Israel shut down south Lebanon with a threat to blast any moving vehicles Tuesday as ground fighting intensified, airstrikes killed at least 19 civilians and Arab governments called for a full Israeli withdrawal as a condition of any cease-fire.
With U.S., French and Arab negotiators meeting into the evening at the United Nations, Israel voiced cautious interest in a Lebanese proposal to deploy 15,000 soldiers to control the ground in south Lebanon where Hezbollah has been firing missiles into Israel. A resolution was not expected to come before the Security Council before Thursday.
At least 160 Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel, most in and around the towns of Nahariya, Kiryat Shemona, Maalot and Safed. No Israeli civilians were killed.
Three Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday in ground fighting around the village of Bint Jbail, the military said, and 35 Hezbollah guerrillas also died. Hezbollah would not confirm any deaths.
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Early today, Israeli's military targeted Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp from the air, killing at least one person and wounding three. Lebanese and Palestinian officials said an Israeli gunship shelled the Ein el-Hilweh camp, but Israel's military said it was an airstrike against a house used by Hezbollah guerrillas.
Who will patrol southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah militants have been operating, has become the dominant sticking point in cease-fire negotiations at the United Nations.
Lebanon and other Arab nations insist Israeli ground troops must leave when a cease-fire pact is reached. President Bush says he wants an international force to replace the Israeli soldiers, but that could take weeks.
Israel and the United States issued positive, if lukewarm, assessments Tuesday of the Lebanese government's plan to dispatch 15,000 soldiers into south Lebanon after a cease-fire and withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The U.N. Security Council put off for at least one day voting on a U.S.-French cease-fire proposal to allow three leading Arab officials to present arguments that the resolution did not "take Lebanon's interest and stability into account."
● At least 797 people have been reported killed in Lebanon and Israel since fighting broke out July 12 between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas.
At least 689 have been killed — including 605 civilians confirmed dead by the Health Ministry, 29 Lebanese soldiers and at least 55 Hezbollah guerrillas. The Lebanese government's Higher Relief Council said 973 Lebanese had been killed in the conflict. As of Sunday Israeli security officials said they had confirmed the deaths of 165 Hezbollah fighters and estimated that about 250 others had been killed.
Authorities said 101 have been killed, including 65 soldiers and 36 civilians.
