The delivery of these missiles could anger those who feel America is supporting Israel like Iran supports the Hizbollah.
BEIRUT: The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hizbollah targets in Lebanon, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Citing US officials who spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity, the Times said the decision to ship the weapons quickly came after relatively little debate within the administration, and noted in its report that its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others who could perceive Washington as aiding Israel in the manner that Iran has armed Hizbollah. The munitions are actually part of a multimillion-dollar arms-sale package approved last year which Israel is able to tap when it needs to, the officials told the Times. But some military officers said the request for expedited delivery was unusual and indicated that Israel has many targets it plans to hit in Lebanon.
The arms shipment has not been announced publicly. The officials who described the administration’s decision to rush the munitions included employees of two government agencies, one of whom described the shipment as just one example of a broad array of armaments that the US has long provided Israel.
Military officials declined to describe in detail the size and contents of the shipment to Israel, the newspaper said, and they would not say whether the munitions were being shipped by cargo aircraft or some other means.
Meanwhile, thousands of Lebanese civilians have fled north fearing Israel will invade and expand an 11-day-old bombardment of Lebanon which has killed hundreds.
Also, three Israeli air raids struck a transmission station used by several Lebanese television channels, including Hizbollah’s al-Manar, and a mobile telephone mast in areas north of Beirut, cutting phone services in Lebanon.
In the face of a growing humanitarian problem, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said an Israeli ground invasion would mark a “very serious escalation” of the conflict. UN relief agencies have called for safe passage to take food and medical supplies to an estimated half million people who have fled their homes.
An update
Israeli forces carry out limited incursions a few kilometres inside Lebanon, but a military source says Israel has no plans to launch a major invasion for now.
Blaming Hizbollah militant group for sparking off the crisis in Lebanon, US President George W Bush said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s upcoming visit to the Middle East will seek to put pressure on Iran and Syria, the “primary sponsors” of the outfit.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who will visit the Middle East on Sunday,
resisted international pressure to broker an immediate ceasefire.
Mass evacuation from Lebanon to Cyprus continued as five ships arrive with 4,550 evacuees in addition to 25,000 already evacuated. Hundreds of evacuees reached Turkish ports.
Fighting has killed at least 348 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians. Nineteen Israeli soldiers and 15 civilians have died.
The Nepal government has requested India to help rescue the Nepalese stuck in Lebanon. Around 200 Nepali citizens are likely to be evacuated from Beirut, with Indian help by Monday. The Nepali government estimates that there are 4,000 Nepalese in Lebanon.
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