LebanonÂ’s Prime Minister Fouad Siniora won strong support from Arab states to plead his case at the United Nations for a full Israeli withdrawal even as Israeli warplanes intensified airstrikes and launched a new commando raid in south Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 23 people in one of the heaviest tolls in days. Siniora got strong backing from the foreign ministers, who warned the UN Security Council against adopting resolutions that donÂ’t serve LebanonÂ’s interests. They decided to send a high-level delegation to New York to press LebanonÂ’s case. Three loud explosions rocked Beirut shortly after nightfall and within two hours of the Arab ministersÂ’ leaving. Lebanese security officials said they were artillery fired from ships off the Mediterranean coast where they also are enforcing a sea blockade. A Lebanese army statement called up reserve soldiers in a move apparently linked to a possible deployment of about 15,000 troops on the border.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is pressing for an arrangement in a draft UN resolution that has Lebanese troops deploying quickly in the south with the backing of a beefed-up UN force, so that the Israeli military can withdraw as part of any ceasefire deal. So far, the draft prepared by the US and France only calls for a halt in fighting, leaving Israeli forces still in the south until a more powerful UN force can be deployed.