Israelis 'triple Lebanon force'

The soldiers are moving towards the strategically significant Litani River, the military said.

Hezbollah's leader has said the group will abide by the UN Security Council resolution, which calls for a "full cessation of hostilities".

Israel's Cabinet will discuss the issue on Sunday.

It says it will only halt military action after taking a vote.

Lebanese ministers will discuss the UN plan on Saturday. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora indicated he would back the truce call, saying: "This resolution shows that the whole world stood by Lebanon."

Hezbollah's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said on the group's al-Manar TV channel on Saturday that it would abide by the plan.

But referring to Israel's insistence it has the right to continue military operations in Lebanon in self-defence, Sheikh Nasrallah said: "As long as there is Israeli aggression, it is our right to fight them and defend our land."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is asking his Cabinet to endorse the resolution, describing it as positive and acceptable.

More than 1,000 Lebanese and more than 120 Israelis have been killed in the conflict since Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers on 12 July in a cross-border raid.

Hilltop village

Israel's army chief, Lt Gen Dan Halutz, said Israeli troops would remain in Lebanon until the arrival of the UN peacekeeping force - expected to be 15,000-strong.

Gen Halutz did not give a figure for the new number of Israeli troops currently in Lebanon, but Israeli sources put it at about 30,000.

Israel radio said the troops had been ordered to seize ground as far as the Litani River, up to 30km (18 miles) from the Israeli border.

The Israeli army confirmed it had airlifted hundreds of troops by helicopter into positions in south Lebanon.

Full details of the new offensive are unclear but several sources confirm heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters at the village of Ghandouriyeh, 11km inside Lebanon.

Ghandouriyeh is a key strategic point, a hilltop village overlooking Hezbollah positions that are just 2.5km from the Litani.

Israeli jets also raided the city of Sidon - north of the Litani - destroying facilities at a power station. It is only the second time Sidon has been hit in the conflict, which began more than four weeks ago.

According to Lebanese security sources, up to 15 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on the village of Rshaf in south Lebanon.

Israel has said it has killed more than 40 Hezbollah fighters in the past 24 hours.

Hezbollah has also fired more rockets into northern Israel, but Israeli sources say the number is far fewer than in recent days.

The UN special envoy to the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, said he expected Israel to wind down its operations in the next couple of days.

No timetable has been agreed for a ceasefire.

UN Security Council resolution 1701 was passed unanimously in New York after an impassioned speech from Secretary General Kofi Annan.

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