Israel rejects UN call for humanitarian truce

JERUSALEM: Israel on Saturday rejected a United Nations call for a 72-hour truce in the Lebanon conflict to enable humanitarian aid to get to trapped civilians.

"We cannot accept a ceasefire with Hezbollah because this terrorist organisation would exploit it to gather civilians to use them as a human shield in the combat zone," Gideon Meir, a senior foreign ministry official, said.

UN humanitarian coordinator Jan Egeland on Friday appealed for the truce between Israel and the Shiite militant group to allow casualties to be removed and food and medicine to be sent into the war zone.

Israeli forces pulled back from positions on the outskirts of a Hezbollah stronghold town that was the scene of the deadliest battles of their advance into south Lebanon, police said Saturday.

Tanks and armored vehicles left the hills overlooking the main border town of Bint Jbeil late Friday and returned to Marun Al-Ras, which was captured by Israeli forces on July 23.

But Israeli troops in Marun Al-Ras continued to bombard Bint Jbeil, a stronghold of the Shiite militant group, as well as nearby Aitarun and Ainata with over 350 rockets, police said.

The pullback took place amid clashes which the Israeli military said left six Israeli soldiers wounded, including one in a serious condition.