Israeli troops reach deepest point in Lebanon since Oct 1 invasion

Associated Press Beirut: Israeli ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago, before pulling back early Saturday after fierce battles with Hezbollah militants, Lebanese state media reported. Israeli troops captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, about 5 kilometres from the Israeli border early Saturday, the staterun National News Agency reported. It said Israeli troops were later pushed back from the hill. It added that Israeli troops detonated the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet in Chamaa as well as several homes before they withdrew, but the claim could not be immediately verified. Israel's military said in a statement that its troops “continue their limited, localised, and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon.” The military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Lebanese media reports.

The push on the ground came as Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs as well as several other areas in southern Lebanon, including the port city of Tyre. The morning strike in Beirut hit an area known as Dahiyeh, which the Israeli military called a Hezbollah stronghold, saying its planes had hit multiple sites used by the militant group. Residents were given advance warning by Israel, and it was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. The increase of violence came as Lebanese and Hezbollah officials are studying a draft proposal presented by the US earlier this week on ending the war. Since late September, Israel dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to cripple Hezbollah and end its barrages in Israel. More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire 80 per cent of them in the eight weeks according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. On Friday, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister apparently urged Iran to try and convince Hezbollah to agree to a cease-fire deal with Israel, which would require the group to pull back from the Israel-Lebanon border.

The proposal is based on UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006. A copy of the draft proposal was handed over earlier this week by the US ambassador to Lebanon to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, according to a Lebanese official. The official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak about the secret talks said Berri is expected to give Lebanon's response on Monday.