October 15, 1985

A Cairo dispatch yesterday about Egypt's reaction to the American interception of an Egyptian airliner incorrectly characterized what is known of Israel's role in the 1982 mass slayings of civilians at two Palestinian refugee quarters in Lebanon. An official Israeli inquiry concluded that Israel's top civilian and military leaders bore ''indirect responsibility'' for the killings, but were not directly involved.

Resorts International Inc., which opened the first legalized gambling casino in Atlantic City, disclosed yesterday that it was considering selling a major asset or conducting a refinancing of the company. The terse announcement, made after the company's stock spurted in price on the American Stock Exchange, provided no further details. But analysts theorized that Resorts might be looking to sell its gambling hall and hotel in the New Jersey city as the first step in a diversification plan. There was also speculation on Wall Street that Pan American World Airways, in which Resorts already owns about 12 percent of the outstanding stock, might be the object of any diversification efforts. Pan Am's stock was the most actively traded yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange, rising 25 cents, to $7.875, on a volume of 2,282,400 shares. Resorts' shares finished the day up $2.75, to $40.125.

President Reagan has sent Senator Paul Laxalt to the Philippines to discuss the worsening military, political and economic situation there, Administration officials said today. Officials said Mr. Laxalt, one of Mr. Reagan's closest friends, would probably meet President Ferdinand E. Marcos in the next two days. According to the officials, Mr. Laxalt, a conservative Nevada Republican, is carrying a message to Mr. Marcos from President Reagan. The White House declined to divulge details of the message, but Administration officials said Mr. Reagan wanted to ''express his concern'' about the situation in the Philippines.

Two Americans, Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein, won the 1985 Nobel Prize in medicine yesterday for discoveries the Nobel committee in Stockholm said had ''revolutionized our knowledge'' of cholesterol metabolism and the treatment of cholesterol-related diseases. The two, who are University of Texas scientists, found that cells of the human body have receptors on their surfaces that trap and absorb bloodstream particles that contain cholesterol. The Nobel committee termed this discovery ''a milestone in cholesterol research,'' leading to a new understanding of how excessive levels of fatty cholesterol accumulate to clog human arteries and cause strokes and heart attacks. Genetic Flaw Uncovered The discovery, made in 1973, also revealed the underlying genetic flaw in those people who suffer from inherited high-cholesterol afflictions. Scientists said this suggested avenues of research toward developing effective drug treatments to reduce cholesterol levels.

International A Palestinian official sought by the United States in an Italian cruise ship hijacking was said by associates to have left Yugoslavia, possibly for Southern Yemen. Reagan Administration officials said Washington would continue efforts to apprehend the Palestinian leader, Mohammed Abbas, whom the White House has described as a mastermind of anti-Israeli and anti-American terrorism. [Page A1, Column 6.] The inquiry on four Arab hijackers has indicated the possible involvement of accomplices and possible links to other recent terrorism in Italy, according to Italian magistrates. Justices in Genoa said that an arrest order had been issued for a fifth man and that a sixth suspect might have left the vessel when she docked in Alexandria, Egypt, shortly before the hijacking. [A1:5.]