Lebanon.As televised images of wounded soldiers raised haunting memories of Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, Olmert told lawmakers of plans for a new 1.2-mile-deep buffer zone there as critics began raising questions about the army's performance and credibility in the face of determined resistance by Hezbollah.
E-mail this story
Printable format
Search archives
RSS
Putting up a stronger fight than expected, Hezbollah guerrillas inflicted heavy losses on Israeli troops, killing nine soldiers and wounding 25 in the worst single-day toll for the Israelis since the start of the campaign.In Rome, world leaders disbanded a meeting on the crisis without agreeing on how to end the fighting, which has claimed more than 460 lives. While the United Nations, European Union and others wanted an immediate cease-fire, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted on the U.S. position that any truce be accompanied by a wider agreement that includes Hezbollah's disarmament.Pleading for "an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire," Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora warned the diplomats that only despair and fanaticism would emerge from Lebanon's rubble, and he accused Israel of war crimes."Is the value of human life less in Lebanon than that of citizens elsewhere? Are we children of a lesser God?" Siniora said, according to a copy of his remarks. "Is an Israeli teardrop worth more than a drop of Lebanese blood?"The world leaders signed a final statement pledging to "work immediately" toward a cease-fire, and Rice said it would be used to help draft a UN Security Council resolution in the coming days on the need for an international force to separate the warring sides. She said a separate meeting would be convened among nations interested in sending troops for such a force.In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow said two ranking U.S. diplomats would remain in the region to consult "with partners and allies on how to move forward . . . to make conditions proper for a cease-fire."In addition to the intense ground fighting Wednesday, Hezbollah fired more than 150 rockets into northern Israel despite the army's continuing offensive to stop such launches, the army said. The rockets wounded more than 30 people and damaged property.Bint Jbeil, the hill town where the army suffered its heavy losses, is a key stronghold of Hezbollah about 2 miles from the border with Israel. It has been the focus of an Israeli ground push into Lebanon that the army says is meant to kill the group's fighters and destroy its bunkers and rocket stocks in villages near the frontier.Most of Bint Jbeil's 30,000 residents have fled, but several hundred are believed to remain in the town, along with an unknown number of Hezbollah guerrillas dug in among the homes.Maj. Gen. Udi Adam, chief of the Israeli army's northern command, said several dozen Hezbollah fighters ambushed troops from the crack Golani brigade as they advanced into the town. The guerrillas set off explosives and opened fire at the soldiers, killing eight and wounding 22, an army spokeswoman said.The soldiers killed most of the attackers, and the Israeli casualties were evacuated under fire to helicopters, Adam saidThe military said that an additional soldier was killed and three others were wounded when guerrillas fired an anti-tank rocket at a house occupied by troops in the neighboring village of Maroun al-Ras, which the army said previously that it had taken."I assume there will be more days like this, regretfully, and these days can happen," Adam said.The general said troops would carry out raids in Bint Jbeil and neighboring villages but would not occupy them."The definition of the operation was to seize high ground in the Bint Jbeil area and not capture the entire town; it is too big a town, and we decided that there is no reason right now to occupy it," Adam said. "We are free to act in the whole area, and that is the mode of operation, that is, we go in and out of all kinds of places, not only Bint Jbeil."But the number of casualties in Wednesday's fighting, coming after losses in similar clashes in recent days, led some critics to question army tactics."When [the army] falls into ambushes time after time, and is surprised each time anew, this series of events has to be stopped," Rafi Noy, a retired general and former chief of staff in the army's northern command, told Channel Two television. "It's not good when this happens to an army that is so trained and so professional."The losses in Bint Jbeil also were a blow to the army's credibility after some senior officers announced in media interviews Tuesday that resistance in the town had been broken and that it was under the control of Israeli forces."The war is leading us by the nose to sink deeper in the Lebanese mud. . . . The moment the army will be in Lebanon for an extended period, it will be hell for us in there," said Ran Cohen, a dovish lawmaker and reserve army colonel, The Associated Press reported. "The deeper we get drawn in, the worse it will be."The leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said in a televised speech early Wednesday that his group would wage a guerrilla war against the Israelis in southern Lebanon. "What's important in the ground battle is the degree to which we inflict casualties on the Israeli enemy," Nasrallah said.Olmert told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that Israel wanted to establish a 1.2-mile-deep buffer zone in southern Lebanon that would be free of Hezbollah guerrillas and deter rocket attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.However, Olmert indicated that Israel would not go back to an occupation similar to the "security zone" it maintained in southern Lebanon in the '80s and '90s. Defense Minister Amir Peretz spoke Tuesday of controlling the area with firepower to prevent the entry of guerrillas.In the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Sunday, an Israeli bombing hit an empty building where Hezbollah's commander in the south has offices, wounding 13 people nearby, AP reported.A total of 51 Israelis have been killed since the start of the military campaign, 33 of them soldiers. More than 400 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli attacks.----------jogreenberg@tribune.com
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

on error resume next
ShockMode = (IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.8")))




Most e-mailed (last 24 hours)

Office space cadets

My co-workers are driving me crazy!

'Big-box' wage law passes

Chicago feels housing chill

Miller Park sausage race gets some more flavor
More from today Past week


Find places and events on metromix.com. quick clicks: Music Movies Events/Best Bets Reader Reviews
Metromix on CLTV Entertainment news
Restaurant reviewsPhil Vettel on what's hot function displayVideoHelp(){var videohelppage = window.open('http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/broadband/stv-video-trouble,0,2616238.htmlstory?video=', 'CONTENT');}function playVideoClip () {displayVideoHelp();} function playVideoClips () {displayVideoHelp();} function checkLaunchVideo() {}
Phil Vettel on what's hot-->
Videos from Tribune, CLTV and WGN-TV:>> More: CLTV headlines WGN news Web cams
Site index
NewsLocal newsNation/world newsOpinionColumnistsSpecial reportsPhotosVideoMultimediaObituariesHealthEducationWeatherTraffic
BusinessYour moneyStocksThe Digital PageWhat's aheadBusiness techTechnologyWireless/ NetworkingColumnists
SportsBearsBullsBlackhawksCubsWhite SoxCollegesHigh schoolGolfSoccerColumnists
TravelFlight tracker
Domestic fares
International fares-->• Travel dealsFall colorsMidwest getawaysFollow the sunSkiing 2005-06Cruising 2005-06National Parks-->• Resourceful traveler10 for the roadGeoQuiz
EntertainmentArtsCritics' reviewsDiningFoodHoroscopeLeisureLotteryMoviesMusicTheaterShoppingTelevision
Today's paperIn the communityRegistrationSubscriptionContact usSend a news tipWhat's in it for you?
ClassifiedFind a jobFind a carFind real estateFind an apartmentShoppingFind a mortgageDatingPetsPlace an adHow to advertise
metromix.com ChicagoSports.com Subscriber Advantage Site tour Privacy Policy Terms of Service
var st_v=1.0; var st_pg=""; var st_ci="703";
var st_di="d004"; var st_dd="st.sageanalyst.net";
var st_tai="v:1.2.1";
var st_ai="";
if (st_v==1.0) {
var st_uj;
var st_dn = (new Date()).getTime();
var st_rf = escape(document.referrer);
st_uj = "//"+st_dd+"/"+st_dn+"/JS?ci="+st_ci+"&di="+st_di+
"&pg="+st_pg+"&rf="+st_rf+"&jv="+st_v+"&tai="+st_tai+"&ai="+st_ai;
var iXz = new Image();
iXz.src = st_uj;
}
=0)document.write(unescape('%3C')+'\!-'+'-')
//-->

Classifieds partners: Jobs: Careerbuilder.com Autos: Cars.com FSBO Homes: Homescape.com Rentals: Apartments.com Shopping: Shoplocal.com
Local Tribune sites: Chicago Magazine CLTV Hoy Chicago RedEye Satisfaction Magazine WGN Radio WGN TV

DaywatchThe day's top stories e-mailed to you each weekday.
The Info DeskExclusive access to Tribune experts for help with homework or research
365 Day ArchiveA free archive search of a year's worth of Chicago Tribune stories.
The Entertainment ExpertAdvice for making the most of a special night out.
This month's featured offers include:
Enjoy exclusive 2 for 1 tickets to see the Schaumburg Flyers take on the Winnipeg Goldeyes, Thursday, August 10 at Alexian Field.


var trbcat="news:nationworld";
var tcdacmd="da;dt;rcid=";

No comments: