Israeli military calls up 30,000 reservists  

updated 12:05 a.m. ET July 28, 2006

TEL AVIV, Israel - Israel’s government decided Thursday not to expand its battle with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon for now, but authorized the army to call up 30,000 reserve soldiers in case the fighting intensifies. Lebanese officials estimated a civilian death toll as high as 600.

Israeli Radio reported that Israeli aircraft hit 130 targets in Lebanon on Thursday and early Friday, including a Hezbollah base in the Bekaa Valley, where long-range rockets were stored.

With Hezbollah allies Iran and Syria reportedly meeting in Damascus to discuss the crisis, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was “willing and ready” to return to the region to work for a sustainable peace agreement.

But President Bush suggested he would support the offensive for as long as it takes to cripple Hezbollah. He also sharply condemned Iran for its support of the Shiite Muslim militant group.

The call-up signaled that Israel was settling in for a much longer battle than had initially been expected, one that could grow far bloodier if Israel decides its air attacks and small-scale invasion into Lebanon are not working and sends in thousands of more ground forces.

With no end in sight after 16 days of intense fighting, al-Qaida’s No. 2 man vowed to attack “everywhere” until Islam prevails.

In recent days, senior Israeli generals urged the government to authorize a broader ground campaign in southern Lebanon, which they said would help the thousands of troops already engaged in bloody battles there.

Israel’s security Cabinet authorized the army to call up three additional reserve divisions to refresh the troops in Lebanon if they are needed, but rejected the generals’ advice to expand the offensive.

However, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said the failure of world leaders to call for an immediate cease-fire at a summit in Rome gave Israel a green light to carry on with its campaign to crush Hezbollah — an assertion hotly rejected by European officials.

Wednesday’s conference ended in disagreement, with most European leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire and the United States wanting to give Israel more time to neutralize Hezbollah.

“We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world .... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won’t be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed,” Ramon told Israel’s Army Radio.

European leaders said Ramon was mistaken.

“I would say just the opposite — yesterday in Rome it was clear that everyone present wanted to see an end to the fighting as swiftly as possible,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday struck roads and houses, many believed to be the deserted homes of Hezbollah activists, in the apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah. The strikes caused casualties, but fighting kept ambulances and civil defense crews from the areas, security officials and witnesses said.

Other strikes hit a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes pounded the area near the border, according to witnesses. However, the fierce ground battles that raged Wednesday for the border towns of Bint Jbail and nearby Maroun al-Ras appeared to have abated, with U.N. observers reporting only “sporadic fighting” there.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the strategic damage to Hezbollah was “enormous” and said the group would “not return to what it was.”

Israel launched its offensive in Lebanon on July 12, after Hezbollah guerrillas overran the border, killed three Israeli soldiers on patrol and captured two others.

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

Son of slain rabbi arrives in Israel Motley crew aids blockaded Gazans Sex-on-beach tourists avoid jail Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: