Israel to halt offensive Monday morning-official

JERUSALEM, Aug 12 (Reuters) Israel plans to halt offensive operations in Lebanon at 7 am on Monday (0930 ist), but will continue to engage Hizbollah in areas where the army is operating, a senior Israeli official said today.

''Israel will end its offensive assault and then will be cleaning the area'' in southern Lebanon of Hizbollah fighters and weapons, a senior government official said.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office said it was not aware of the plan.

The resolution approved yesterday by the UN Security Council calls for a ''full cessation of hostilities'' and authorises up to 15,000 UN troops to move in to enforce a ceasefire.

The resolution says Hizbollah must halt all attacks and Israel must stop ''all offensive military operations''.

''Cleaning the area falls under defensive operations,'' the Israeli official said. Such operations are permitted under the resolution.

''We are the tool that is supposed to drive Hizbollah out of the south so the UN force can move in,'' the official said.

REUTERS DKA RAI2245