The draft contains ambiguous wording, such as demanding cessation of the fighting instead of a complete and immediate ceasefire, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after a cabinet meeting.

He said the ministers agreed to continue discussions on the draft since it was not final.

However, he reiterated the government's seven-point plan put forward at the end of July in Rome, including an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners, putting the Shebaa Farms under the UN control, sending the Lebanese army into south Lebanon, and expanding the UN peacekeeping force.

Responding to a question, Aridi said the government would not compromise on Lebanon's sovereignty or accept any Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory.

The U.S.-French draft distributed on Saturday calls for an end to the fighting as a first step toward a political settlement.

Israeli troops have been fighting Hezbollah guerrillas inside southern Lebanon since the militia captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12.

Some 1,000 Lebanese and 30 Israelis have been killed in the 25-day-old conflict.