Israel clashes with Hezbollah

Dubai: Hezbollah fought fierce battles with Israeli troops on the Lebanese border on Thursday, as thousands more foreigners fled the nine-day-old war in Lebanon.

Al Jazeera television said four Israeli soldiers had been killed. An Israeli military source said there had been several Israeli casualties but gave no details.

He said one Hezbollah fighter had been killed. Israeli media reported eight soldiers wounded.

Hezbollah said it had destroyed three Israeli tanks in house to house fighting in the village of Maroun Al Ras. Israeli army said a helicopter was hit over the village.

As the Israeli forces faced increasing resistance from Hezbollah, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a speech to the Security Council, called for an immediate end to the fighting and proposed sending an international force to southern Lebanon to bolster the Lebanese army so it can fully deploy along the border with Israel.

But Israeli UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman flatly rejected a stop to the fighting and scolded Annan for failing to mention the role of Syria or Iran in the crisis.

"We have no timeline," he said. "Diplomacy can take off only after terror has been taken care of."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed to open a "humanitarian corridor" between Lebanon and Cyprus, public radio reported on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the US State Department said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to the Middle East as early as next week.