Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora demanded that Israel leave southern Lebanon even before a UN-mandated peacekeeping force arrives.

Saniora made his statement in a tearful speech Monday before Arab foreign ministers.

His cabinet voted to send 15,000 troops in, assuming a ceasefire took hold and Israeli forces left the country.

The demand came on a particularly bloody day in Lebanon. Israel stepped up air attacks against Hezbollah, leaving at least 49 dead, while issuing a curfew for vehicles in the region.

Three Israeli soldiers died in combat in south Lebanon.

Here are some of the major events:

• Lebanese officials said 15 people were killed when Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut's southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon Monday.
• An Israeli strike on the crowded Beirut suburb of Chiah just after nightfall Monday killed 10 people, police confirmed.
• Seven people were killed in Qassmieh on the coast near Tyre, Lebanon when a missile struck a house, according to civil defense official Youssef Khairallah.
• In northern Israel, a barrage of rockets wounded five people, according to rescue workers. The Associated Press reported 83 Hezbollah rockets hit the region Monday.
• Three Israeli soldiers was killed in fighting in the town of Bint Jbail, the Israeli military said. Five Hezbollah gunmen were killed in the battle, the army said.
   
  Israel announced Monday an indefinite curfew on the movement of vehicles south of the Litani River.

The curfew does not include humanitarian traffic. However, all other vehicles are at risk if they avoid the warning, said the Israeli army.

Residents were notified of the curfew by leaflets dropped from airplanes and from media reports.

The army has given no timeline for when the curfew will end and says the move comes in a bid to stop the supply of arms to Hezbollah fighters.

For the first time, Israeli media reported that Israeli forces had shot down a Hezbollah drone. The drones carry about 40 kilograms of explosives and have a guidance system.

Death toll mounts

As of Monday, 97 Israelis have been killed, including 49 soldiers, 12 reservists who were killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on Israel Sunday, and 36 civilians.

At least 617 people in Lebanon have been killed, including 524 civilians, 29 Lebanese soldiers and 53 Hezbollah militants.

Earlier, the Lebanese prime minister retracted statements that 40 people were killed in an Israeli air strike Monday morning. Saniora said he was wrong, and only one person died in the attack on a southern border village.

"The massacre in Houla, it turned out that there was one person killed," Siniora told reporters.

"They thought that the whole building smashed on the heads of about 40 people ... thank God they have been saved."

Diplomats work towards a solution

As fighting escalates just days before the UN Security Council is expected to vote on the draft resolution, there are reports that both Israel and Lebanon have called up their reserve troops.

Ministers called for Israel's Security Cabinet to meet later on Monday to look at the possibility of expanding the offensive.

U.S. President George Bush said Monday he understands Hezbollah and Israel won't agree with all the details of the agreement drafted by the U.S. and France, but said, "we all recognize that the violence must stop.

"The intention of the resolution is to strengthen the Lebanese government so Israel has a partner in peace," Bush said from Crawford, Texas.

Meanwhile, diplomats are working hard to find a solution to the ongoing crisis and are pushing a draft Security Council resolution drawn up by France and the U.S. to end the fighting.

Security council members are meeting in New York to continue talks on the resolution.

However, both the U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, and U.S. President George Bush, said they want a vote on the draft as soon as possible.

The Security Council is expected to discuss possible changes to the document proposed by Qatar, the only Arab member of the Security Council, possibly to address Lebanon's concerns.

One of Lebanon's chief objections is the lack of a specific timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the country. They are calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops.

Lebanese officials also argue the deal doesn't address some key issues, including the release of prisoners held by Israel and a resolution to the dispute over the Chebaa farms border area.

The Arab League leaders agreed Monday to back the Lebanese demands for changes to the proposal.

As it now stands, the resolution calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and lays the groundwork for a second agreement that would install an international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

But it would allow Israeli troops to remain in Lebanon until the UN force is deployed, and would allow Israel to strike back when attacked.

It would also require the unconditional return of two captured Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah.

Israeli officials have expressed approval of the agreement, but Amir Peretz, the Israeli defence minister, warned Israel will step up its offensive actions against Hezbollah if the diplomatic process fails.

"... Israeli forces will carry out the operations necessary to take control of rocket launching sites wherever they are," Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said.

Israel's Justice Minister Haim Ramon said Israel's withdrawal before the international force's arrival simply wouldn't work.

"The moment we leave, Hezbollah will return."

The Arab foreign ministers said they would send a delegation to the UN to represent Lebanon's interests at the Security Council on Tuesday.

Observers say that means a vote likely won't take place until Wednesday.

With a report from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer and files from The Associated Press