Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Friday that Israel would not end its military operation in Lebanon until the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hizbollah was disarmed, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

Olmert made the statements in a phone conversation with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, according to the report.

The prime minister also demanded Hizbollah release two captive Israeli soldiers and stop its rocket attacks on Israel in addition to demanding the implementation by the Lebanese government of the UN Security Council Resolution 1559, said the report.

The resolution calls for the disarmament of Hizbollah guerillas.

Annan, on his part, informed Olmert that he was sending a UN team to the region, said the report.

In response, Olmert said that he would cooperate with the team only if its objective would be to return the two Israeli soldiers abducted by Hizbollah and the full implementation of Resolution 1559.

Israel has stepped up intense bombardments on Lebanese targets and blockaded Lebanon's sea ports since Hizbollah guerillas snatched two Israeli soldiers and killed eight during cross-border clashes on Wednesday.

Key roads, power plants, bridges and Beirut's international airport have come under attacks during Israeli airstrikes.

At least 60 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed since Israel started the operation on Wednesday.

Hizbollah also rained rockets onto northern Israel, killing two people and wounding about 100 others.

Source: Xinhua