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Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006

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JERUSALEM -- Israel's Cabinet approved the U.N. cease-fire deal after a stormy debate Sunday, clearing a key hurdle to ending the monthlong Mideast war. The vote came as 20 huge explosions rocked Beirut, apparently shelling by Israeli warships off the Lebanese coast.

The 24-0 vote, with one abstention, came a day after the Lebanese government approved the agreement and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave his grudging consent. The truce was to take effect Monday morning.

A heated debate erupted during the Cabinet session, with minister Ofir Pines-Paz criticizing the government's decision to order an expanded ground offensive in the days before the cease-fire is to take effect.

Former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz abstained in the vote, said a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with reporters.

Television reports said the shells fell in Beirut's Dahiyeh suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold that has been pounded repeatedly by Israeli warplanes and ships.

© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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