"There is no need for a 72hour temporary ceasefire because Israel has opened a humanitarian corridor to and from Lebanon, " said government spokesman Avi Pazner.

While Israel has let aid shipments through its blockade, relief agencies say they have been unable to get Israel to guarantee safe passage to civilians in southern areas hardest hit by Israeli bombing.

UN emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland asked on Friday for the 72-hour truce to let relief workers evacuate wounded and deliver aid.

Rice was expected to meet Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in the evening and hold more talks in Israel today. She will also meet with Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora, who has been pleading for an immediate ceasefire.

Rice said she expected tough talks with Lebanon and Israel.

"These are really hard and emotional decisions in a difficult set of circumstances. So I expect the discussions to be difficult, but there will have to be give and take, " she said.

Pazner said Rice would bring "concrete ideas" on an international force. US president George Bush said Rice's mission was to "work with Israel and Lebanon to come up with an acceptable UN security council resolution that we can table next week."

Washington has pledged $30 million to help Lebanon but America's attitude to the war has angered many Lebanese.

"They send the Israelis smart bombs and they send us blankets. If it was up to me, I wouldn't let this ship dock here. I would dump this stuff in the sea, " said a Lebanese soldier watching US relief goods being unloaded in Beirut.

A US ship had brought blankets, tarpaulins and medical kits for some of the 800,000 people displaced by the war.

After talks with British prime minister Tony Blair on Friday, Bush said an international force should be sent quickly to help the Lebanese army deploy in the south.

UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has invited countries willing to join such a force to meet on Monday, even though its mandate has yet to be set by the security council.

Major powers have said an international force cannot deploy in the south while fighting continues and cannot operate without the consent of Lebanon, Israel and Hezbollah.

International concern has mounted at civilian casualties.

At least 462 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict erupted. Hezbollah has killed 51 Israelis, 18 of them civilians.

Viyay Nambiar, political adviser to Kofi Annan, said yesterday Israel's response in Lebanon had been disproportionate. "It has resulted in a large number of civilian casualties and. . . damage to civilian infrastructure of a truly vast kind, " he said.

The war has overshadowed the month-old conflict in the Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft bombed a suspected Hamas weapons factory and border tunnel yesterday. At least 150 Palestinians, around half of them gunmen, have been killed in the offensive.