bombing as they were evacuating south Lebanon. A textile factory in the border town of al-Manara was struck, killing one person and injuring two. In Baalbek, strikes leveled an agricultural compound and wounded five. A factory producing prefab houses near the highway linking Beirut to Damascus was targeted and a transmission factory in Fatqa was also leveled. About 270 airstrikes were conducted throughout Lebanon. Meanwhile, roughly 90 rockets struck northern Israel killing two people in Haifa and wounding 70. Meanwhile, fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah fighters took place. Hezbollah said 3 of its guerrillas were killed in fighting. Israel accuses Hezbollah of vastly underreporting casualties. Israeli officials stated they would accept an international force led by NATO to keep Hezbollah guerrillas away from the border. The Syrian Information Minister stated that Syria would enter the war if IDF forces threatened Syria as the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister indicated a willingness to engage American officials in dialogue and pressed for a ceasefire. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said it was "hard to see" benefits from a Syrian-American dialogue but was open to a NATO-led force in Lebanon. Regarding any multinational presence, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora told CNN "it's very early to talk about this matter". Monday, July 24 On July 24, Israeli troops advanced further into southern Lebanon where they encountered heavy resistance. IDF forces engaged Hezbollah guerrillas in Bint Jbail, the largest Lebanese town near the border. IDF sources reported that two Israeli soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded. Hezbollah reported that three of their fighters were killed, while Israel said there were larger casualties. Two tanks were also damaged. An Apache helicopter on its way to support the ground force in Bint Jbeil crashed in Northern Israel, killing two IAF pilots. Hezbollah stated that it shot down the helicopter; however, the IDF said the cause was under investigation and was possibly due to friendly fire. Near the end of fighting Monday, the IDF forces controlled a hilltop in Bint Jbail while Hezbollah remained in control of the rest of the city. Israel halted airstrikes in Beirut due to a surprise visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Airstrikes continued in south Lebanon, killing seven near Tyre. Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into Northern Israel, wounding 13 with roughly 100 rockets. Tuesday, July 25 On July 25, the IDF intensified its operations in Lebanon