Israel suffers highest 1-day toll of war
(AP)
Updated: 2006-08-13 10:48
Nineteen Israeli soldiers were killed Saturday during an expanded offensive
in Lebanon, the army said, making it the highest one-day toll for the Jewish
state since the war against Hezbollah erupted.
The deaths, which occurred in several battles in Lebanon throughout the day,
brought to more than 100 the number of Israeli troops killed so far.
In its statement Sunday, the military also said that a five-member crew of a
downed helicopter was missing.
The transport helicopter was shot down by Hezbollah guerillas. Only the crew
were on board at the time, the army said.
On Saturday, more Israeli tanks and soldiers surged into southern Lebanon,
reaching the Litani River and engaging in some of the heaviest ground combat of
the monthlong war just hours after the U.N. Security Council adopted a
cease-fire plan.
The leader of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah grudgingly joined
Lebanon's government in accepting the U.N. resolution but vowed to keep fighting
until Israeli troops leave and hand over territory to a muscular U.N.
peacekeeping force intended to separate the antagonists.
Israel also signaled its intention to approve the plan, at a Cabinet meeting
Sunday, and a senior official predicted fighting would stop Monday morning, but
there was no slowing in the bloodshed.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced early Sunday that a cease-fire
would take effect at 8 a.m. Beirut time Monday (1 a.m. EDT), saying both Israeli
and Lebanese leaders agreed to the start time. In his statement, Annan called
for an immediate halt to the fighting.
Israel was determined to batter Hezbollah until the end, while the guerrillas
seemed to be fighting as fiercely as ever after a month of intense Israeli air,
artillery and ground assaults.
|
