Two Ghanaians "buried alive" in Lebanon

TYRE, Lebanon, July 21 -- Two Ghanaian United Nation (UN) workers and a Lebanese family of five remained buried under the rubble of a two-story building on Thursday after an Israeli strike Tuesday evening in the eastern Tyre suburb of al-Hosh.

A United Nations Interim Force(UNIFIL) rescue team has so far been unable to come to the aid of the family and the two Ghanaians.

Earlier this week, the Armed Forces Public Relations Directorate stated that Ghanaian troops serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon are safe and well.

Heavy shelling continues to pound the coastal road in the area, which is effectively under the control of the Israeli Army.

"The Israelis have asserted their full control from air and sea over the area south of Tyre," a Lebanese Army official told reporters. An army official added that UNIFIL does not have the capability, jurisdiction or authority to operate in times of violent hostilities.

"The Israeli warplanes are targeting all civilian or military cars, including UN bulldozers and forklifts needed to remove heavy rubble," the army official said. "We advise reporters and everyone else not to go beyond Al-Hosh; it is too risky."
Israeli is in no hurry to have images of dead UN personnel broadcast on the world's television networks, the official said.
Israel had dropped leaflets and telephoned local mayors, mukhtars and other prominent figures, urging the residents of Tyre's eastern suburbs and the villages and towns surrounding the port city to evacuate the area by Wednesday.
However, five rockets were seen being launched here early Wednesday morning. Israeli sources and news agencies later said the rockets had hit the port city of Haifa.