Talk of peace, but cease-fire unclear

BEIRUT, Lebanon - When is a cease-fire not really a cease-fire?

That question was dominant yesterday in Lebanon, where Israel intensified its ground invasion hours after the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution calling for a "full cessation of hostilities." Although UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced last night that both sides had indicated a cease-fire will take effect at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. in New York) tomorrow, the measure, which passed on Friday night, did not impose a deadline on the warring factions. That left much confusion about when Israel and Hezbollah would actually stop fighting.

The grinding war continued, with no sign of respite. Columns of Israeli tanks, soldiers and armored personnel carriers barreled over the border, and more than 50 helicopters dropped hundreds of commandos deep inside southern Lebanon. By last night, the number of Israeli troops inside Lebanon had tripled - up to 30,000 - within 48 hours. Israeli air strikes killed at least 19 civilians in Lebanon. Hezbollah refrained from attacks in the morning, but later in the day fired dozens of rockets at northern Israel, wounding at least five civilians.

Nineteen Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday in Lebanon, the army said, making it the highest one-day toll for the state since the war against Hezbollah erupted.

A hesitant acceptance

Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah grudgingly accepted the UN resolution, but vowed his guerrillas would continue fighting until all Israeli troops withdrew. The Lebanese government, which includes two ministers from Hezbollah, also approved the UN plan last night. And the Israeli cabinet is expected to accept the plan today.

"We must not make a mistake - not in the resistance, in the government or among the people - and believe that the war has ended," Nasrallah said in a nationally televised speech. "The war has not ended. There have been continued Israeli strikes and continued casualties. Today, nothing has changed and it appears tomorrow, nothing will change either."

Israeli military commanders issued mixed messages about when they would end their offensive. The army chief of staff said the Israeli advance would continue for a week; other officials said military operations would end by tomorrow morning. In any case, Israeli leaders have said they will not withdraw their troops from the south until a UN peacekeeping force is deployed - and that could take up to 10 days after fighting stops.

The UN resolution offers victories and setbacks to both Israel and Lebanon. Despite Lebanese objections, the measure does not call for an immediate cease-fire. It also allows Israel to continue "defensive" military operations - meaning it could respond if attacked.

Since war broke out on July 12, about 10,000 Israeli troops and hundreds of tanks have invaded Lebanon in an effort to prevent Hezbollah from firing rockets into northern Israel. The number of troops dramatically increased yesterday in what appeared to be a last-ditch effort by Israeli forces to achieve some military successes after being repeatedly frustrated in their hunt for Hezbollah's missile stockpiles.

"Israel's military needs to show some kind of victory to the Israeli public, to prove that all the lives lost and disruption were worth it," said Nizar Qader, a retired Lebanese brigadier general who is now an independent military analyst. "The Israelis are making a major push before they come under world pressure to implement the cease-fire. But this is a dangerous gamble because things could still spiral out of control."

The widening ground war is costly for Israel: Last night, Israeli officials said at least seven soldiers were killed, and Israel Radio reported nearly 100 wounded yesterday. For the first time in the month-long war, Hezbollah fighters shot down an Israeli helicopter.

After Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, Israel launched its most intense attack since it invaded Lebanon in 1982. The offensive has crippled the country's infrastructure, displaced 1 million people, and killed more than 760 people - the majority of them civilians. More than 130 Israelis have been killed, more than 90 of them soldiers.

The peacekeepers' role

The resolution calls for deploying 15,000 peacekeepers in south Lebanon to help the Lebanese army take control of the area once Israeli troops withdraw. That was a victory for Lebanon, which had rejected a draft resolution unveiled on Aug. 5 by the United States and France, saying it was doomed to fail because it did not require an Israeli pullout. Lebanese and Arab negotiators also persuaded U.S. diplomats to drop an Israeli demand for a new multinational force separate from the UN peacekeepers who have been stationed in south Lebanon since 1978.

Even if Israel and Hezbollah agree to halt military operations tomorrow, that would not necessarily guarantee a cease-fire. If Israeli troops remain in south Lebanon, Hezbollah is likely to fight them. The key question is whether those battles would remain confined to the south, or if they would expand once again.

Nasrallah repeated an offer yesterday to stop firing rockets at northern Israel if Israeli forces halt their attacks on Lebanon's infrastructure and civilians. He said Hezbollah was willing to abide by an agreement reached under U.S. auspices in April 1996, which barred Hezbollah and Israel from targeting civilians.

But he pledged to continue fighting until Israeli troops withdraw. "As long as there are Israeli operations and Israeli soldiers occupying our land," he said, "we have the right to defend our land and ourselves."

This story was supplemented with wire service reports.