Hizbollah barrage kills 11

Hizbollah guerrillas unleashed their deadliest barrage of rockets yet into northern Israel, killing 11 people, while Israeli bombardment killed 17 people in southern Lebanon as fighting only intensified despite a draft UN cease fire resolution.

Hizbollah guerrillas unleashed their deadliest barrage of rockets yet into northern Israel, killing 11 people, while Israeli bombardment killed 17 people in southern Lebanon as fighting only intensified despite a draft UN cease fire resolution.

Israeli jets also fired six missiles into Beirut8217;s southern suburbs on Sunday, Lebanese security officials said. Loud explosions shook the capital, and a column of white smoke rose over the horizon.

During the day, the Hizbollah rejected the US-French text of a UN resolution, saying its terms for a halt in fighting do not address Lebanon8217;s demands. This appeared a signal that the nearly 4-week-old battle will burn on.

Both sides appeared to be aiming to inflict maximum mutual damage in the few days before the resolution is expected to be voted on by the UN Security Council.

Hizbollah fired a volley of 80 rockets at several Israeli towns, with one of them making a direct hit on a crowd of people at the entrance of the community farm of Kfar Giladi. Ten people were killed outright in the explosion, and another person died a few hours later of his wounds, Israeli emergency services said the highest toll from a rocket attack since the conflict began on July 12. Israel8217;s Channel Two television reported that nine killed were from reserve army. Other rockets hit the nearby town of Kiryat Shemona, damaging a synagogue. In southern Lebanon, dozens of Israeli strikes hit communities and roads.

The US-French agreement on a resolution calling for 8216;8216;a full cessation of hostilities8217;8217; marked a significant advance after weeks of stalled diplomacy aimed at ending the conflict. But getting the two sides particularly Hizbollah to sign on will likely require a greater push. Israel has said it won8217;t halt its offensive until Hizbollah rockets are silenced.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stressed the draft resolution was aimed at stopping the large-scale violence to allow a focus on the underlying problems in the conflict.

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8216;8216;It8217;s the first step, not the only step,8217;8217; she said at a news conference in Washington.

Lebanon8217;s Parliament Speaker, who represents the Shi8217;ite militant group in negotiations, said the draft resolution was unacceptable since it would leave Israeli troops in Lebanon and does not deal with Beirut8217;s key demands8212;a release of prisoners held by Israel and moves to resolve a dispute over a piece of border territory.Hizbollah8217;s two key allies, Iran and Syria, also rejected the resolution 8212; suggesting they back a continued fight by the guerrillas.

JOSEPH PANOSSIAN