Israeli minister says airstrike suspension not end of offensive

Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said on Monday that a 48-hour suspension of Israeli aerial bombardments on south Lebanon did not mean the war was about to end, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

"This (suspension) decision will allow us to continue the war over time and it will take off some of the political pressure, so I am sure this is the right decision for now. It is not stopping the war," Ramon told Israel's Army Radio.

He warned at the same time that Israel would mount attacks if Hezbollah guerillas tried to take advantage of the ceasefire and bring in weapons.

"If there is an attempt to take advantage of the ceasefire and return weapons through passages in the Lebanese-Syrian border, this ceasefire in this case will not apply to such an chance," Ramon said.

The Israeli minister made the comments after Israel announced a 48-hour suspension of airstrikes on south Lebanon on early Monday following a deadly air raid against the Lebanese southern village Qana, which killed over 50 civilians.

The attack, the deadliest since the violence broke out nearly three weeks ago, sparked worldwide demands for truce in Lebanon.

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed the Israeli suspension of strikes and voiced optimism of hammering out a ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon this week.

The top U.S. diplomat held two rounds of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday and headed back to Washington on Monday morning.

Rice, who returned to Israel on Saturday in her second tour to the Mideast region in a week, cancelled a scheduled visit to Beirut on Sunday after the Israeli air raid on Qana.

Israel expressed "deep regret" for the deaths in Qana and said it would investigate the incident, which drew widespread international condemnation.

But Olmert said on Sunday that Qana was used as a Hezbollah base for launching hundreds of rockets at Israel and that he told Rice Israel needed 10-14 days to finish the ongoing conflict.

Violence between Israel and Hezbollah entered the 20th day on Monday since it started on July 12 following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

Source: Xinhua