Israeli troops on August 1 crossed into Lebanon near the village of Houla, just south of the Kafr Kila area where there was fighting and intensive shelling, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force said.

Artillery shells also rained down on the border area around Aita al-Shaab, where Hezbollah said it was fighting fiercely with Israeli ground troops and had destroyed a tank.

The Israeli army said 20 Hebollah fighters were killed in south Lebanon in the last 48 hours. Al Arabiya television said three Israeli soldiers died in the latest clashes.

A senior Israeli Cabinet member said on July 1 the army needed up to two more weeks to finish its offensive. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected international calls for a cease-fire until Israel has pushed the Shiite Muslim militia back from its borders.

As international diplomatic pressure to end the fighting gathers momentum, European Union foreign ministers are holding emergency talks on the crisis in Brussels.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has insisted it is vital that Iran, which backs Hezbollah, be included in the process to find a resolution. He held talks with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki at Iran's embassy in Beirut on July 31.

BBC/Reuters