U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a surprise visit to Lebanon aimed at laying the groundwork for a "sustainable" ceasefire.

Rice arrived in Beirut Monday afternoon as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon entered its 13th day. The July 12 kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by militants sparked the conflict.

The resulting violence has left hundreds dead, mainly Lebanese civilians.

In a show of support for the Western-backed Lebanese government, Rice met with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora for two hours -- longer than planned.

"Thank you for your courage and steadfastness," she told Saniora, who has repeatedly pleaded for an immediate ceasefire.

Rice continued on to Israel and the Palestinian territories for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Any peace is going to have to be based on enduring principles and not on temporary solutions," Rice said at a Jerusalem news conference where she appeared with Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni.

"The abducted soldiers must be released, the Hezbollah must be disarmed and the Lebanese government sovereignty must be exercised all over Lebanon," Livni said.

In Beirut, Rice made it clear that she wouldn't be pressing Israel for an immediate ceasefire -- although no bombing could be heard there during her stay.

Neither Rice nor Saniora spoke to reporters after their meeting, and it was unclear what was discussed. Saniora's office said he told Rice that the bombardments have taken Lebanon "backwards 50 years."

However, Rice reportedly told Lebanon's parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri that there would be no ceasefire until Hezbollah returned the two soldiers and pulled back its forces 20 kilometres from the border.

Berri, a de factor Hezbollah negotiator and friendly to Syria, told her that a ceasefire and a negotiated prisoner swap must precede any talks about resolving Hezbollah's role in Lebanon, according to The Associated Press.

One man on the street said, "What Condoleezza Rice is coming here to say is to bring the Israeli conditions on us and this is not acceptable for us."

One former Israeli cabinet minister told CTV that diplomacy might have its limits.

"Just imagine that, in Canada, a party that is in opposition or even in coalition, because Hezbollah is in coalition, is getting a decision to purchase missiles and rockets and to use it against the United States. It looks impossible," Silvan Shalom said.

Ceasefire hopes

The visit by Rice is the first U.S. mission on the ground following Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12, which sparked the current crisis.

Saudia Arabia and other Arab countries have been urging U.S. President George Bush to call for an immediate ceasefire, but Bush has said Hezbollah's domination of Lebanon must end first.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow said MOnday  that an immediate ceasefire "at this point is unenforceable and does not really get us to the point we need to be at."

Other nations are more hopeful of a peaceful outcome.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he hopes a peace plan for Lebanon comes to fruition in the next few days, leading to a ceasefire.

"There have been as you might expect over the past few days enormous diplomatic efforts to get us to the point where I hope at some point within the next few days we can say very clearly what our plan is to bring about an immediate cessation of hostilities ...," Blair said.

Meanwhile, it was announced Monday that Bush has ordered ships and helicopters to Lebanon to begin delivering humanitarian aid Tuesday.

"We are working with Israel and Lebanon to open up humanitarian corridors," said Snow.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the U.S. was speeding up delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel.

Ground invasion fears

The global community is hoping that Rice will be able to avert a major ground invasion by Israel. But it depends on the outcome of the talks in the Mideast, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tom Christianson told Newsnet.

"I think it's very, very clear that the Israelis want to move the Hezbollah guerrillas back to a range which would exclude them from launching missiles into Israel," he said.

"If (the Rice) visit bears no fruit, I would expect a major invasion to establish a buffer zone within days."

Israeli military spokesman have said the current operation in Lebanon could last up to 11 more days.

Peacekeeping force

Olmert, in a policy shift, now says Israel would be prepared to accept a European peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon if it had a robust mandate.

International security expert Harlan Ullman said it would be unlikely that a NATO-led force would be able to operate in Lebanon because of its responsibilities in Afghanistan.

However, the European Union seems willing to put together a force. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday that several European Union countries are ready to contribute to a peace force for Lebanon.

"It's a real possibility. It is not an easy force to deploy but we have been working since Wednesday to try to construct a concept that would make it possible to deploy under the umbrella of the UN Security Council," Solana said after meeting Lebanese parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri in Brussels.

"I think several member states of the European Union will be ready to provide all necessary assistance," he told a joint news conference.

Solana said security and humanitarian assistance for Lebanon would be discussed at an international conference in Rome on Wednesday. Rice will be attending it.

In Canada, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has been non-committal about the prospect of Canada contributing to a peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

At least 384 people have died in Lebanon since the crisis began, including 20 soldiers and 11 Hezbollah fighters, say officials. Eight Canadians were among those killed.

Israel says 17 of its civilians and 19 of its soldiers have died in the fighting.

In related news:

• In Tehran, a Hezbollah representative warned that his militant group planned to widen its attacks on Israelis;
• UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland appealed for $150 million US in humanitarian aid for Lebanon. The U.S. has said it will contribute $30 million US;
• Aid has begun to arrive at Beirut's port, and is starting to be distributed throughout the country.

With a report from CTV's Ellen Pinchuk and files from The Associated Press