Israeli tanks remain in Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, and the military has said it has arrested more than 145 terrorist suspects in the West Bank city. The violence spread to other areas on Saturday, and Israeli tanks moved into other West Bank towns, including Hebron. Mr. Arafat's Fatah activists have ordered a general mobilization, and warned of a massive response, if Israel harms the Palestinian leader.
Israeli warplanes have attacked suspected Hezbollah guerrilla positions in southern Lebanon. The air strikes come after the guerrillas fired rockets and mortar shells into northern Israel.
Elsewhere, Israeli tanks rolled into the West Bank town of Beit Jala early in the day, after snipers fired at a Jewish neighborhood across the valley. Tanks were also moving toward the Biblical town of Bethlehem where Christians are gathering this weekend to celebrate the Easter holiday.
In Ramallah, Israeli troops clashed with more than a dozen Palestinian militants locked in a building, and forced them to surrender. The bodies of five Palestinian policemen were found in another office building that Israeli soldiers had seized on Friday.
Palestinian radio says troops have surrounded the offices of Mr. Arafat's top security chief for the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub. Israel's military is also rounding up Palestinian men between the ages of 15 and 45 for questioning.
The siege of Mr. Arafat's office building continues, with the Palestinian leader and his close aides still locked inside. Electricity and water have been cut off in the compound. Those inside have asked the Red Cross to supply water and food.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint killed two Palestinian gunmen as they tried to enter Israel. Israeli's military says one of the gunmen was wearing a belt of explosives.
There has been sporadic violence in other areas of the West Bank and Gaza.
Demonstrations have erupted in several Arab capitals to protest Israel's military assault on Mr. Arafat's compound. Arab newspaper editorials have condemned the action.
The U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution demanding Israel's withdrawal from Palestinian cities. A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority calls the U.N. resolution positive, if Israel implements it immediately. Israel has issued a statement saying the resolution should have stressed Palestinian responsibility for terrorist attacks inside Israel.
Israel says its military operation is an act of self-defense, after a series of Palestinian suicide bombings and attacks that killed more than 30 Israelis in less than a week. Israel said it wants to disrupt and destroy any terrorist infrastructure in Palestinian territories. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the operation will last longer than just a few days.