BEIRUT — The embattled Lebanese government was Tuesday hoping an offer to deploy its troops to the international border would secure Israel’s agreement to ceasefire and withdraw its troops from the south.

DAMASCUS (AFP) — When Hizbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah launched “Operation Kept Promise” the day after his fighters captured two Israeli soldiers to use in a prisoner swap, little did he know the same name would be bestowed on a newborn refugee girl two weeks later in Damascus.

UNITED NATIONS — The Israeli air strike on the Lebanese town of Qana may be part of a larger pattern of violations of international law in the war between Israel and Hizbollah, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report.