For seven months during a wave of Palestinian violence in 2003, Israeli officials boycotted BBC news programs, declining interviews and excluding BBC reporters from briefings. The boycott was ended after the BBC appointed a panel to oversee its Middle East coverage and to ensure it would be unbiased.

The diplomatic officials said the network had not been reporting the war fairly. Senior diplomatic officials in Jerusalem went as far as saying that "the reports we see give the impression that the BBC is working on behalf of Hizbullah instead of doing fair journalism."

Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General for Media and Public Affairs Gideon Meir, who declined to comment for this article, spoke on Channel 1 about a column that appeared in The Times of London on July 24 in which Stephen Pollard wrote that a BBC program appeared to have been written by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

"The BBC's coverage has been overwhelmingly one-sided, with presenters and reporters editorializing against what they universally refer to as 'Israeli attacks on Lebanon,'" Pollard wrote.

Col. (res.) Miri Eisen, who is set to take over as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman on August 20, called the BBC "the only international English-speaking news outlet that is downright hostile to Israel on every level." Eisen told an audience from the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey on Wednesday that the BBC's coverage was fair during the first week of the war, but then the network moved its anchors from Haifa to Beirut, and since then it has been similar to Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya.

A Foreign Ministry official said the ministry had compiled a dossier of reports from Lebanon by BBC senior correspondent Jeremy Bowen that officials consider biased.

The BBC press office issued a statement in response.

"Our duty is to provide independent reporting and analysis of all perspectives of a story, so our audiences can make sense of what's going on in the world," the press office said.

"There can be times when this is misread by one or other side of a debate. However, this is not to suggest that we do not take complaints extremely seriously; we do. It is also worth noting that the recent independent panel set up by the (BBC) Board of Governors found no deliberate or systematic bias in the BBC's coverage of the Israel-Palestinian conflict."

ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman accused Annan of being one-sided in terms of the Israel-Hizbullah conflict. In a letter to the UN secretary-general, ADL expressed its fury over the fact that the UN Human Rights Council had scheduled a special meeting, following a request made by Arab states and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, aimed at condemning Israel.

"While you clearly are not at a loss for words when it comes to criticizing and denouncing Israel, a member state of the United Nations, you seen unable to muster an equally strong voice to denounce the daily firing by the terrorist organization Hizbullah of hundreds of rockets into Israel specifically aimed at and intended to kill and maim civilians," ADL leaders said in the letter to Annan.

Annan: Israeli violations of international law

ADL has been following Annan's remarks and decided to publish the ad following a statement he issued on Tuesday, in which he accused Israel of "a pattern of violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, committed during the course of the current hostilities."

Since the onset of the fighting between Hizbullah and Israel, Annan has been reportedly one-sided in his reactions. After the Israel Defense Forces accidentally killed four UNIFIL observers, Annan accused Israel of intentionally killing the four, before the incident was event inquired.

When reports on the Qana village killing began pouring in, the UN secretary-general decided to convene a special Security Council meeting. Eventually it turned out that Hizbullah's claims that 60 civilians were killed in the strike were false, and only 26 bodies were found in the area.

Israeli sources noted that throughout the war Annan chose not to issue a statement on the harm caused to Israel. The secretary-general failed to address the heavy rocket barrage that hit Haifa or Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call to destroy Israel .

Annan's term as UN secretary-general is expected to end in January.

Meanwhile, Israel's newspaper Ha'aretz reported that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began operation against eastern section of Lebanon security zone.

The fresh raid came about two hours after Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech that its group's ability to fire rockets against Israeli cities was not harmed by an over-four-week-long Israeli offensive.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli security cabinet approved expanding the army's ground operations in south Lebanon, under which Israeli troops are to push to the Litani River, about 20 km from the Israel-Lebanon border, local media reported.

Over 100 Israelis and about 1,000 Lebanese have been killed in the 29 days of violence so far since Israel-Hezbollah violence was erupted on July 12 when the Shiite group kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others.

Local television showed live video of the damage, with part of the tower's roof blown off.

The strike was the first on Beirut proper since Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, issued a warning to Israel on August 4, saying that his fighters would fire rockets at Tel Aviv if Israel hit the Lebanese capital.

An Israeli drone also fired a missile into a minibus driving in the eastern Bekaa Valley, killing one person and wounding 12, residents said.

The attack occurred near the town of Rayak, about 5km east of the provincial capital of Zahle.

Another air strike targeted a road linking the city of Baalbek, traditionally a Hezbollah stronghold, with the Syrian city of Homs, witnesses said.

Leaflets

Israeli warplanes also dropped leaflets over northern Lebanon for the first time on Thursday, warning trucks off a coastal road linking Lebanon to Syria, residents said.

The single page document read: "Any pick-up or truck of any kind moving on the coastal road as of 8pm. (1700GMT) will be attacked because it is suspected of carrying rockets, military hardware and saboteurs.

"You must know that anyone who moves in a pick-up or truck is endangering his life."

The leaflets fell north of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, about 25km from the Syrian border. The area that was leafleted includes the Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi.

It was unclear whether the curfew would be 24-hours a day, starting on Thursday night, or whether it was only a night time ban on traffic.

The leaflets were signed:"The State of Israel."

Missiles

Meanwhile, a rocket fired by Hezbollah hit a house in northern Israel on Thursday, killing two people, including a toddler.

Emergency services said that the rocket, among at least 50 launched into Israel from Lebanon before noon, struck the Israeli Arab village of Deir al-Assad in the Galilee region.

News reports said the child killed in the attack was two years old. No details on the second fatality were immediately available.

France wants Israel to pull out once hostilities end, while the United States backs Israel's insistence on staying in southern Lebanon until a strong international force is deployed, which could take weeks or months.

In fighting Thursday, Hezbollah claimed it destroyed 13 Israel tanks in south Lebanon. The Israeli military declined comment. On Wednesday, 15 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon, the deadliest day for Israeli soldiers in the war.

Israeli missiles, meanwhile, hit Beirut proper for the first time, damaging a historic lighthouse Thursday. Warplanes also dropped leaflets over northern Lebanon, also a first, warning trucks off a coastal road linking Lebanon to
Syria.

In Israel, Hezbollah rockets killed two Israeli Arabs, including an infant, medics said.

The deeper push into Lebanon was approved by Israel's Security Cabinet. During the tense six-hour meeting, ministers received constant updates on the rising Israeli military casualties in Lebanon.

A senior government official said Thursday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has decided to hold off on the offensive until the weekend. The campaign could begin earlier if Hezbollah launches a major attack on Israel, the official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the issue with reporters.

Cabinet minister Rafi Eitan confirmed the government's decision to wait.

"There are diplomatic considerations," he told Israel Radio, when asked about a planned delay. "There is still a chance that an international force will arrive in the area. We have no interest in being in south Lebanon. We have an interest in peace on our borders."

The government's running of the war was coming under growing criticism at home.

The army has failed to make a dent in Hezbollah's ability to fire rockets at Israel - the guerrillas fired 170 on Wednesday, for a war total of more than 3,500 - and critics said pushing deeper into Lebanon would not stop such attacks since longer-range rockets can still reach Israel.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported an angry exchange between Defense Minister Amir Peretz and his predecessor, Shaul Mofaz, in the Security Cabinet meeting. When Mofaz criticized the planned new offensive, Peretz reportedly shot back: "Where were you when Hezbollah built up this array (of weapons)?"

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called during the meeting, officials said, and Olmert told ministers after his half-hour conversation with Rice that the offensive would be accompanied by a new diplomatic push.

Under the army plan, Israeli forces would move to the Litani River, some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. At the moment, more than 10,000 troops are engaged in house-to-house battles against Hezbollah fighters in a strip less than half that size.

Even in the current war zone, Israeli troops have had trouble taking control of towns and villages. Security officials say the guerrillas' bunkers, well equipped with food, weapons and electricity, are a reason for Hezbollah's stamina. During lulls in the fighting, gunmen emerge and set up new ambushes for troops.

On Thursday, troops backed by tanks and armored vehicles took up positions on the outskirts of the Christian town of Marjayoun in south Lebanon, about six miles from the border. Troops met no resistance. Soldiers also moved to a nearby hill overlooking the Litani River Valley, witnesses said. Heavy battles were reported in south Lebanese villages across from Israel's Galilee panhandle, hard hit by rockets.

Israel hopes an expanded offensive will force Hezbollah guerrillas out of their strongholds across southern Lebanon. The offensive is expected to last a month and eliminate 70 percent to 80 percent of Hezbollah's short-range rocket launchers, but not its long-range launchers, senior military officials said.

However, Trade Minister Eli Yishai, who abstained in Wednesday's vote, said the assessment is too optimistic. "I think it will take a lot longer," he said.

Danny Yatom, a senior member of Peretz' Labor Party and a general in the reserves, said moving deeper into Lebanon was pointless.

"We are banging our head against the wall," he told Israel TV's Channel One. "And even if we reach the Litani, the Katyushas (rockets) won't stop.

So far, the fighting has killed 711 people on the Lebanese side and 120 Israelis, including 38 civilians and 82 soldiers.



The economic price was also going up. Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson said the war has cost Israel some $1.6 billion so far. He said he will ask the government to cut $650 million from the 2006 state budget to help pay for the war. Israel's total budget for 2006 is $56 billion.

The prospect of a wider war would put tremendous pressure on the United Nations to rapidly agree on a cease-fire. The fighting has caused widespread destruction across southern Lebanon and forced hundreds of thousands of Israelis to flee or take refuge in bomb shelters.

However, France and the U.S. remained divided over a proposed truce resolution, particularly at whether Israeli troops would be able to stay in south Lebanon until they can hand over to a multinational force.

French President Jacques Chirac appealed for rapid agreement.

"The most immoral of solutions would be to accept the current situation and give up on an immediate cease-fire," he said.

In a televised speech Wednesday night, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief, rejected as "unfair and unjust" a draft U.N. resolution that would temporarily let Israeli troops remain in south Lebanon and take defensive action.

"It has given Israel more than it wanted and more than it was looking for," he said.

The Israeli government's decision came two days after Lebanon offered to send 15,000 soldiers to patrol the border region, a key Israeli demand intended to prevent future attacks on Israel. The current fighting began when Hezbollah fighters raided Israel July 12, killed three soldiers and captured two others.

In a major shift, Nasrallah said Hezbollah supported an army deployment, after a cease-fire is declared and Israel leaves.

Israeli officials remained skeptical of the Lebanese offer and were not convinced Lebanon's army would take concrete action to stop future Hezbollah attacks.

"It is important that the Lebanese army will be accompanied by an international force that will enable it to reach the south in an organized manner, and to leave the place clean of Hezbollah," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.

Many of these descriptions suggest the possibility that the new weapons used include 'direct energy' weapons, and chemical and/or biological agents, in a sort of macabre experiment of future warfare, where there is no respect for anything: International rules (from the Geneva Convention to the treaties on biological and chemical weapons), refugees, hospitals and the Red Cross, not to mention the people, their future, their children, the environment, which is poisoned through dissemination of Depleted Uranium and toxic substances released after oil and chemical depots are bombed.

Right now, the Lebanese and Palestinian people have many urgent and impellent problems, yet many people believe that these episodes cannot and must not pass ignored. In fact several appeals have been launched to scientists and experts with a view to investigating the issue.

With the intent of responding to such appeals, we have set up a team to investigate the testimonies, the images, and possibly the material evidence that delegations and NGOs will be able to bring from the affected areas. We want to offer support to the health institutions of Lebanon and Palestine, which ask constantly for help and external verification and monitoring, and we are examining all available materials in order to formulate hypotheses which can be verified or disproved.

We ask for the active participation of our (Italian) scientific institutions, and, following the request from medical personnel in the conflict area, we are requesting that the UN set up an international independent verification and investigation committee, with a view to facilitating entry into the conflict zone, as well as collecting material and testimonies directly in the field, and undertaking inquries and verifications concerning the various claims regarding these new kinds of weapons of mass destruction being used by Israeli forces in Lebanon. We request that such investigating teams be set up immediately, and that procedures be defined and implemented with a view to supporting future investigations. Of particular concern is the issue of how to collect and store samples from the different theatres, with a view to preserving important information regarding the various impacts of these weapons.

We ask that the international committee have access to all sources of information, that it be fully operational, while abiding by relevant investigative procedures, including cross-checking of information between different laboratories. The international committee is to report to the competent authorities, including the Human Rights tribunals and international courts, if appropriate..

As people and as scientists, we are offering our time and expertise in order to reach an understanding of the underlying facts, in the belief that a perspective of justice, equity and peace among people can be reached only with the respect of the rules defined up to now within the international community of nations. The issue pertains to the behavior of the parties in an armed conflict.

We ask that the respect of these rules be verified in the context of the present conflict.

We invite scientists to contribute to this effort by offering their specific competences. In particular we seek collaboration of toxicology experts, pharmacologists, anatomy pathologists, doctors with an expertise in trauma and burns, chemists.

They can reach the working group at the E-mail address: nuovearmi@gmail.com Paola Manduca, Professor of.Genetics, University of Genova, Italy

Hezbollah said its fighters had also launched seven rounds of anti-tank rockets against northern Israel on the same day.

The Israeli military confirmed 15 soldiers had been killed in the battle. But Doha-based al-Jazeera TV channel reported 11 Israelis had lost their lives.

The violent fighting occurred in Dibel, southern Lebanon, which caused the highest casualties in a single day since the Israel-Hezbollah violence erupted on July 12, when Hezbollah guerrillas abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others during cross-border attacks.