Western and Arab foreign ministers on Thursday agreed on a draft resolution calling for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, and will put the compromise measure to a UN Security Council vote, diplomats said. Adoption by the Council of the compromise draft, sought by Libya on behalf of the Arab UN group, is virtually certain given that the three key Western members – the United States, Britain and France – are now apparently onboard. A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that a deal was reached on a text that “calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire” in Gaza leading to “the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.” The compromise text “condemns all acts of hostilities and terror directed against civilians” and calls for the reopening of border crossing points into Gaza. It also welcomes the three-point plan unveiled Tuesday by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for ending Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. The Mubarak plan included an “immediate ceasefire for a specific period” to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered; an invitation to Israel and the Palestinians to come to Egypt for talks on securing Gaza borders, reopening of its crossings and lifting an Israeli blockade. Rocket attack from Lebanon Earlier Thursday, rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon sparked a new military alert as Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza. The Israeli army went on alert after three rockets hit the northern Israeli town of Nahariya and injured two women. Israeli artillery fired back into Lebanon. The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon sent reinforcements to the zone where the rockets came from and local people quickly started to flee, fearing a new war front. Hamas denied it had fired the rockets and the Lebanese government said Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese militants who were the target of an Israeli war in 2006, had indicated they were not involved. Media cited military sources as saying the rockets were probably fired by Palestinian radicals angered by the offensive in the Gaza Strip now in its 13th day. Israeli jets pounded zones near the Gaza border with Egypt where Israel says there are hundreds of underground tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle in arms. The 60 air raids reported were among the highest daily totals of the war. Witnesses said Israeli tanks had also advanced in southern Gaza. There were also new air raids in the north, with three people hurt when a Gaza City mosque was hit, medics said. Amid the raids, about 250 foreigners were escorted to the Israeli border in a Red Cross convoy. Several attempts to get them out of Gaza have had to be cancelled because of fighting. Romanians, Canadians, Swedes, Filipinos, Austrians and Norwegians were among those guided out.
