Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Friday that Israel would not
end its military operation in Lebanon until the Lebanese Shiite militant group
Hizbollah was disarmed, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported.
Olmert made the statements in a phone conversation with UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan, according to the report.
The prime minister also demanded Hizbollah release two captive Israeli
soldiers and stop its rocket attacks on Israel in addition to demanding the
implementation by the Lebanese government of the UN Security Council Resolution
1559, said the report.
The resolution calls for the disarmament of Hizbollah guerillas.
Annan, on his part, informed Olmert that he was sending a UN team to the
region, said the report.
In response, Olmert said that he would cooperate with the team only if its
objective would be to return the two Israeli soldiers abducted by Hizbollah and
the full implementation of Resolution 1559.
Israel has stepped up intense bombardments on Lebanese targets and blockaded
Lebanon's sea ports since Hizbollah guerillas snatched two Israeli soldiers and
killed eight during cross-border clashes on Wednesday.
Key roads, power plants, bridges and Beirut's international airport have come
under attacks during Israeli airstrikes.
At least 60 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed since Israel
started the operation on Wednesday.
Hizbollah also rained rockets onto northern Israel, killing two people and
wounding about 100 others.
