Israel is showing no sign of easing up on its two-week offensive against Hezbollah even as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continued her push for a diplomatic solution to the fighting.

Rice met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Tuesday in a bid to end violence that has erupted in the region in the last few weeks.

"We want to end the violence so that innocent people can return to a free life. We need to do that in a way that is enduring and that means that we can not return to (the previous) status quo," Rice said after a meeting with Olmert.

Olmert acknowledged that his country's offensive has caused humanitarian problems in Lebanon and said he would work with Rice to try to alleviate them.

However, he said that Israel would continue to try and carve out a buffer in southern Lebanon that will prevent rockets from reaching Israel.

"Israel is determined to carry on the fight against Hezbollah," he said.

"We reach out for them, we stop them and we will not hesitate to take the most severe measures against those who are aiming thousands of rockets and missiles against innocent civilians for one purpose: to kill them. This is something that we will not be able to tolerate."

Summit in Rome

Rice's next stop will be an international summit on Wednesday in Rome aimed at dealing with the crisis in Lebanon. It is to be attended by foreign ministers from over 20 countries. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay will represent Canada.

In a news release announcing the trip, MacKay said Canada believes "the international community is wise to consider how it can support achieving an end to the violence and what steps may be needed to that end."

Speaking to reporters in Ramallah today after the meeting with Abbas, Rice said, "We need to get to a sustainable peace, there must be a way for people to reconcile their differences."

Earlier, ahead of her meeting with Olmert, she reiterated the United States position that any peace plan in Lebanon must be sustainable and must come with certain conditions.

"It is time for a new Middle East," she said. "It is time to say to those that don't want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail. They will not."

Israel wants NATO

If some sort of peacekeeping force is sent to enforce a ceasefire, Israel has said it prefers a NATO-led coalition of trrops intstead of a UN peacekeeping force.

UN peacekeepers have been in Lebanon for the last three decades, but have had little success in ensuring long-term peace.

However, some military analysts are suggesting that NATO might be too overstretched to be able to provide troops. NATO members, including Canada, currently have thousands of troops in Afghanistan.

"No request has been made to NATO," alliance spokesman James Appathurai said Tuesday. "The international community is still discussing ... the possibility of a force, its mandate, and the duration of the mission. All these issues remain open."

Hezbollah Statement

BEIRUT -- A senior Hezbollah official says the guerrilla group did not expect Israel to react so strongly to the capture of two Israeli soldiers last month. Mahmoud Komati is the deputy chief of the Hezbollah politburo. In his words "the truth is -- let me say this clearly -- we didn't even expect this response -- that Israel would exploit this operation for this big war against us." He says Hezbollah expected the usual, limited response from Israel. Kotami also says his group will not lay down arms. In the past, he says, Israeli responses to Hezbollah actions included sending in commandos into Lebanon and kidnapping Hezbollah officials. He says his group had anticipated there would be negotiations on the exchange of the soldiers with three Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails, with Germany acting as a mediator as it did before.
--Associated Press

Gaza still a concern

Rice is trying to calm tensions on two fronts.

For the last 14 days, Israel has been launching air strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah militants, in retaliation for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers and the deaths of eight others.

It has also been hammering Gaza after militants linked to the Hamas group captured an Israeli soldier on June 25. Hamas and Hezbollah say the two attacks are not connected.

During the meeting between Rice and Abbas, the two discussed getting additional aid to the Palestinian government.

They also talked about the fate of the captured Israeli soldier that sparked the military campaign in Gaza.

"We are exerting all our efforts to release the Israeli soldier," Abbas said.

"Israeli aggression in the West Bank and Gaza Strip must stop immediately so we can strengthen the truce and start a political process that aims to end the occupation," he said.

The Palestinians are among those calling for a ceasefire, and Rice said she briefed Abbas "on efforts we're making to bring about an urgent but enduring cease-fire in Lebanon."

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed, according to the UN.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 432 people, mostly civilians. Over 40 Israelis have also been killed.

With files from The Associated Press