Hizbollah fought fierce battles with Israeli troops on the Lebanese border today as the guerrilla group continued to insist that only a prisoner swap would end the nine-day-old conflict.
Al Jazeera television said four Israelis had been killed. An Israeli military source said there had been Israeli casualties and it was later confirmed that at least two were killed. Israeli media reported eight soldiers wounded. Hizbollah said two of its fighters were killed.
British citizens being evacuated from Lebanon today
The clashes occurred just inside Lebanon, near an area where Hizbollah killed two Israeli soldiers on Wednesday. Elite Israeli troops have launched small raids inside Lebanon to try to stop Hizbollah firing rockets into Israel.
Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said today: "If the entire universe came [to pressure Hizbollah] it will not bring back the Israeli soldiers unless through indirect negotiations and a prisoner swap."
Israel again rejected the proposal which is similar to one mediated by Germany in 2004. However Tel Aviv said it would welcome any help Germany could offer.
Israel, which is also waging a three-week-old military campaign in Gaza, launched its offensive in Lebanon after Hizbollah captured two soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on July 12th.
Its bombardment has killed at least 312 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands.
At least 29 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed.
The United States, which is considering sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region next week, landed a small Marine force in Lebanon to evacuate about 1,000 Americans stranded with thousands of other foreigners.