Jerusalem (CNSNews.com ) - Two children from Nazareth -- the Biblical city where Jesus grew up -- were killed when a Hizballah rocket slammed into their home on Wednesday.
Nazareth, about 20 miles south of the Lebanese border, is an Israeli Arab town. Roughly half of the Arabs are Christian.
Elsewhere, more than 70 rockets rained down on Israeli communities on Wednesday, some scoring direct hits and injuring a number of people.
Two Israeli soldiers and one Hizballah terrorist were killed and nine other Israeli soldiers wounded in fierce clashes along the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israeli ground forces crossed the border to rout a Hizballah cell entrenched in the area.
Meanwhile, diplomatic meetings were underway as the international community tries to push Israel toward a ceasefire.
But Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Wednesday that Israel has "no intention of ending this crisis [to] go back to living under the same reality."
"We intend to stand our ground and see that Hizballah does not return to the border and that its flag will not fly above the border. The Lebanese government is the sovereign and must take responsibility for what takes place in its territory," Peretz said at the start of a meeting with European Union envoy Javier Solana.
Solana voiced his support for Israel's demands that its abducted soldiers be released and that United Nations Resolution 1559 be implemented. That resolution calls for the deployment of the Lebanese army throughout the country and for all militias (Hizballah) to be disarmed.
Nevertheless, Solana said he had spent a night in Lebanon and seen the civilian injuries.
"This must be stopped, a solution must be found." Solana said he came to "talk with the leaders of the two sides and to find a way to stop the violence."
Israeli security officials have estimated that the army needs another 10-14 days to achieve its objectives.
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