Lebanon fighting rages

Israeli air strikes killed 14 villagers in south Lebanon yesterday as Beirut pleaded for a swift end to Israel's war with Hizbollah guerillas that has cost around 1,000 Lebanese and 101 Israeli lives in four weeks.

Diplomats at the United Nations in New York said a vote on a resolution to end the war might not take place before tomorrow and fighting in south Lebanon raged on.

"We are working to have a quick ceasefire or at the very minimum an end to acts of aggression," said Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. "Then displaced people can return to their homes."

Israeli air raids killed 14 people and wounded 23 in the southern village of Ghaziyeh, rescue workers and hospital officials said. The bombs fell as mourners were burying 15 people killed by a raid there the previous day. They struck targets that were not in the immediate vicinity of the funeral.

Four Israeli soldiers were killed fighting guerillas, raising Israel's military and civilian death toll to 101 in the war ignited by Hizbollah's capture of two soldiers on July 12.

Dozens more Hizbollah rockets landed in northern Israel yesterday, but there were no reports of casualties.

At least 979 people have been killed in Lebanon and the authorities say dozens more are still buried under rubble.

Despite global alarm at the rising casualties, days of intensive efforts at the UN Security Council to bring about a ceasefire and lasting peace have proved difficult.

Israel has vowed to expand its military offensive if no diplomatic solution emerges soon.

Lebanon has objected to a US-French draft resolution and Arab envoys were to press Beirut's case at the United Nations for an amendment that would demand a quick Israeli withdrawal so the Lebanese army can take over the south from Hizbollah.

The Beirut government, in which Hizbollah has two ministers, has proposed to send 15,000 troops to the south if the Israelis withdraw, a plan welcomed warmly by France.

"It demonstrates the desire of all the parties in Lebanon to enable the Lebanese government to exercise its sovereignty over all its territory," Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the plan as an "interesting step", but said his security cabinet would discuss today a possible expansion of military operations in Lebanon, where 10,000 Israeli troops are already on the ground.

Israel has insisted the troops will stay until a robust international force arrives to keep Hizbollah at bay.

Lebanon is angry that the United Nations has done nothing to halt the war - partly because Washington refuses to demand a ceasefire until the threat Hizbollah poses to Israel is removed.

Beirut has won some support from Russia as well as France, both of which hold veto power on the Security Council.

"It is obvious to us that a draft that is not favourable to the Lebanese side should not be adopted," said Moscow's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, saying this would only prolong the war.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said it would risk "exploding Lebanon's fragile internal political situation".

The United States has resisted the Lebanese demand for the draft to demand a quick Israeli withdrawal, saying it could enable Hizbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, to rearm.

Mr Denisov said if the diplomatic stand-off continued, an interim "humanitarian" ceasefire resolution should be adopted.

Mr Siniora almost wept as he described Lebanon's plight to Arab foreign ministers meeting in Beirut on Monday, but his emotion won little sympathy from Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Latest developments

On the 28th day of the Middle East crisis...

* Israeli air strikes kill 14 villagers, wound 23 in southern Lebanese village of Ghaziyeh.

* UN diplomats say vote on a resolution to end the war might not take place before tomorrow.

* Three Israeli soldiers killed fighting guerillas, raising Israel's military and civilian death toll to 100 in the war that began after Hizbollah fighters captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12.

* Dozens more Hizbollah rockets land in northern Israel, but no reports of casualties

* Arab countries to press UN Security Council for changes to draft resolution to end war between Israel and Hizbollah.

* Tony Blair says UN resolution could be clinched today, but that it would not include a demand for an immediate Israeli pull-out as Lebanon wants.

* Ehud Olmert says Beirut's plan to deploy 15,000 Lebanese troops in south Lebanon if the Israelis withdraw is an "interesting step" that would be reviewed.

* Olmert says his security cabinet would discuss a possible expansion of military operations in Lebanon, where 10,000 Israeli troops are already on the ground.

* At least 979 people have been killed in Lebanon and authorities say dozens more are still buried under rubble.