During a surprise visit to Beirut, a city pounded repeatedly by Israeli air strikes since the 13-day-old war began, Rice extended sympathy to the government but offered little hope for an immediate end to the conflict. "Thank you for your courage and steadfastness," Rice told Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who has pleaded for an immediate cease-fire.
But Rice told Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hizbollah who is also close to Syria, a cease-fire must be part of a deal that included Hizbollah's withdrawal beyond the Litani River, 20 km (13 miles) north of Israel, and deployment of an international force in the border region, a Lebanese political source said.
She told Berri: "The situation on the border cannot return to what it was before July 12," referring to the day Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers during a raid into Israel, sparking a war in which 378 people in Lebanon and 41 Israelis have died.
Berri did not reject Rice's proposal but said there should be a sequence of events-cease-fire, exchange of prisoners, and then discussing all other matters", the source said.
The prime minister's office suggested Siniora was more open to Rice's proposal, saying he discussed the ideas she presented and "ways of developing them".
Israel, where Rice arrived later on Monday, has demanded the release of its soldiers and a Hizbollah pullback before it stops the bombardment.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would press for a truce as well as the deployment of an international force in south Lebanon at a Rome ministerial meeting this week. But shortly after Rice left Lebanon, the White House reiterated its opposition to an immediate cease-fire, saying it would be unenforceable.
UN APPEAL FOR $150 MILLION Siniora told Rice that the Israeli bombing had displaced 750,000 people in Lebanon, almost one-fifth of the population, and inflicted multi-billion dollar loses to the economy, a statement from his office said.
Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief co-ordinator, said this was "the hour of greatest need for the Lebanese people" as he launched a UN appeal for $150 million in aid. The United States pledged to contribute $30 million to the appeal. Rice told reporters in Beirut: "I am deeply concerned about the Lebanese people and what they are enduring."
ISRAELI HELICOPTER DOWN Hizbollah said it had shot down an Israeli helicopter and hit five tanks in fierce battles after Israeli forces pushed north from a border village.
Israel's army said two airmen died in the helicopter crash, which it said was probably caused by a technical fault, and two soldiers were killed in the fighting.
The tank thrust towards Bint Jbeil, about 4 km inside Lebanon, was one of several recent Israeli forays in search of Hizbollah fighters and rocket-launchers.
Israel plans a sweep of Bint Jbeil, which army spokeswoman Brigadier-General Miri Regev said had become a "centre for Hizbollah terrorists" firing Katyusha rockets across the border. Israeli air raids killed at least eight people and wounded 50 in south Lebanon. Bombs also hit a Shia area of Beirut.
Hizbollah rockets struck Haifa, Nahariya and the border town of Shlomi, wounding at least four people. Rockets have killed 17 Israeli civilians so far. Twenty-four soldiers have also died.
Israel, after initially dismissing the idea, now says it would accept an international force to dislodge Syrian-and Iranian-backed Hizbollah fighters from south Lebanon.
But just as Hizbollah has fought Israeli attempts to drive it from the south, it would surely resist military coercion by any international force, assuming one could be assembled.
Several European Union nations said they were ready to contribute to a UN peace force for Lebanon, but EU officials said questions remained over how it could fulfil its mission.
Rice is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before discussing the crisis with European and Arab officials in Rome on Wednesday.