Israel sets out its terms for a ceasefire

BEIRUT - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says Israel would be ready to call a ceasefire with Hizbollah if its captured soldiers were returned, the Lebanese Army deployed along the countries' shared border and the disarmament of militants could be guaranteed.

She said last night that the time for diplomacy was at hand but Israel's military operations would not end until its goals were reached.

Her remarks, after a meeting with a United Nations delegation to the region, were the first indication that the sides were making efforts to end violence that began with a Hizbollah attack on an Israeli border patrol.

Mrs Livni said diplomatic moves had begun "alongside the military operation that will continue. The diplomatic process is not meant to shorten the window of time of the Army's operation but rather is meant to be an extension of it and to prevent a need for future military operations."

She also gave a tacit endorsement for an international force in Lebanon that could temporarily help the Lebanese Army to enforce a ceasefire.

In recent days, Western nations have proposed sending a beefed-up international force to the area, bolstering one already in place - a proposal until now received coolly by Israel.

Despite Mrs Livni's comments, Israeli warplanes continued to pound targets in Lebanon, killing 23 people.

The Israeli bombardment and Hizbollah rocket attacks on Israel have left at least 220 people dead in Lebanon and 24 in Israel.

Israel's Army is refusing to rule out a ground invasion of south Lebanon, only six years after it ended its occupation of the area.

"At this stage we do not think we have to activate massive ground forces into Lebanon but if we have to do this, we will. We are not ruling it out," Moshe Kaplinsky, Israel's deputy Army chief, told Israel Radio.

He said the offensive would end in a few weeks, adding that Israel needed time to complete "very clear goals".

An Israeli Government source said Israel might step up attacks in coming days, mindful that its chief ally, the US, might not keep resisting international pressure for a ceasefire. Washington has backed Israel's right to self-defence.

The foreign exodus from Lebanon gathered pace as people fled by road to Syria and others sought places on US and European ships.

A large New Zealand Lebanese family stuck in Beirut say they are struggling to make contact with the local British Embassy to help them get out.

Hizbollah fired dozens of rockets at the Israeli city of Haifa yesterday and medical sources said a three-storey building collapsed, wounding two people.

Another wave of rockets struck deep inside Israel, including the town of Afula, 50km south of the border. One rocket landed next to a hospital in Safed, injuring six people.


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