Date Posted:10:03:00 07/31/06 Mon Author: Uncle Sam Subject: Israel halts air strikes
Israel agreed last night to halt its bombardment of Lebanon for two days amid international outrage over an attack that killed dozens of women and children.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered the 48-hour pause in aerial attacks to investigate yesterday's strike on the village of Qana that killed at least 54 people in by far the deadliest single attack of the three-week-old war, an official said.
Israel also agreed to allow a single day of safe passage to civilians who are trying to flee beleaguered villages in southern Lebanon.
The pause is the clearest sign yet that Israel could be feeling the heat of international pressure to stop the bloodshed.
Israel apologized for the deaths, but blamed Hezbollah rebels for firing rockets nearby. Its UN ambassador, Dan Gillerman, said the Jewish state always tries to prevent civilian casualties, unlike its terrorist enemies.
"Every dead Lebanese child is a horrible mistake and a tragedy," Gillerman said. "For [Hezbollah], every dead Israeli child is a victory and a cause for celebration."
The Israeli government insisted the campaign to uproot the Islamic militants would continue.
"We will not stop this battle, despite the difficult incidents," Olmert told his cabinet, according to a participant. "If necessary, it will be broadened without hesitation."
The world reacted with fury, blaming Israel for carrying out the attack, and the U.S. for blocking calls for an immediate ceasefire that could halt the bloodshed.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora hailed Hezbollah fighters and told Secretary of State Rice to stay away unless she wanted to discuss an immediate ceasefire.
UN chief Kofi Annan angrily noted that his previous calls for peace "were not heeded."
"Action is needed now before many more children, women and men become casualties," Annan said.
Hezbollah also lashed back at Israel, firing at least 156 rockets into northern Israel, one of the highest totals of the war so far.
The rockets wounded several people and scored direct hits on a shopping center and a house in the town of Kiryat Shmona.
The Qana attack fueled new calls for a quick ceasefire, but President Bush said it only reinforced his determination to thrash out a wider settlement before asking Israel to stop its military campaign.
"America mourns the loss of innocent life," Bush said before the start of a T-ball game at the White House. "Our hope for peace for boys and girls everywhere extends across the world, especially in the Middle East."
Shell-shocked victims said the blasts came without warning, after midnight, in a building where dozens of members of two extended families had gathered to seek shelter from the bombings in smaller villages.
Most of the three dozen kids who died were sleeping and never knew what hit them.
Weeping rescuers used their bare hands to dig through the rubble in hopes of reaching trapped relatives.
"Why are they killing us? What have we done?" screamed Khalil Shalhoub, who was helping pull out the dead and came upon his brother's body.
