Israel Approves UN Text on Lebanon but Continues Offensive

A senior Israeli government official told AFP that 24 cabinet ministers voted in favor of UN Security Council resolution 1701 and one abstained.

The Lebanese government, which includes ministers from the Hezbollah movement whose militia Israeli troops have been fighting for a month, approved the resolution on Saturday.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said a ceasefire would come into effect on Monday at 0500 GMT, raising hopes of an end to the bloodshed which has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Lebanese

and some 150 Israelis.

But with Hezbollah vowing to fight until the last Israeli soldier leaves Lebanon and Israel stressing that it will respond to any attack on its troops or rocket fire, hopes of complete ceasefire in the immediate future looked dim.

Over 1,250 people killed

Israel pressed on with a massive assault involving 30,000 troops after the killing of 24 soldiers in its highest single-day death toll of the conflict, and troops were clashing with guerrillas near the southern port city of Tyre.

In what the media have said is the largest ground operation since the 1973 Middle East war, Israel is sweeping through south Lebanon where Hezbollah is rooted -- some troops reaching the strategic Litani River which runs as far as 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border. Fighter jets also pounded targets in the south, east and north of Lebanon, and at least 11 civilians were killed, including a mother and her three children, Lebanese police said.

The worst cross-border conflict in a quarter century has killed more than 1,100 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and at least 151 Israelis, most of them soldiers, and laid waste to much of Lebanon's infrastructure.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres sought to put a positive spin on the war's outcome despite the failure to stem the hail of Hezbollah rockets on the north of the country.

"I think that we have finished more or less the victors both militarily and politically," Peres told army radio, predicting that Hezbollah would end with "its tail between its legs."

Trade Minister Eli Yishai also issued a stark warning to Lebanon even if the ceasefire comes into force, saying: "If a single stone is thrown at Israel from whatever village that happens, it should be turned into a pile of stones."

Red Cross: civilian casualities unacceptable

The International Committee of the Red Cross slammed continuing heavy civilian casualties as unacceptable.

"It is unacceptable that after more than 30 days of ongoing military operations, all necessary precautions to spare civilian life and those engaged in medical work have still not been taken," the agency said.

In addition to the heavy death toll in Lebanon, more than 900,000 people have been displaced by Israeli bombardments that have left much of the country's infrastructure in ruins.

The Israeli general in charge of the northern command said he hoped troops involved in the expanded offensive will have secured control of most of south Lebanon by Monday.

"I think we will be in a much better situation (on Monday) than we are today," General Udi Adam said. "Assuming that the ceasefire will take effect, we will stop the moment we are told. If it doesn't, we could continue."