Hizbollah fighters fought Israeli troops who seized a key town in south-east Lebanon on Thursday, as the United States and France moved closer to a breakthrough in diplomatic efforts to end the four-week-old war. Israel said plans for a deeper ground assault into southern Lebanon were on hold to give diplomacy a chance.
"Things are moving in New York today. I hope they move even more quickly and in the hours to come," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters. "We expect, from one moment to the next, an accord in New York."
Diplomats said a deal was possible by the end of the day, allowing a Security Council vote on Friday. US Ambassador John Bolton, was more guarded. "It is entirely possible we could have a vote tomorrow," he said. "But I wouldn't put odds on it."
Hizbollah fired nearly 70 rockets into Israel, killing a woman and a toddler in an Israeli Arab village, medics said. The army said an Israeli soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile in fighting in southern Lebanon.
Israeli forces headed towards the south-eastern town of Khiam under cover of heavy artillery and air strikes, residents said. Infantry moved through the Christian towns of Marjayoun and Qlaiah overnight and imposed a curfew.
The fighting intensified even though Israel said plans for an expanded ground offensive, approved on Wednesday, had been put on hold to allow more time for US-led diplomatic efforts.
Diplomats said US and Israeli officials were discussing what they described as a "consecutive cease-fire" under which Israeli military operations would be scaled back in stages when Lebanese troops and more foreign soldiers begin deploying.
"The breakthrough is based on the inclusion in the call for a cessation of hostilities for a progressive Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory to go simultaneously with the deployment of the Lebanese army backed by reinforced UN peacekeepers," a senior Lebanese political source said.
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