>>>Click into special report: Mideast Crisis

Israel's cabinet approved a UN resolution Sunday to end the Israel-Hezbollah fighting, government officials said.

Members of the Israeli cabinet gathered on Sunday morning to vote on the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1701, during which the resolution was approved by 24-0, with Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz absent.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed hope at the meeting that the kidnapped Israeli soldiers would be freed, while underlining that the truce was not linked to the soldiers' release, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

Describing the UNSC resolution as a good deal for Israel, Olmert said, "Hezbollah will no longer exist as a state within a state. Lebanon will be responsible for any problems or violations of the agreement."

The resolution, unanimously adopted by UN Security Council on Friday, calls for Israel's withdrawal and authorizes an increase of the existing UN force in Lebanon to 15,000 troops to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said at the meeting that Israel's current military operation in southern Lebanon would enable the demilitarization of the region and its transfer to the control of the UN and the Lebanese army.

"The main question is how Hezbollah would react, in any case, we are preparing for all the scenarios," said Peretz.

The defense minister noted that Israel was holding contacts with UNIFIL in order to establish a mechanism that would coordinate the deployment and IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The Israeli approval to the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1701 came one day after the Lebanese government approved it unanimously on Saturday night.

Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also vowed on Saturday to abide by any ceasefire brokered by the United Nations, but it would continue to fight until Israel's withdrawal.

Violence between Israel and Hezbollah has entered the 33rd day on Sunday since it was erupted on July 12 after the Shiite group snatched two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others during cross-border attacks.

Israel pounds Lebanon before planned truce  

Lebanese civil defense workers use a bulldozer to clear rubble during their search for survivors under the rubble of collapsed apartment buildings in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006, following an Israeli warplane bombardment.(Xinhua Photo)

 
A man gestures after an Israeli air raid in a southern suburb of Beirut August 13, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

Editor: Yan