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02-08-06, 11:05
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that there will be no ceasefire in Lebanon until an international force is deployed in the south of the country.
Mr Olmert said that if Israel stopped now and waited while peacekeepers were sent in, Hezbollah would seize the opportunity to stage yet more attacks.
Earlier, Israeli troops raided Baalbek, deep inside Lebanon, seizing several people they say are Hezbollah fighters.
Hezbollah says the group are "ordinary citizens" not militants.
Hezbollah rockets
Israeli troops have also pushed further into south Lebanon overnight as the military steps up its campaign, which began just over three weeks ago after Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah militants have fired more than 50 rockets into northern Israel.
"I said I'd be ready to enter a ceasefire when the international forces, not will be ready, but will be deployed," Mr Olmert said.
"We're not going to stop the fire and wait for weeks until the international force comes in because in these weeks the reality on the ground will again be reversed to what it was and this is not what we want to do."
Despite the latest rocket attacks on Israel, Mr Olmert also said that "the infrastructure of Hezbollah has been entirely destroyed," with more than 700 command positions "wiped out".
Commandos attack
Mr Olmert's comments came hours after Israeli commandos staged an attack on the town of Baalbek, 100km (60 miles) inside Lebanon.
The raid began before midnight with several air strikes.
At least 11 civilians, including five members of the same family, were killed in the bombing.
After the bombardment, military helicopters then landed an Israeli commando unit near a hospital on the outskirts of the town, which led to fierce clashes with Hezbollah guerrillas lasting several hours.
Local residents told AP the hospital was run by people close to Hezbollah and funded by an Iranian charity.
There have been reports that Israeli military officials believed that their two captured soldiers were being held at the hospital.
The Israeli military says that it seized at least three Hezbollah members in the raid and a spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that the captured militants had been taken to Israel.
In a statement on al-Manar television, Hezbollah said those captured in Baalbek, one of its strongholds, were "ordinary citizens", not militants.
This view was echoed by the Hezbollah member of parliament for the Baalbek region, Hussein Haj Hassan, who denied that those captured were soldiers and challenged Israel to prove otherwise:
"The Israeli army lies again because the Lebanese captured last night were civilian people and they are more than 50 years old and we defy the Israeli army to show them to the media immediately."
'Fading optimism'
Hezbollah say they inflicted casualties on the commando unit but a spokeswoman for the Israeli military says all their troops returned safely to base.
Baalbek, which is a Hezbollah stronghold and home to several senior members of the group, has been repeatedly bombed by Israel since the conflict began.
The BBC's Martin Asser - who visited Baalbek a day before the raids - said the mainly Shia Muslim town was very tense, with many families having fled.
This is the first time Israel has sent ground troops so far into Lebanon since its offensive began over three weeks ago.
The BBC's Michael Buchanan in Beirut says that there had been a slight mood of optimism in Lebanon that diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire following the deadly air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana, in which 54 civilians died, were gathering momentum.
Following the Baalbek raid, that mood has disappeared, our correspondent says. Meanwhile, Israeli planes attacked a Lebanese army base south-east of Sidon early on Wednesday, killing three Lebanese soldiers.
A 48-hour partial suspension of Israeli air strikes, triggered by the raid on Qana, ended overnight.
After nearly three weeks of fighting, about 750 people - mainly civilians - have been killed by Israeli action in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's health minister.
A total of 54 Israelis, including at least 18 civilians, are known to have been killed by Hezbollah.
Nou kom maar op met die VN-macht dan.
Escalatie. Het Libanese leger kan mee gaan doen.
Mr Olmert said that if Israel stopped now and waited while peacekeepers were sent in, Hezbollah would seize the opportunity to stage yet more attacks.
Earlier, Israeli troops raided Baalbek, deep inside Lebanon, seizing several people they say are Hezbollah fighters.
Hezbollah says the group are "ordinary citizens" not militants.
Hezbollah rockets
Israeli troops have also pushed further into south Lebanon overnight as the military steps up its campaign, which began just over three weeks ago after Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah militants have fired more than 50 rockets into northern Israel.
"I said I'd be ready to enter a ceasefire when the international forces, not will be ready, but will be deployed," Mr Olmert said.
"We're not going to stop the fire and wait for weeks until the international force comes in because in these weeks the reality on the ground will again be reversed to what it was and this is not what we want to do."
Despite the latest rocket attacks on Israel, Mr Olmert also said that "the infrastructure of Hezbollah has been entirely destroyed," with more than 700 command positions "wiped out".
Commandos attack
Mr Olmert's comments came hours after Israeli commandos staged an attack on the town of Baalbek, 100km (60 miles) inside Lebanon.
The raid began before midnight with several air strikes.
At least 11 civilians, including five members of the same family, were killed in the bombing.
After the bombardment, military helicopters then landed an Israeli commando unit near a hospital on the outskirts of the town, which led to fierce clashes with Hezbollah guerrillas lasting several hours.
Local residents told AP the hospital was run by people close to Hezbollah and funded by an Iranian charity.
There have been reports that Israeli military officials believed that their two captured soldiers were being held at the hospital.
The Israeli military says that it seized at least three Hezbollah members in the raid and a spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that the captured militants had been taken to Israel.
In a statement on al-Manar television, Hezbollah said those captured in Baalbek, one of its strongholds, were "ordinary citizens", not militants.
This view was echoed by the Hezbollah member of parliament for the Baalbek region, Hussein Haj Hassan, who denied that those captured were soldiers and challenged Israel to prove otherwise:
"The Israeli army lies again because the Lebanese captured last night were civilian people and they are more than 50 years old and we defy the Israeli army to show them to the media immediately."
'Fading optimism'
Hezbollah say they inflicted casualties on the commando unit but a spokeswoman for the Israeli military says all their troops returned safely to base.
Baalbek, which is a Hezbollah stronghold and home to several senior members of the group, has been repeatedly bombed by Israel since the conflict began.
The BBC's Martin Asser - who visited Baalbek a day before the raids - said the mainly Shia Muslim town was very tense, with many families having fled.
This is the first time Israel has sent ground troops so far into Lebanon since its offensive began over three weeks ago.
The BBC's Michael Buchanan in Beirut says that there had been a slight mood of optimism in Lebanon that diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire following the deadly air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana, in which 54 civilians died, were gathering momentum.
Following the Baalbek raid, that mood has disappeared, our correspondent says. Meanwhile, Israeli planes attacked a Lebanese army base south-east of Sidon early on Wednesday, killing three Lebanese soldiers.
A 48-hour partial suspension of Israeli air strikes, triggered by the raid on Qana, ended overnight.
After nearly three weeks of fighting, about 750 people - mainly civilians - have been killed by Israeli action in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's health minister.
A total of 54 Israelis, including at least 18 civilians, are known to have been killed by Hezbollah.
Nou kom maar op met die VN-macht dan.
Escalatie. Het Libanese leger kan mee gaan doen.