US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who arrived in Israel yesterday, said on her way into a meeting with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni that peace "has to be based on enduring principles. Ultimately, a Middle East that is peaceful and democratic will be a place where peace is sustainable."
Earlier in the day, on a surprise visit to Beirut, Dr Rice put forward proposals to Lebanon to end Israel's war on Hizbullah, but insisted a ceasefire could only come as part of a wider deal.
Dr Rice extended sympathy to the government but offered little hope for an immediate end to the conflict.
"Thank you for your courage and steadfastness," she told Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora, who has pleaded for an immediate ceasefire.
However, Dr Rice told parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hizbullah who is also close to Syria, that a ceasefire must be part of a deal that included Hizbullah's withdrawal beyond the Litani river, 20km (13 miles) north of Israel, and deployment of an international force in the border region.
She told Mr Berri: "The situation on the border cannot return to what it was before July 12th," referring to the day Hizbullah seized two Israeli soldiers during a raid into Israel, sparking a war in which 378 people in Lebanon and 41 Israelis have died.
Mr Berri did not reject Dr Rice's proposal, but said there should be a sequence of events - "ceasefire, exchange of prisoners, and then discussing all other matters", a source said.
The prime minister's office suggested Mr Siniora was more open to Dr Rice's proposal, saying he discussed the ideas she presented and "ways of developing them".
UN secretary general Kofi Annan said he would press for a truce and the deployment of an international force in south Lebanon at a Rome ministerial meeting this week.
However shortly after Dr Rice left Lebanon, the White House reiterated its opposition to an immediate ceasefire, saying it would be unenforceable.
Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief co-ordinator, said this was "the hour of greatest need for the Lebanese people" as he launched a UN appeal for $150 million (€119 million) in aid. The US pledged to contribute $30 million (€24 million) to the appeal.
Israel, after initially dismissing the idea, now says it would accept an international force to dislodge Hizbullah from south Lebanon.
Dr Rice is set to meet Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas before discussing the crisis with European and Arab officials in Rome tomorrow.