US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Israel tonight after holding talks with the Prime Minister of Lebanon in Beirut earlier today where they discussed the 13 day-old regional crisis which has claimed over 400 lives, wounded thousands and displaced at least 600,000 people.
Lebanese Nohad Jain, left, holds her son Mahmoud, seriously wounded when the family car was struck by an Israeli warplane missile while they were fleeing from the village of Mansouri, sail toward the waiting ship Princesa Marissa during their evacuation out of Lebanon, from the southern coastal city of Tyre. Photo:AP.
The talks were held against a background of continuing violence as Israeli forces hit a Red Cross Convoy and Hizbollah guerrillas claimed they had shot down an Israeli helicopter and inflicted casualties in fierce battles after Israeli forces pushed deeper into the country.
Secretary of State Rice thanked Mr Fouad Siniora for his "courage and steadfastness" but insisted there was no place for groups such as Hizbollah to launch attacks from Lebanese territory.
It is understood the ambulances were transferring victims of the Israeli bombardment to a hospital when they were hit.
A Lebanese source said Secretary Rice had insisted Hezbollah would have to release two Israeli soldiers and withdraw from the border before any ceasefire could be enforced.
"Thank you for your courage and steadfastness," she told Mr Siniora, who has repeatedly pleaded for an immediate ceasefire.
Mr Saniora has pleaded with Washington to press Israel to call a cease-fire in bombardment that has demolished Lebanon's infrastructure and killed hundreds.
US President Bush has opposed an immediate cease-fire, saying the root cause of the conflict must be resolved.
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stands in front of a mobile artillery unit positioned in the northern village of Fassuta, near the Lebanese border today. Photograph: Reuters
However, Secretary Rice was reported by a Lebanese political source as telling Shia Muslim Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is an ally of Hizbollah and is also close to Syria, that "the situation on the border cannot return to what it was before July 12."
She was referring to the capture by Hizbollah of two Israeli soldiers.
The source quoted her as saying there would be no ceasefire before Hizbollah freed the pair unconditionally and pulled its forces back about 20 km from the border.
"The tone of the meeting was very negative," he said.
A young girl waits to be evacuated as Turkish Special Forces (SAT) escort Turkish citizens fleeing Lebanon aboard Turkish Navy Ferry 'Iskenderun' July 24, 2006 in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Reuters
On her way to the region, Ms Rice claimed she wanted to create conditions for a sustainable ceasefire in a war that has cost 384 dead in Lebanon and at least 37 Israeli lives in 13 days.
Secretary of State Rice's visit came as Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was quoted in an interview published today that the priority was for a cease-fire adding that he was open to discussing ideas on ending the crisis.
The Israeli bombardment of Lebanon continued today with multiple strikes across the south of the country. Two Lebanese Red Cross ambulances were hit by missiles fired by Israeli planes near the village Qana, wounding at least five Red Cross volunteers in the attack.
The Israeli military tonight confirmed that two of its troops were killed during fighting inside Lebanon. At least ten Israeli soldiers have been wounded in the fighting.
Israeli troops met with fierce resistance as they moved deeper into Lebanese territory, besieging the biggest town close to the frontier - Bint Jbai.
Bint Jbai, also known the "capital of the resistance" due to its intense support of Hizbollah during Israel's 1982-2000 occupation of the south, was visited yesterday by a Red Cross doctor Dr. Hassan Nasreddine, who said he saw families crowded into schools, mosques and other buildings.
Many of the town's population of 200,000 are believed to have remained behind despite Israeli warnings to get out. Following an intense artillery barrage, Israeli troops took control of a hilltop in Bint Jbail, but the rest of the town was still being held by Hezbollah.
Hizbollah claimed it had shot down an Israeli helicopter and hit five tanks, inflicting casualties in fierce battles that erupted after Israeli forces pushed north from a border village.
Arab television channels said four Israeli soldiers had been killed. Israel's army said two airmen died in the helicopter crash, insisting it was probably caused by a technical fault.
Israel said its troops captured two Hezbollah guerrillas, the first it had taken in the Lebanon fighting. Brigadier General Alon Friedman said the two prisoners are being held in Israel "with the aim of interrogating them."
Hezbollah continued its barrage of missile attacks on northern Israel, firing more than 40 rockets and slightly wounding 13. Rockets reportedly struck Haifa, Nahariya and the border town of Shlomi, wounding at least four people.
At least 600,000 Lebanese have fled their homes, according to the WHO - with one estimate by Lebanon's finance minister putting the number at 750,000, nearly 20 percent of the population.