Time is tight for Israeli offensive-sources

JERUSALEM, July 17 (Reuters) Israel believes it may have as little as a week to damage Hizbollah as much as it can before growing international pressure forces it to curb its offensive in Lebanon, Israeli security sources said today.

The United States has so far stressed Israel's right to self defence, taking a far more supportive line than the European Union and United Nations.

But there may be a limit to how long Washington can hold off pressure from others for the imposition of a ceasefire, Israeli security sources and Western diplomats said.

''(Israeli forces) are trying to hit Hizbollah as much as possible before that happens. They will have to accelerate the bombardment,'' said one Israeli security source familiar with the matter.

The conflict erupted when Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a July 12 border raid and killed eight others. Since then, Israeli air strikes on Lebanon have killed over 200 people. Hizbollah rockets have killed 12 Israelis.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would pursue its offensive against Hizbollah until the two soldiers were returned and Lebanese army troops controlled all of southern Lebanon.

The United States and other U N Security Council members are discussing the deployment of a multilateral security force in south Lebanon, after which it would be hard for Israel to carry on with its raids.

While supportive of the military campaign, the United States has started pressing Israel to ''get this thing done sooner rather than later'', said one Western diplomat, requesting anonymity.

Israel believes its offensive has destroyed around one-third of Hizbollah rockets capable of reaching deep into the Jewish state, according to an Israeli military intelligence source.

But Hizbollah is still thought to have thousands of shorter-range Katyusha rockets.

REUTERS PKS HT0000