Following the Israeli bombing of a building in Kafr Kana yesterday, in which 57 Lebanese were killed, the IDF called off most of its air attacks in southern Lebanon. The bombings will cease for the duration of the investigation into the incident, IDF officials stated, which will take at most 48 hours, or until Tuesday night.
One question that must be answered is why the collapse of the building was reported only at 7:30 or 8:00 AM Sunday - at least seven hours after the structure was bombed.
Israeli officials clarified that a general ceasefire is not in place. They said that ground operations will continue, as will air strikes on top Hizbullah terrorists, missile launchers, and arms-supply lines.
The announcement of a "48-hour aerial ceasefire" was supposed to have been announced by Israel last night (Sunday), but an internal Israeli mix-up led to a delay - at which point the U.S. stepped in and announced it first.
This morning, at a press conference in Jerusalem, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said she would work for a total ceasefire even "this week." Without mentioning the release of the Israeli hostages - a long-stated Israeli objective of the current war - Rice said, "I am convinced that we can reach a ceasefire and long-term arrangement this week... We will call upon the UN Security Council to reach an arrangement that will include a ceasefire, a long-term arrangement and authorization for a multi-national force."
With Rice about to return to Washington, she said, "I take with me an emerging consensus" - though she did not elaborate - "on what is necessary for both an urgent cease-fire and a lasting settlement. I am convinced we can achieve both this week."
Rice said yesterday that implementing a ceasefire would require the agreement of both Hizbullah and Israel. In her remarks today, however, she made no mention of how this would be achieved, or why she thought it could happen "this week." Gathering a multi-national force would also take more than a few days, media analysts say.
The IDF announced that it had bombed more than 80 targets in Lebanon on Sunday. Among them were 32 Hizbullah headquarters and structures from which Katyushas were fired, including three in Kafr Kana; four tunnel openings used by the terrorists; four missile launchers, two vehicles; two armed terrorists; and missile launching zones.
One question that must be answered is why the collapse of the building was reported only at 7:30 or 8:00 AM Sunday - at least seven hours after the structure was bombed.
Israeli officials clarified that a general ceasefire is not in place. They said that ground operations will continue, as will air strikes on top Hizbullah terrorists, missile launchers, and arms-supply lines.
The announcement of a "48-hour aerial ceasefire" was supposed to have been announced by Israel last night (Sunday), but an internal Israeli mix-up led to a delay - at which point the U.S. stepped in and announced it first.
This morning, at a press conference in Jerusalem, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said she would work for a total ceasefire even "this week." Without mentioning the release of the Israeli hostages - a long-stated Israeli objective of the current war - Rice said, "I am convinced that we can reach a ceasefire and long-term arrangement this week... We will call upon the UN Security Council to reach an arrangement that will include a ceasefire, a long-term arrangement and authorization for a multi-national force."
With Rice about to return to Washington, she said, "I take with me an emerging consensus" - though she did not elaborate - "on what is necessary for both an urgent cease-fire and a lasting settlement. I am convinced we can achieve both this week."
Rice said yesterday that implementing a ceasefire would require the agreement of both Hizbullah and Israel. In her remarks today, however, she made no mention of how this would be achieved, or why she thought it could happen "this week." Gathering a multi-national force would also take more than a few days, media analysts say.
The IDF announced that it had bombed more than 80 targets in Lebanon on Sunday. Among them were 32 Hizbullah headquarters and structures from which Katyushas were fired, including three in Kafr Kana; four tunnel openings used by the terrorists; four missile launchers, two vehicles; two armed terrorists; and missile launching zones.