Israel escalates bombings in Beirut

Israeli raids on Monday destroyed two army posts on the northern Lebanese coast, killing at least six Lebanese soldiers, and damaged the homes of Hizbollah officials in eastern Lebanon, killing 11 people in more than 60 strikes. Seven more people died in strikes south of Beirut. Civilian installations, petrol stations and factories elsewhere were also hit, security sources said.

An Israeli Army spokesman said some soldiers had crossed the border overnight to destroy Hizbollah positions but denied Israel had ground troops inside southern Lebanon. ‘‘There was a very small incursion overnight to destroy a few Hizbollah positions…That has been done,’’ he said.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Security Council members will start hammering out a detailed agreement on deploying a multilateral security force to Lebanon. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the force would be essential to stop Hizbollah rocket attacks and give Israel a reason to halt its devastating strikes.

But Israel said it was too soon to talk of deploying the force. ‘‘We’re at the stage where we want to be sure that Hizbollah is not deployed at our northern border,’’ Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.

Hizbollh leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to wage an unrestrained campaign against Israel. ‘‘Surprises are coming. Our forces are still intact, and we are the ones who are choosing the time and the place’’ for the attacks, he warned.

An Israeli Army spokesman said Hizbollah had fired about 20 rockets at Israel overnight, wounding several people. An Israeli newspaper said Israel’s offensive had so far destroyed a quarter of Hizbollah’s fighting capabilities. 176 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded so far, all but 13 of them civilians.

In Gaza, Israel sent a warplane to bomb the Palestinian Foreign Ministry building early on Monday, the second airstrike on the Ministry in a week. The huge blast collapsed an eight-storey wing of the building and damaged houses in a wide area around the Ministry. At least 50 apartments were severely damaged. The other four ministries in the same compound were also damaged in the explosion.

A draft statement prepared by the European Union said it will urge both Israel and Lebanon to work to end violence while stopping short of demanding an immediate ceasefire. France announced it will be sending its Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to Beirut on Monday to express support for Lebanon.

A senior Israeli official said Israel would agree to a ceasefire if Hezbollah merely left the border area with the Lebanese army taking its place. He said Olmert had conveyed this to Italy’s Prime Minister.

Foreign governments in a hurry to take their citizens out of the embattled city

EVACUATION

• Twenty-one US citizens and 40 British nationals flown out of Beirut in military helicopters to Cyprus. Evacuees mainly women, children and those in need of medical care. The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, on visit to Beirut, was among them.

• French, German, Croatian citizens also evacuated. Australia working to determine the safest route out of Lebanon.

• 45 Indonesians evacuated on Sunday, 35 more to leave. Thailand, New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines also working to help their citizens flee Lebanon.

Foreign governments in a hurry to take their citizens out of the embattled city

EVACUATION

• Twenty-one US citizens and 40 British nationals flown out of Beirut in military helicopters to Cyprus. Evacuees mainly women, children and those in need of medical care. The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, on visit to Beirut, was among them.

• French, German, Croatian citizens also evacuated. Australia working to determine the safest route out of Lebanon.

• 45 Indonesians evacuated on Sunday, 35 more to leave. Thailand, New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines also working to help their citizens flee Lebanon.

Lebanon gets help

• Syria sending non-military supplies. Medical aid already arrived in Lebanon. Syrian authorities also waive airport and port fees for aid bound to Lebanon. More power flowing through joint electricity grid to help Lebanon compensate for capacity destroyed by Israeli air strikes.

• Saudi Arabian King Abdullah orders immediate transfer of $50 million “for the (Lebanese) prime minister to spend on emergency aid and basic services to alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese people” from the Israeli raids.

• Kuwait allocates $20 million “to provide urgent aid to brothers in Lebanon to help them in the face of this barbaric aggression and ease their suffering”.

• United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayedal-Nahayan orders donation of $20 million for medical and other supplies