Hunger strikers want Israel detainees freed

In Lebanon, the mothers of detainees believed to be held in Israeli jails have begun a hunger strike to press for their release.

The action is being staged in a tent outside the United Nations offices in the capital, Beirut.

Lebanese groups say thirty people are still detained by Israel, but it admits holding only half that number. They include two guerrilla leaders, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mostafa Dirani.

Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in May after twenty-two years of occupation, but has so far refused to release the detainees -- some of whom have been in jail for years. Lebanon has asked the UN to help secure their release.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service