JERUSALEM — Forced to suspend its air war in southern Lebanon after as many as 56 civilians were killed in an airstrike, Israel searched today for other means of pressing its offensive against Hezbollah.
The abrupt American announcement late Sunday here that Israel would halt airstrikes in the border zone for 48 hours appeared to catch even some senior Israeli officials by surprise. Early today, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Army Radio that the bombing hiatus did not mean an end to military action.
"This decision will allow us to continue the war over time, and it will take off some of the political pressure, so I am sure this is the right decision for now," he said. "It is not stopping the war."
Earlier on Sunday, Israel had pledged to continue fighting despite the deaths in the Lebanese village of Qana.
Israeli ground forces continued to operate along the border overnight, the Israeli military said early today, but airstrikes over Lebanon had halted, it added, by 2 a.m.
The government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed deep sorrow over the carnage in Qana, which eerily recalled a similar disaster in the same village at the height of an Israeli offensive in Lebanon a decade ago.
But even before the American announcement, the incident galvanized debate within Israel over the timing and nature of any comprehensive accord to end the fighting in Lebanon.
There is a widespread belief among Israeli policymakers and military commanders that the country's forces have yet to sufficiently weaken the Shiite militia.
Some politicians and analysts believe Israel's bargaining position could be weakened by horrific images from the airstrike, which Israel said was aimed at Hezbollah fighters who used the village as a staging ground for hundreds of rocket launches targeting Israeli cities and towns.
Israel's reaction to the wave of international condemnation also reflected growing frustration over what it sees as the world's unwillingness to apportion blame to Hezbollah for embedding its fighters and weaponry among civilians.
"There is not one person whose heart is not crushed when children are killed," Justice Minister Ramon told the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday, according to Army Radio. "But Israel is not the one that spilled the blood of the Lebanese children. Hezbollah is the one that spilled that blood."
Israel contended its forces were unaware of the civilians in Qana and said villagers had been repeatedly warned to flee.
