US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice salutes a US Marine as she walks towards a helicopter upon her departure from Beirut after meeting with Lebanese officials. Rice was to hold crisis talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of a high-stakes mission to end the Middle East crisis, as deadly violence raged on in Lebanon.
Smoke rises from a Hizbollah stronghold in southern Beirut after being hit by Israeli warplanes, July 24, 2006.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L) sits inside a F-16 fighter jet during a visit to an air force base July 24, 2006.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni, partially obscured, arrive for a press conference after their meeting in Jerusalem Monday July 24, 2006. Rice arrived in Israel on Monday for talks about the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice(R) is seen here with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora(L). Rice landed in Israel after a surprise visit to bomb-shaken Beirut, unleashing the fiercest US diplomatic effort yet in the 13-day conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, second from right, is escorted under heavy security to a U.S. Marines helicopter on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy, north of Beirut, Lebanon Monday, July 24, 2006. Rice made a visit to Lebanon on Monday to launch diplomatic efforts aimed at ending 13 days of combat as Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into the country in heavy fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas.
In this photo made available by the Government Press Office, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, left, speaks with Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedi during a visit to an air force base, at an undisclosed location, Monday, July 24, 2006.