ARABS-ISRAEL - July 20 - Israelis Warned Of Extended Fighting.

As Hizbullah rockets continue to fall across northern Israel, the Israeli chief of staff Dan Halutz, warns his troops the fighting in Lebanon might continue for "an extended period of time". A number of government ministers meanwhile made the two-hour drive to Haifa and points north, targets of more than a week of rocket attacks, to help sustain morale among more than 1m Israelis in the firing line. Although a government spokesperson referred to "wall-to-wall backing" for the military offensive against Lebanon, there was concern about the domestic impact of a prolonged conflict or a large commitment of ground forces. "Going inside, with large forces, mainly tanks, is liable to break this fragile consensus", Effi Eitam, a parliamentarian and former wartime commander, told Israel Radio. Diplomatic pressure to halt the violence was also seen as a constraint on Israel's military campaign. Acknowledging extensive international activity surrounding the crisis, Amir Peretz, defence minister, said on a visit to the north: If the conclusion is a diplomatic one, we will demand all the guarantees to ensure we won't return to the situation we were in on the eve of this operation". Gen Halutz gave no timetable in his letter to the Israeli armed forces but other military officials said it would require up to two more weeks to crush Hizbullah or at least drive it out of south Lebanon. Coupling events in Lebanon with the army's continuing offensive in the Palestinian territories, Gen Halutz said: The terrorist groups misread the map and misinterpreted the resolve of Israeli society and the IDF [Israeli Defence Forces]". However, nine days into the conflict, the campaign is going slower than expected by some Israelis and there has been little let-up in the bombardment on communities in the north. They suffered the worst barrages in spite of Israeli claims to have destroyed half of Hizbullah's military capability. Hizbullah fired more than 20 missiles into northern Israel. Israel kept up its Palestinian offensive, with one person killed during clashes and another in an air strike in the Gaza Strip.