Israel 'not yet ready for truce'
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz says Israel cannot agree to an immediate ceasefire, despite a partial halt to air strikes on south Lebanon. Mr Peretz told parliament that if the offensive stopped, "the extremists will rear their heads anew".
He said Israel intended to "expand and strengthen" its operations in Lebanon.
Earlier Israel suspended air raids for 48 hours - apart from those to defend its civilians or troops - to allow an inquiry into civilian deaths at Qana. At least 54 people, many of them children, were killed in the southern Lebanese village on Sunday when the house in which they were sheltering was hit by Israeli war planes - the deadliest Israeli raid since hostilities began on 12 July.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Qana says the scene is one of utter desolation. He says Qana has become a ghost village like many others on the road up from the southern city of Tyre, with women and children now a rare sight.
Shortly after Israel announced it was suspending air strikes, its war planes struck several targets, including areas near the village of Taibe.
The Israeli military said the air strikes were ordered after Hezbollah militants hit an Israeli tank near Taibe, wounding three soldiers.
In one incident air strikes killed three Lebanese soldiers in a car near Tyre. Israel expressed regret over the deaths, saying it believed the vehicle was carrying a senior Hezbollah official
Gee, Jim, have you seen the abandoned Israeli towns?