Israeli PM says in no hurry to reach ceasefire

Israel is in no hurry to reach a ceasefire in its fighting with Lebanese Hezbollah, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday.

"Israel is in no hurry to reach a ceasefire before we get to the point where we could say that we reached main objectives we had set," Olmert said before the weekly cabinet meeting.

Olmert's remarks came shortly after Israel Air Force launched a deadly airstrike on a building in south Lebanon village of Qana on Sunday morning, during which 51 Lebanese civilians were killed.

Israel launched massive airstrikes on some 40 targets across Lebanon overnight despite the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met with Olmert on Saturday night in an effort to push for a diplomatic solution to the current crisis in Lebanon.

At Sunday's cabinet meeting, Olmert would brief the ministers about his talks with Rice, Israel's popular Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said.

Source: Xinhua