Israel vows to learn lessons from failures of Lebanon war

The 34-day assault -- waged by the most powerful army in the Middle East -- failed to achieve either of its stated aims of stopping rocket attacks by the Shia guerrillas or freeing two soldiers captured by Hezbollah on July 12.

The offensive cost Israel 5.7 billion dollars and the deaths of 120 soldiers and 41 civilians, as the north wilted under more than 4,000 rocket attacks fired by Hezbollah until the last day.

Government spokesman Avi Pazner said that "independently of a commission of inquiry," the lessons from any faulty tactics and strategies in Lebanon "should be learnt very quickly.

"The ceasefire is fragile and makes for fears about a resumption of fighting, as long as the Lebanese army and international force are not deployed in southern Lebanon in keeping with UN Resolution 1701," he told AFP.

Sporadic violence has rattled a tenuous truce since it came into force on August 14 with two Hezbollah guerrillas killed by Israeli troops on Monday.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was Tuesday to begin a two-day visit to Paris and Rome to shore up support for a UN resolution setting the groundwork for an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of 15,000 international peacekeepers.

Amid mounting admissions of mismanagement and threats from Iran, a cabinet minister and former Mossad spy warned Israel should prepare for a ballistic missile attack by its arch enemy and one of Hezbollah's chief supporters.

"Iran has threatened to attack us with its ballistic missiles and we should prepare behind our lines and civilians for such an attack," Pensioner Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, who is a member of Israel's security cabinet, said.