JERUSALEM, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he believes the country is nearing its goals in Lebanon as airstrikes resumed Thursday in the suburbs of Beirut.
Olmert told an Italian newspaper he thinks the United Nations will vote on a ceasefire in Lebanon next week, the Voice of America reported.
The prime minister's comments came as the Israeli Air Force struck targets in southern Beirut, Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley and roads near the Syrian border, VOA said. Thursday night, the Israeli Air Force targeted Hezbollah and Hamas offices in South Beirut and a building described as the home of a top Hezbollah militant, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Before the raids, Israeli planes dropped leaflets warning residents to leave the area.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel shares the same goals in Lebanon with the international community.
"The idea is to disarm Hezbollah and to assist the Lebanese government (to) exercise its sovereignty on the entire Lebanon," said Livni.
Israel has committed about 10,000 ground troops to an effort to create a "security zone" along the Israeli border with southern Lebanon.
