Three Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded when Hezbollah guerillas fired anti-tank rockets at them in south Lebanon on Monday morning, local Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported on its website.

The incident took place when a group of Israeli soldiers tried to rescue a tank and a Puma vehicle that had been hit by Hezbollah guerillas during battles in the Lebanese border village of Taibeh, said the report.

Earlier on Monday, Israel announced a 48-hour suspension of aerial bombardments on southern Lebanon, but a senior Israeli official said that the suspension did not mean the end of the offensive against Hezbollah.

Israel kept up a massive offensive in Lebanon on Monday. Over 500 Lebanese and 51 Israelis have been killed in the 20 days of violence.