In an effort to break the diplomatic impasse, Russia submitted its own proposal Thursday calling for a three-day humanitarian truce. Israel rejected the proposal. Meanwhile, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official is demanding immediate access for aid agencies in Southern Lebanon. Speaking in Geneva, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said the fighting has cut off all assistance to some 120,000 Lebanese.

• UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland: “Lebanon is one of the worst places in the world with regard to humanitarian access. We have a couple of hundred thousand people to whom we have zero access virtually. And it is a disgrace really. The parties to the conflict–the Hizbollah, the Israelis to (could) give us access in a heartbeat–and then we could help 120,000 people in southern Lebanon. I don’t think it is any military advantage that has been gained in these last days or will be gained in the next few hours. But we could save a lot of lives. So the civilian population in Lebanon and northern Israel have been the big losers in this senseless cycle of violence that is now exactly one month old.”