Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres says Israel is nearing a decisive point in battling Hezbollah.
Peres met with a number of officials in Washington, vowing to clear southern Lebanon of Hezbollah militia and their weapons.
 "The minute it will stop it will stop, but the minute there will be an international force that will control the southern part of Lebanon and the hostages will be released and the rockets and the missiles will be controlled and the Hezbollah will stop being an army within an army, then we shall have peace. In my judgment it's not far away. You can count it in matters of weeks, not months."
Also upbeat about prospects in the Middle-East, Rice said on Tuesday an agreement on a cease-fire would likely take days, not weeks.
The Secretary of State added that the US wants to create conditions in which it's possible to insert the multi-national force.
"No one expects an international force to in any way fight its way into the territory. No, of course not. No, there has to be a cease-fire. But my point is that we have to have a cease-fire where everybody is clear on what it is that we're building in this region so that this doesn't happen again."
Israeli aircraft Tuesday night dropped a large number of paratroopers near eastern Lebanese town of Baalbek, a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Israeli paratroopers with air force and tank brigade backup have been operating in southern Lebanon since pre-dawn Tuesday. Israeli army forces were also deployed in a number of areas within Lebanon, deep in the central and western fronts.
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Director: Liu Chi