In its biggest airborne assault since the 1973 Yom Kippur war against Egypt and Syria, Israel airlifted hundreds of paratroopers behind enemy lines under cover of darkness as armoured columns pushed up from the south. Up to 30,000 Israeli troops were believed to be in Lebanon.

Seeking to land a knockout blow on the Shi’ite militia after more than a month of fighting, 50 helicopters of Israel’s elite 98th Airborne Division dropped troops on the banks of the Litani river, 18 miles north of the border.

As air force jets laid down a “rolling carpet” of fire and ground troops advanced from the south, special forces hunted the leaders of Hezbollah, believed to be exhausted from a month of incessant bombardment.

Israeli commandos also pushed west to Ghandouriyeh, a village seven miles inside Lebanon. Hezbollah shot down an Israeli helicopter near the village of Yater using what it said was a new type of missile. Intense fighting was reported on several fronts. Israel said at least 11 of its soldiers were killed and more than 70 were injured.

Elsewhere, Israeli jets struck targets in the Bekaa valley, electricity pylons near Sidon, suburbs in Beirut, roads in the north of the country as well as the Beirut-Damascus highway and the southern city of Tyre.

Under the ceasefire deal adopted by the security council early yesterday, some 15,000 UN peacekeepers would deploy along the Israel-Lebanon border with an equal number of Lebanese troops. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, said the ceasefire would take effect tomorrow at 8am local time, but the peacekeepers are not expected to arrive for another two weeks.

Welcoming the breakthrough at the UN, Tony Blair said: “We must never lose sight of the fact that the conflict in Lebanon arose out of the desire to exploit the continuing impasse in Palestine.” Downing Street revealed that he will visit the Middle East shortly after his return from holiday in the Caribbean. The UN hopes to send the first contingent of troops in the coming days, according to Alvaro de Soto, a UN envoy to the Middle East.

Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz, said he expected his troops to remain in southern Lebanon until the international force arrives.

Yesterday more than 60 Hezbollah rockets struck northern Israel, wounding eight people. The broad offensive, approved by Israel’s security cabinet, will double the Lebanese territory under Israel’s control.

Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister, has faced growing criticism for the army’s inability to halt the rocket barrages. Polls indicated that his approval rating, high at the start of the war, was slipping. If Israel succeeds with its “killing box” strategy, it will go down as a masterstroke. If it fails, it will seem like an act of desperation by a leader lacking serious military experience.

The Lebanese government appeared pleased with the UN resolution. “This . . . shows that the whole world stood by Lebanon,” said Fouad Siniora, the prime minister.

During Israel’s airborne operation in 1973, paratroopers were dropped on the Golan Heights in Syria and the west bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt.

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