Middle Orient

GAZA (Reuters) — Israeli troops killed 12 Palestinians in clashes in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank on Wednesday, medics said, including four fighters and two civilians as tanks pushed into a central Gaza refugee camp.

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is trying to hold off international pressure for an immediate halt to the Israeli assault in southern Lebanon, apparently to allow Israel a short window to do as much damage as possible.

ISRAELI AIR STRIKES on Lebanon killed 61 civilians and a Hizbollah fighter on Wednesday, the deadliest toll of the eight-day-old war, as thousands of villagers fled north and more foreigners were evacuated.

BAQOUBA — An Iraqi army commander tells his men that he might forgive them if they were to place a bomb outside his door but never if they succumbed to the sectarian divisions ripping the country apart.

DUBAI (AP) — Governments of three Gulf states have pledged a total of $90 million (72 million euros) in immediate aid to Lebanon to help it deal with the humanitarian consequences of Israel’s air strikes.

KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — Kuwait’s parliament Monday passed a key election reform bill which slashes the number of polling constituencies in line with a key opposition demand aimed at curbing corruption.

PARIS (AFP) — Foreign capitals rushed to evacuate frightened nationals from the escalating Lebanese conflict Monday, as Israel indicated it may provide windows in its campaign of aerial bombardment to facilitate safe passage.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Gunmen killed over 50 people in an attack around a crowded market in a violent town near Baghdad on Monday, one of the bloodiest incidents in Iraq this year.

DAMASCUS (AP) — The United Nations and Britain urged the deployment of peacekeepers in Lebanon and Russia offered troops for any such force, as the UN dispatched an envoy to Israel on Monday in the first big swirl of diplomatic efforts to stem the Mideast violence.

BEIRUT — Israel’s assault on Lebanon threatens to weaken Arab moderates throughout the region, bolstering the image of Islamic fighters at a time when anger among the Arab public is running high over the “war on terror” and America’s role in Iraq.