Israel refuses to rule out major Lebanon invasion

JERUSALEM, July 18 (Reuters) Israel's army today refused to rule out a massive ground invasion of Lebanon as part of an offensive to force Hizbollah guerrillas to free two Israeli soldiers and stop firing rockets at the Jewish state.

''The army has many possibilities for action,'' Moshe Kaplinsky, Israel's deputy army chief, told Israel Radio when asked if the military would rule out a massive land incursion.

''At this stage we do not think we have to activate massive ground forces into Lebanon but if we have to do this, we will.

We are not ruling it out.'' REUTERS SB HS1032