Israel confirms go-ahead for expanded Lebanon offensive

JERUSALEM, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Israel confirmed today that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had ordered the army to expand its ground offensive against Hizbollah in Lebanon but said the decision ''does not exclude a diplomatic solution''.

The move, announced by Israel's Foreign Ministry, came shortly after US and British ambassadors at the United Nations said Security Council members were on the verge of a deal on a resolution aimed at halting the month-old war.

Olmert's security cabinet on Wednesday had authorised a widened military campaign in Lebanon to stop Hizbollah cross-border rocket fire, but implementation had been put on hold to give more time for UN diplomacy.

''The prime minister has decided this evening to implement the cabinet's decision ... and has ordered the Israel Defence Forces to deal with the Hizbollah positions in south Lebanon from which missiles and rockets are launched into Israeli cities and townships,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.

''This decision does not exclude a diplomatic solution,'' he said. ''On the contrary, Israel is following closely what is going on at the Security Council in New York. But so far diplomacy has failed to produce concrete results and it is incumbent on the government to act to protect its citizens.'' Regev declined to say when the expanded ground offensive would get under way and whether troops would push as far as the Litani river, 20 km (13 miles) from the Israeli border.

Fighting erupted on July 12 after Hizbollah guerrillas abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

REUTERS DKA VC2326