Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said the warfare in southern Lebanon was coming to an end and Israeli troops would be home by July.

His comments came despite Israel walking out of international negotiations on Friday to end tensions in southern Lebanon.

Mr Barak told Israeli TV: "The warfare is entering its last stages. Within four-and-a-half months, I am determined to put an end to this tragedy in Lebanon."

And he reaffirmed a pledge to withdraw Israeli troops from southern Lebanon by July.

However, he also warned Israelis that the next few months would be very difficult, there might be more casualties and they must show resolve.

And following the death of another Israeli soldier which led to the break-up of talks, Mr Barak vowed to respond with "very painful strikes against Lebanese territory" and to carry them out "when and where" he chose.

The soldier, who died when Hezbollah guerrillas fired missiles at an Israeli army post, was the seventh to be killed in the security zone in the past two weeks.

Lebanese officials said Israeli planes immediately launched air strikes in the area.

The United States has meanwhile criticised Syria for not using its influence to curb Hezbollah.

'A waste of time'

Israel's deputy defence minister, Ephraim Sneh, said Israel felt there was no point in discussing violations of the rules of engagement in south Lebanon at a time when Hezbollah guerrillas were busy breaking those rules.

"Maybe it's a waste of time to discuss this while the hostilities by Hezbollah continue," Mr Sneh said.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of launching its attack form a civilian area - in contravention of the 1996 Grapes of Wrath understanding. Under this informal accord, Hezbollah and Israel agreed to avoid attacks on civilians.

The committee - comprising Israel, Lebanon, Syria, the United States and France - was due to look at accusations by Lebanon and Israel that the understanding which was designed to avoid civilian casualties had been broken.

Twenty Lebanese civilians have been injured in the Israeli air strikes, which started on Monday night in response to a sudden upsurge in attacks by Hezbollah on Israeli military targets in the security zone.

Clinton appeal

President Bill Clinton appealed for renewed peace efforts and said both Israel and Syria were showing restraint.

"So far I think both sides have tried to keep it in control. It seems to me a sober reminder why we ought resume the peace process with great determination," Mr Clinton said.

The US State Department was a little less diplomatic - calling on Syria to so more to rein in Hezbollah.

"Clearly, Syria has influence with Hezbollah, and at this point, it is our view that the evidence is clear they need to exercise their influence more effectively," said State Department spokesman James Rubin.

He called Hezbollah's attack on Israel "particularly egregious" and blamed the guerrilla group for the collapse of the international talks in southern Lebanon.

"Unfortunately the meeting was deliberately disrupted by the causalities Israel suffered while the meeting was under way. We can only interpret this as a deliberate attempt by Hezbollah to wreck the prospects for peace in the region," Mr Rubin said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss again expressed anger at the position taken by the US.

"The United States is a superpower and it is its responsibility to take the side of the victim and not that of the tormentor," Mr Hoss said.

Letter to the UN

Israel has warned Syria that its failure to curb Hezbollah could lead to the collapse of Middle East peace talks.

This came in a letter to the United Nations Secretary General from the Israeli Foreign Minister, David Levy.

"Israel fully expects the Syrian Arab Republic to exert restraint upon the Hezbollah and its aggression. Should the peace talks with Syria be hindered or halted as a result of this aggression, the blame will fall squarely on Syria," Mr Levy wrote.