SCOOP LINK:
By STEVEN ERLANGER and HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: July 31, 2006
Link: Israel Suspends Bombing For 48 Hours
See Full Story…
JERUSALEM, Monday, July 31 — Israel agreed to suspend air attacks in southern Lebanon for 48 hours after one of its
raids on the southern town of Qana left dozens of civilians, many of them children, dead on Sunday, the bloodiest day of
the conflict so far.
Israel said the Qana raid was aimed at Hezbollah fighters firing rockets into Israel from the area, but the strike
collapsed a residential apartment building, crushing Lebanese civilians who were taking shelter for the night in the
basement.
There were different accounts of the death toll. Residents said as many as 60 people had been inside. News agencies
reported that 56 had been killed, and that 34 of them were children. The Lebanese Red Cross, which conducted the rescue,
counted 27 bodies, as many of 17 of them children. The youngest of the dead was 10 months old, and the oldest was 95.
One was in a wheelchair.
… snip…
See Full Story…
SCOOP LINK:
By HELENE COOPER
Published: July 31, 2006
See Full Story…
JERUSALEM, Monday, July 31 — Taken aback by the carnage from the Israeli bombing of Qana, Lebanon, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice wrung the first significant concession from Israel late on Sunday in its nearly three-week-old war
against the Hezbollah militia: an immediate 48-hour suspension of aerial strikes.
Especially notable about the suspension was that Ms. Rice’s deputy, Adam Ereli, and not the Israelis, announced it after
she held intensive talks with both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni.
The American decision to break the news on what was essentially an Israeli tactical change reflected the increased
concern in the Bush administration about the rising civilian death toll in Lebanon and the havoc it is wreaking with
America’s already shaky relations with the Arab world.
Indeed, while Mr. Ereli took pains to assure reporters that American officials had confirmation of the temporary
suspension directly from Mr. Olmert’s office, Israeli officials had said nothing publicly about the suspension as of
early Monday.
… snip …
See Full Story…