Two Israeli soldiers were killed and 42 wounded during the first day of Israel’s entry into west Beirut yesterday, an army spokesman reported today. Of the wounded, five were seriously hurt.
The spokesman said shortly before noon that Israeli troops were in control of all key points in west Beirut but were still advancing in an apparent effort to take control of the entire western part of the Lebanese capital which had previously been in the hands of the PLO forces and their leftwing mainly Moslem allies.
Resistance to the advancing Israelis came mainly from those left-wingers and PLO members who had holed up in the city when their colleagues evacuated. The terrorists hid out in high-rise buildings and fired machineguns and missiles at the Israeli soldiers advancing slowly in infantry units supported by tanks.
Outside Beirut, strict curfews were being maintained in the coastal towns of Tyre and Sidon, with residents allowed out of their touses only for a couple of hours to stock up with food and other essential supplies. Farmers kept away from their fields again today, for the second consecutive day.
Israeli officers said the curfew had been imposed to help calm tempers and avoid rioting and bloodshed in the wake of the assassination of President-elect Bashir Gemayel.
Meanwhile, a number of Cabinet ministers criticized the decision by Premier Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon to send troops back into west Beirut. (See separate story). Also, at the United Nations in New York, Lebanon asked for an urgent meeting of the Security Council an Israel’s thrust into west Beirut. In Washington, White House deputy press secretary Larry Speakes said “There is no justification in our view for Israel’s continued military presence in west Beirut and we call for an immediate pullback.” (See separate story.)
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