Israel tightens Lebanese noose

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Warplanes bombed Beirut's southern suburbs again early today, witnesses reported, after a day in which Israel tightened a noose around this reeling nation with the heaviest airstrikes yet in the 4-day-old conflict.

The Israeli air force on Saturday hit strongholds of the Hezbollah Shiite Muslim guerrilla group, bombed central Beirut for the first time, and pounded seaports and a key bridge. Then, in Sunday's early morning darkness, a dozen thunderous explosions shook southern Beirut, where Hezbollah is headquartered and much of the intensifying air assault has been targeted since cross-border hostilities erupted Wednesday.

Hezbollah's TV aired footage showing two long columns of smoke rising from buildings into the night sky. Lights were out across large sections of Beirut because the Israelis bombed power stations and the fuel depots feeding them.

Trying to defuse the crisis, Lebanon's prime minister indicated he might send his army to take control of southern Lebanon from Hezbollah — a move that might risk civil war.

In a more ominous sign that the struggle could spread, Israel accused Iran of helping fire a missile that damaged an Israeli warship, a charge both Hezbollah and Iran denied.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, fired waves of rockets ever deeper into Israel, and Israeli officials warned that Tel Aviv, 70 miles inside Israel, could be hit.

The death toll in the 4-day-old conflict rose above 100 in Lebanon, and stood at 15 in Israel. The fighting broke out when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border raid.

Despite worldwide alarm, there was little indication either Western or Arab nations could muster a quick diplomatic solution. The United States and France prepared to evacuate their citizens, and Britain dispatched an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean in apparent preparation for evacuations.

Choking back tears, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora went on television to plead with the United Nations to broker a cease-fire for his "disaster-stricken nation."

The Western-backed prime minister, criticizing both Israel and Hezbollah, also pledged to reassert government authority over all Lebanese territory, suggesting his government might deploy the Lebanese army in the south, which Hezbollah effectively controls.