Israel Calls Up Reserves, a Sign of Wider Ground Raids

JERUSALEM, July 21 —With small units already operating in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military massed armored vehicles near its northern border today and called up several thousand reserve soldiers, suggesting that expanded ground operations and extended combat may lie ahead.

The heavy fighting, now in its 10th day, showed no signs of letting up. The Israeli Air Force blasted targets throughout Lebanon today, and for the second day, dropped leaflets in Hezbollah-dominated areas of south Lebanon warning residents to move north of the Litani River. The leaflets also hinted at the prospect of wider Israeli ground operations.

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, most of them Shiite villagers, live south of the river, which is about 12 miles north of Lebanon’s border with Israel. Many already have fled, and more are leaving daily.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, continued to rain rockets on northern Israel.

Israeli jets hit Shiite districts in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the eastern Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon around sunrise. The Israelis also bombed the Mdeirej bridge on the main Beirut-Damascus highway, which had already been hit twice before.

Counting at least 12 Lebanese killed today, about 350 people have so far lost their lives in the Israeli air, sea and ground assault throughout Lebanon. The great majority of those killed were civilians, according to Lebanese officials. An estimated half-million Lebanese throughout the country have fled their homes.