A Lebanese soldier throws a baby stroller as he and others search for bodies under the rubble of a home that was hit in an Israeli missile strike in the village of Qana, east of the port city of Tyre, Sunday, July 30, 2006.

Some Israeli leaders have called for taking control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, about 30 km from the border.

Israeli forces have been operating in two segments of south Lebanon, sweeping through villages, fighting Hezbollah gunmen and leaving considerable destruction behind.

Israel has said it will not stop its offensive until Hezbollah frees the two soldiers, the guerrillas are pushed out of southern Lebanon and an international force is deployed along the border.

"There is no cease-fire, there will be no cease-fire," Olmert told a gathering of Israeli mayors before a Security Cabinet meeting. He reiterated his intention to crush Hezbollah.

An Israeli airstrike on a four-story building in Qana, which killed at least 56 people, provoked worldwide anger and intensified calls for an immediate end to the fighting. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who left Jerusalem on July 31, said she hoped for a cease-fire agreement within a week, but later said only that "there's a lot of work to do."

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 5, 2006
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