The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, who is travelling to the Middle East on Sunday, has dismissed growing pressure for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
During the trip, she will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories and join Arab officials at an international conference on Lebanon in Rome.
Addressing a news conference in Washington, Ms Rice described as an outrageous provocation the capture by Hezbollah of two Israel soldiers - the event that sparked the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.
She said she hoped her trip would create conditions for a lasting Middle East peace but the diplomatic work would be difficult.
The Israeli military says its forces have killed nearly 100 Hezbollah fighters during Israel's ten-day offensive in Lebanon.
The statement comes amid further indications that Israel is planning to send large numbers of troops into southern Lebanon.
Israel has called up thousand of army reservists and today continued to strike at targets in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel are continuing and 20 people have been injured.
Israel has warned any civilians in border areas to leave immediately.
In response, Lebanese Defence Minister Elias al-Murr said the Lebanese army would defend the country against any such invasion.
The Israeli military said it had attacked more than 40 locations in Lebanon overnight, including five buildings and eight vehicles allegedly used by Hezbollah.
Artillery units also hit what were described as 'missile launching sites' along the volatile Lebanese border.
Southern Lebanon has borne the brunt of Israel's ten-day offensive, launched on 12 July after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
In a statement, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the Jewish state would not secure the release of the soldiers unless there were indirect negotiations and an exchange of prisoners.
Warning of more 'surprises' to come, he said the Israeli military had failed to hit the Hezbollah leadership or destroy its arsenal.
Tens of thousands of people have fled the southern border area, a Hezbollah stronghold with no Lebanese army presence, as fears of a humanitarian crisis grow.
In further Hezbollah rocket attacks today, at least ten people were wounded in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Rockets also hit several other northern towns.
The fresh barrage came after the army said Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel had dropped significantly.
Wives of Irish soldiers return home
The Irish Army has said they are relieved that the families of personnel serving with the UN mission in Lebanon are home safe.
Four women, whose husbands are serving with the Irish Army in Lebanon, arrived back at Dublin Airport this morning after being evacuated with their children.
Maria Dillon, Lorna Mulcahy and Nillo Molloy from Kildare, and Clare McDonald from Galway, were evacuated from the port of Tyre in southern Lebanon last night.
They said they had endured a harrowing time and are relieved to be home.
Soldier killed in helicopter collision
It has been confirmed that one Israeli soldier was killed and three injured in a collision between two military helicopters in northern Israel last night.
And another four Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah militants just inside Lebanon.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has demanded an immediate ceasefire, highlighting the human suffering caused by the offensive, which has left more than 330 dead in Lebanon.
33 Israelis have been killed, 15 in Hezbollah rocket attacks, in the worst cross-border fighting in the region in almost 25 years.
But international diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have yet to bear fruit, with the US refusing to back calls for a ceasefire until Hezbollah halts its rocket attacks.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio, the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Daniel Meggido, said his government has no intention of causing a humanitarian disaster in Lebanon.
Mr Meggido stated Israel's only intention was to disarm Hezbollah.
10,000 overseas nationals evacuated
As many as 10,000 overseas nationals were evacuated from Lebanon yesterday by naval and civilian vessels.
Nearly all have been taken to Cyprus, where the government says facilities are stretched to the limit.
The Cypriot Foreign Minister, George Lillikas, has warned that the island might soon be unable to cope.
