An Israeli air strike destroyed a base run by a United Nations observer force in southern Lebanon yesterday, killing at least four observers during a day that marked by an escalation of the Middle East conflict, writes Peter Hirschberg in Jerusalem
Milos Strugar, spokesman for the Unifil peacekeeping force in the area, said: "One aerial bomb directly impacted the building and shelter in the base of the United Nations observer group in Lebanon in the area of Khiam."
A spokesman for the Irish Defence Forces said no Irish troops had been stationed at the observer post. Some 17 Irish troops are currently posted in the Middle East, most of whom are stationed in Laquora on the Lebanese border with Israel.
Four UN TSO staff were manning the post which took a direct hit in an Israeli air raid according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Defence. Indian troops with the Unifil peacekeeping force had recovered two bodies on arrival at the UN base, she added.
Meanwhile US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice assured Israel yesterday the United States would not push for an unconditional ceasefire in Lebanon, while Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert told her Israel would expand "humanitarian corridors" to ensure that aid reached the Lebanese people.
The two, who met in Jerusalem, also agreed Israel would press ahead with its military campaign against Hizbullah. Dr Rice said the US wanted an "enduring" and "sustainable" peace, not one that would quickly crumble.
"It is time for a new Middle East," she said. "It is time to say to those that don't want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail. They will not."
Mr Olmert said he and Dr Rice had agreed that the disarming of Hizbullah and the deployment of an international force in south Lebanon to keep the Shia organisation away from the Israeli border were essential ingredients of any ceasefire.
The Israeli leader said Israel would continue its military campaign against Hizbullah in Lebanon, which he said was "an elementary right of self-defence against terrorist organisations . . . As you know, we are not fighting the Lebanese government".
Israeli defence minister Amir Peretz announced Israel was planning to set up a temporary "security zone" in south Lebanon that would exist until the area was taken over by a multinational force. It was not immediately clear whether the no-go area would be policed by Israeli soldiers or whether it would be enforced by way of artillery fire from Israel and air strikes.
Commenting on the growing refugee problem in Lebanon as a result of Israel's bombing campaign - at least 500,000 Lebanese civilians have been displaced by the Israeli attacks - Dr Rice said it was "extremely important we find ways to deal with the humanitarian situation".
Mr Olmert said one bomb-free aid corridor would enable aircraft to fly in relief supplies to Beirut International Airport, while humanitarian assistance would also be ferried in through a land corridor from Israel, and via sea ports.
Since it launched its offensive in Lebanon, Israel has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the country.
Dr Rice will be in Rome today to push the idea of a multinational force at a conference to be attended by European leaders and leaders of pro-western Arab states.
Israeli forces battled to take over a second Hizbullah stronghold in southern Lebanon yesterday. The army said its troops had killed a senior Hizbullah commander, Abu Jaafar, near the Lebanese border.
It said he was the commander of Hizbullah's "central sector", and that he was killed in an exchange of fire near the Lebanese border village of Maroun al-Ras.
Israel's army meanwhile said its tanks and troops had sealed off the town of Bint Jbeil, some 4km from the border, and were engaged in sporadic firefights with the hold-outs.
"The intention is not to occupy Bint Jbeil - it's a limited operation," Brig Gen Ido Nehushtan said. "In the last 24 hours we killed roughly 20 to 30 terrorists."
(Additional reporting Reuters)