Israel has agreed to suspend its aerial bombardment of southern Lebanon for 48 hours, starting immediately, to allow for an investigation into yesterday's bombing that killed at least 54 civilians, a US State Department official said.
Israel will also co-ordinate with the United Nations to allow a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to leave the area if they wish, said State Department spokesman Adam Ereli in Jerusalem.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice cut short a visit to the Middle East and flew back to Washington last night after international outrage at the Israeli attack on Qana threw into disarray her efforts to broker a peace deal. Earlier in the day Dr Rice cancelled a visit to Beirut when Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora said his government would not engage in any more diplomatic discussions until violence had stopped.
"There is no place on this sad morning for any discussion other than an immediate and unconditional ceasefire as well as an international investigation into the Israeli massacres in Lebanon now," he said.
Washington continued yesterday to resist calls for an immediate ceasefire but urged Israel to take more care to avoid civilian casualties in its offensive in Lebanon. "We extend our condolences to the families of the Qana victims and to all the people of Lebanon. This was a terrible and tragic incident. We continue to urge the Israeli government to exercise the utmost care so as to avoid any civilian casualties."
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said that Dr Rice was close to securing an agreement between Israel and Lebanon that could lead to an enduring ceasefire.
"We want to avoid a situation where we essentially put a Band-Aid on something.
"We have to have a view of a sustainable ceasefire. We have to make sure Hizbullah is not allowed to be in a position to strike again," Mr Burns told Fox News. State department officials said Dr Rice was returning to Washington to focus on talks at the United Nations Security Council on a resolution to end the conflict.
France has circulated a draft resolution that would call for an immediate halt to violence with negotiations on the release of prisoners, the disarmament of Hizbullah, control of the disputed area of the Shebaa Farms and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.
The French resolution calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to be followed by negotiations towards a permanent ceasefire. The conditions for that ceasefire would include the release of captured Israeli soldiers and "settlement of the issue" of Lebanese prisoners in Israel; the disarmament of all militia in Lebanon, including Hizbullah, and the deployment of the Lebanese army throughout the country; and the creation of a buffer zone between Lebanon's Israeli border and the Litani River, free of any armed personnel and weapons, except those of the Lebanese army and UN-mandated international forces.
UN secretary general Kofi Annan would work with regional and international powers to help secure agreement in principle from Lebanon and Israel for a political framework based on the ceasefire conditions.
After the fighting stops, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) would monitor implementation of the agreement and help humanitarian access and the return home of those displaced by the conflict.
Lebanon's international borders would be delineated, especially the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms area, now part of Syria but claimed by Lebanon and used by Hizbullah to justify armed resistance against Israel.
Once it confirms that Lebanon and Israel have agreed in principle on a political framework for a sustainable ceasefire, the UN Security Council would authorise deployment of an international force to support the Lebanese armed forces.