Mid East crisis: PM delays holiday
Tony Blair put his holiday plans on hold as negotiations on a United Nations resolution to end hostilities in the Middle East reached a crucial stage.
The Prime Minister had been expected to leave for a three-week break in Barbados, but Downing Street said he did not want to be out of telephone contact on a long-haul flight at a time when he needed to be in discussions with other world leaders.
He held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as well as with the premiers of France, Italy and Sweden - three countries expected to provide troops for an international stabilisation force to create a buffer zone in the south of Lebanon.
At his monthly press conference on Thursday, Mr Blair said he hoped a resolution could be agreed "within days", but Downing Street has now declined to put a timescale on the process.
It is understood that Britain is hoping for two resolutions to be agreed by the UN Security Council - one to bring about a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and the other to put in place a political framework for sustainable peace, including the establishment of the stabilisation force.
Fierce fighting continued with at least 28 farmworkers killed when Israeli missiles hit a warehouse in Lebanon, while Hezbollah fired more than 140 rockets into Israel.
Aid agencies said the destruction by Israeli warplanes of bridges on the main road between Beirut and Syria had cut off the only working route for bringing humanitarian supplies into the Lebanese capital. Although the bridges were in Christian northern Lebanon where Hezbollah has no presence or support, Israel regarded the route as a potential conduit for Syria to replenish the group's stocks of arms.
Dominic Nutt, of Christian Aid, said the international aid effort was now "in jeopardy". Speaking from Beirut, he said: "It means should the Israelis allow aid convoys, there are no means of getting food and water around the country.
"The worst scenario is that there is only one way out and that will be by boat - but the Israelis aren't necessarily letting boats in and out. Everything is up in the air."
Downing Street said Mr Blair's phone discussions with Mr Olmert, French President Jacques Chirac, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Swedish PM Goran Persson focused on progress on the resolutions as well as the composition of the proposed peace-keeping force. Mr Blair stressed the need for a quick decision to maintain momentum in the search for peace, said a spokeswoman.
