The decision was announced by U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli, who said at a briefing that the move would allow time for an investigation into Sunday’s explosion that killed 54 civilians, many of whom were children.



Ereli made it clear however, that Israel had the right to ‘take action against targets preparing attacks against it,” the standing U.S. policy since the war began.



A State Department official confirmed that Olmert had agreed to the plan and said that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been working on such an agreement for some time prior to the Kfar Kana incident. The source spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to talk to reporters about the developments that led to the decision.



"We expect that Israel will implement these decisions so as to significantly speed and improve the flow of humanitarian aid," he added. The government source added that the agreement includes a renewable 24-hour window of safe passage for residents to leave southern Lebanon.



The agreement only covers aircraft activity and does not rule out ground operations.



Rice met with Olmert for two hours in Jerusalem Sunday evening and is to return to Washngton on Monday.