25 more bodies dug up in south Lebanon
Rescue workers begin gruesome task of digging up dozens of bodies from rubble in cluster of villages, towns bombarded by Israel
Lebanese Red Cross sources said 12 bodies were recovered in the village of Sreefa, nine in Zibqeen and four in Qleileh, all east of the port city of Tyre.
They said rescue workers were looking for dozens more bodies believed to be buried under the rubble in a cluster of border villages and towns bombarded by Israeli aircraft over the past three weeks.
Israel's three-week offensive in Lebanon has killed around 575 people, mostly civilians.
Evacuating the wounded in Bint Jbeil (Photo: Reuters)
Lebanese Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh put the number of unrecovered bodies at 200, which would take the death toll to 750 in Lebanon. Fifty-one Israelis have also been killed.
Civil defense workers were using a bulldozer to clear rubble from where around 30 civilians were believed buried under houses destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Sreefa two weeks ago.
Israel pledged earlier Monday to suspend air strikes for 48 hours, but Israeli planes began hitting targets in
southern Lebanon after Hizbullah guerrillas blasted an Israeli tank and injured three Israeli soldiers, making the transfer of aid to south Lebanon residents all the more difficult.
"Our big problem is access," Patrick McCormick, a spokesman for the UN Children's fund said. "We haven't been able to move down to southern Lebanon as we want to because of the fighting."
The World Food Program, which is coordinating UN convoys, said two aid shipments left Beirut on Monday morning - one heading for Qana and another for Tyre.
'We're not getting through'
But WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume said the agency was forced to cancel a planned convoy to Marjayoun in southern Lebanon because it had not received clearance from the Israeli Defense Forces to drive along the planned route.
McCormick said UNICEF also has had to halt shipments within Lebanon.
"We're not getting through," he said, "And every minute counts."
He added that the agency had enough supplies in its stores, but the fighting meant it cannot get the aid to many in need. A Royal Jordanian Air Force plane did, however, manage to leave Amman on Monday carrying UNICEF emergency supplies to Beirut.
The UN Refugee agency, which is trying to send goods to help relieve overcrowded shelters, also said shipments could not go forward as planned.
UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis blamed the delay on "The general security situation."
The International Committee of the Red Cross, whose aid shipments are coordinated separately, said Monday it halted a convoy heading for the village of Aytaroun about 15 kilometers (9 miles) north of the Israeli border due to fighting in the area.
