Israel says ‘there will not be any ceasefire’

ISRAEL rejected mounting international pressure yesterday to end its war against Hezbollah and launched a new incursion into Lebanon as world powers squabbled over the urgency of a ceasefire.

A UN official said a meeting scheduled for yesterday on a new peacekeeping force for Lebanon had been delayed “until there is more political clarity” on the path ahead in the 20-day-old war.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the end of a trip to Israel that a ceasefire could be achieved this week. But despite an international outcry over an air strike on Sunday that killed 54 civilians, most of them children, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said there would be no ceasefire for now.

“The fighting continues. There is no ceasefire and there will not be any ceasefire in the coming days,” Mr Olmert told local officials, drawing sustained applause.

Civilians fled battered villages in southern Lebanon after Israel agreed partially to halt air strikes for 48 hours, and aid convoys headed into the area to deliver supplies.

Rescue workers found 49 bodies buried for days in collapsed buildings or inside destroyed vehicles, medical sources said.

The Israeli military said it had launched a new ground incursion into Lebanon in the Aita al-Shaab area. Hezbollah said its guerrillas were fiercely resisting the advance.

Air raids continued despite Israel’s announcement of a partial 48-hour suspension of bombing.

Israel also said it was giving a 24-hour window to allow aid workers to reach the worst hit areas and residents to flee.