RAY SUAREZ: Good evening. I'm Ray Suarez. Jim Lehrer is away.
On the NewsHour tonight: the news of this Thursday. Then, no letup in the Middle East war. We have reports from Lebanon and Israel.
Capitol Hill takes up the Middle East and the Iraq wars. We hear from Senators John Warner and Jack Reed. Analysis of America Online's reinvention efforts; a NewsHour report on two major art museum re-openings here in Washington, D.C.; and measuring a child's growth by summer's yardstick, from guest essayist Nancy Gibbs of Time magazine.
RAY SUAREZ: Hezbollah rockets took a heavy toll inside Israel today as Israeli troops pushed deeper into Lebanon. The intense fighting came on day 23 of the war along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
More than 130 rockets were fired into northern Israel, striking mainly at two towns. At least eight people were killed. It was the worst civilian loss in Israel since July 16th.
The leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, offered to call off the assault if Israel does the same. Hezbollah TV carried his taped remarks.
SHEIK HASSAN NASRALLAH, Hezbollah Leader (through translator): We have a formula for the time being, that we will hit Haifa and further than Haifa. But any time you decide to stop your campaign against our cities, villages, civilians and infrastructure, we will not fire rockets on any Israeli settlement or city.
RAY SUAREZ: At the same time, Nasrallah warned, if Israel bombs central Beirut, Hezbollah will fire missiles at Tel Aviv.
Israeli planes did attack the southern suburbs of Beirut today for the first time in nearly a week. And they dropped leaflets, warning residents to flee the area.
In south Lebanon, Israeli tanks and some 10,000 troops fought Hezbollah in a series of towns. Four Israeli soldiers and at least three Lebanese civilians were killed.
Israeli commanders said they've carved out a security zone five miles deep. The defense minister said the army will go to the Litani River, 18 miles inside Lebanon, if Israeli leaders approve it.
The Lebanese prime minister said today more than 900 people have been killed in his country; the confirmed death count had been 520.
And Human Rights Watch reported the Israeli air strike in Qana last weekend killed 28 civilians. Lebanese officials have said 56 were killed. The Israeli military formally acknowledged today the attack was a mistake, but it said Hezbollah was partially to blame because it fired rockets from inside Qana.
Prospects for a diplomatic solution to the crisis remained murky today. A Hezbollah spokesman insisted there can be no overall peace "as long as there is one Israeli soldier on Lebanese soil." But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel is "very close" to the goal of ending the Hezbollah threat.
In Washington, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said French and U.S. diplomats could agree on a truce resolution within 24 hours.
SEAN MCCORMACK, State Department Spokesman: We certainly would hope that we could achieve something by Friday. But if not, we are prepared, and Secretary Rice has instructed our people both here in Washington and up in New York, that we're going to work all throughout the weekend if necessary to get something done, because we are working on an urgent basis to bring about an end to the fighting in such a way that is lasting and durable.
RAY SUAREZ: But Muslim nations meeting in Malaysia condemned the U.S. and the U.N. for not doing enough. Iranian President Ahmadinejad told the gathering the main solution is to eliminate Israel.
There was heavy new fighting in southern Gaza today. Dozens of Israeli tanks advanced, and planes attacked Palestinian gunmen. We have a report by Lindsey Hilsum of Independent Television News.
LINDSEY HILSUM, ITV News Correspondent: Almost unnoticed by the outside world, eight dead in Gaza today, among them a small boy. Since Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier in June, about 120 Gaza residents, armed men and civilians, have died in Israeli attacks.
Today, the Israeli Defense Force released video of soldiers detonating explosives found in a deserted house in Gaza.
Israel's reoccupying the land it left just a year ago. Fifty tanks rolled into Gaza today and took up positions near the destroyed airport.
RAY SUAREZ: Hospital officials said four of those killed today were Palestinian gunmen, but a U.N. statement criticized Israel for the repeated killing of civilians in Gaza. We'll have more on the overall crisis in the Middle East right after this news summary.
In Iraq today, at least 25 more people were killed in new attacks or found dead in the streets. The worst attack came when a bomb on a motorcycle exploded in Baghdad. A dozen Iraqis died, and dozens more were wounded.
Also today, Iraq's government confirmed a heavy loss of civilian life last month. It said more than 1,000 Iraqis were killed nationwide in July; in addition, 1,800 civilians were injured in the violence.
And the U.S. military announced two more U.S. Marines were killed today in western Iraq.
The top U.S. commander in the Middle East conceded today Iraq could be facing civil war. Army General John Abizaid testified at a Senate hearing. He voiced hope that adding U.S. troops will help secure Baghdad. He said it's vital to stop the surge of killings between Sunnis and Shiites.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. Army: I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular and that, if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war.
RAY SUAREZ: But later, Abizaid said he's optimistic Iraqi forces can prevent any civil war.
There was also word today the outgoing British ambassador to Iraq, William Patey, has warned of civil war. The BBC quoted his final cable to London as saying, "The prospect of a low-intensity civil war is probably more likely at this stage than a successful and substantial transition to a stable democracy."
Four Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan today. They died in separate attacks by Taliban fighters in Kandahar Province. The Canadians were part of a NATO force. Seven NATO troops have been killed since they took over security in southern Afghanistan Monday.
Elsewhere in Kandahar, at least 21 Afghan civilians were killed when a market was bombed.
There was no letup today in the scorching heat across the Midwest and northeast U.S. Officials reported at least 14 deaths so far. In New Jersey, the governor waived admission fees at state swimming areas as temperatures neared 100 degrees again.
AOL announced today it will cut as many as 5,000 jobs, about a quarter of its workforce. The layoffs are expected within the next six months. They're part of a restructuring plan that makes e-mail and other services free. The plan also includes selling AOL's Internet access business in Europe. We'll have more on this story later in the program tonight.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 42 points to close at 11,242. The Nasdaq rose 13 points to close at 2,092.
That's it for the news summary tonight.
