Israeli troops capture 2 Hezbollah guerrillas in fierce fighting

Israeli troopscaptured two Hezbollah guerrillas Monday during fiercefightingnear Bint Jbeil,considered to be an importantstronghold of the militants,Brig.-Gen. Alon Friedman said.

The twohave been taken to Israel, where they will be detained and interrogated, Friedman added. They are the first Hezbollah fighterscaptured by Israeli forces sincefighting beganJuly 12, after Hezbollahcaptured two Israeli soldiers and killed another eight in a cross-border raid.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded in the latest battle, the military said.

It spread tothe town Bint Jbeil, about four kilometres inside Lebanon, fromthe village of Maroun al-Rasjust inside the border. Bint Jbeil has been called the "capital of the resistance" by the Israelis for its support of Hezbollah when Israel occupied south Lebanon from 1982 to 2000.

In Bint Jbeil, most of the population of 200,000 is believed to have leftbefore the fighting started. Dr. Hassan Nasreddine, a Red Cross doctor in the town on Sunday, said families had been crowding into schools, mosques and other empty buildings.

Israeli troops seized control ofa hilltop in Bint Jbeilbutwere encountering resistance in the rest of the town, which was held by Hezbollah guerrillas, the Israeli military said.

The fighting comes as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to the Lebanese capital of Beirut to meet withPrime Minister Fouad Siniora. She is on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East and has said a ceasefire is urgently needed but not on any terms.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in comments published Monday that he is open to talking about ways to end the crisis and a ceasefire is a priority.

In other developments Monday:

• An Israeli helicopter crashed in northern Israel after hitting an electrical wire while making an emergency landing. Bothpilots were killed.

• In Beirut, families from neighbourhoods in the southern half of the city were packing their possessions and heading to safer places. As they left,refugees from south Lebanon were reported to be takingover theabandoned homes for temporary shelter.

• Aid began to arrive in the port of Beirutafter the Israeli navy lifted its blockade to allow passage of ships carrying humanitarian supplies. An Italian warship, for example, brought food, medicine, tents, blankets, water, generators and ambulances.

Israel, however, has not lifted its sea blockade of the southern port of Tyre.

Officials said they are trying to deliveraid to southern Lebanon, where it is badly needed, but roads have been bombed and Israel has not outlined a safe route to the area.

Despite the lack of a safe route, two convoys of supplies, including generators for hospitals, food, tarpaulins and hygiene kits, left Beirut on Monday for Tyre and the southern city of Marjayoun.

Thousands of people have fled Lebanon since fighting erupted on July 12.

The conflict has many fronts: Israel has pounded Hezbollah targets in Beirut and south Lebanon, Hezbollah has launched rocket attacks against northern Israel and, since last week, Israeli troops and Hezbollah have waged ground battles just inside Lebanon.