The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has called for Italy to lead the UN peacekeeping force for Lebanon.
The call was made in a telephone conversation between Mr Olmert and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
It indicated Italy's chances of leading the force had increased following France's apparent reluctance to commit more than 200 additional troops to Lebanon.
The Italian government has not specified how many troops it is prepared to contribute, but officials in Rome say the figure could be up to 3,000, making it one of the biggest contributors.
Mr Prodi's office said he discussed the force in separate telephone conversations with Mr Olmert and the Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora.
A Lebanese government source said further talks were needed.
The UN-brokered ceasefire ending a 34-day war between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon came into effect last Monday.
Meanwhile, France has called for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels to coordinate the response from the bloc to the Lebanon crisis.
In a radio interview, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douse Blazy said he had called on the foreign minister of Finland, which holds the EU presidency, to call a meeting for later this week.
He says he wants an expression of EU solidarity on Lebanon.
France, together with other EU member states, is reluctant to commit troops until clear ground rules of engagement have been agreed to meet the changing situation.
The United Nations has warned the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah could collapse following yesterday's raid by Israel on Lebanon.
The UN Envoy to the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, has called on all parties concerned to show restraint to give the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers a chance to fully deploy along the country's borders.
Israel has defended yesterday's raid in the Bekaa Valley, saying it was designed to disrupt weapons supplies to Hezbollah from Syria and Iran.
Israeli Tourism Minister, Issac Herzog, said his country was acting in self-defence.
The Lebanese government has vowed to crush any attempt on the Lebanese side to breach the six-day-old ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
Defence Minister Elias al-Murr was speaking a day after an Israeli raid in eastern Lebanon.
Mr Murr said he was confident that Hezbollah would adhere to the terms of the ceasefire and not try to rearm.
Earlier, it was reported that Israeli planes had flown reconnaissance missions over Lebanon today.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed concern over the raid, describing the operation as a violation of the truce.
He called on all parties to respect the arms embargo and exercise maximum restraint.
Lebanon has said it may halt its army deployment in the south - a key element of the ceasefire plan.
