Fierce fighting and airstrikes are continuing in Lebanon as negotiations continue over a UN resolution aimed at bringing an end to the current Middle East conflict.

It was reported that Israel launched around 80 airstrikes in Lebanon overnight.

An Israeli soldier is also reported to have been killed during clashes with Hezbollah fighters near Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. It is understood that troops came under attack from anti-tank missiles. Five other soldiers are reported to have been injured.

More than 50 people were reported to have died in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Monday, including 15 people who are believed to have been killed when a suburb in southern Beirut was hit.

Earlier, the death toll from an Israeli airstrike was revised down from 40 to five. A building collapsed in the village of Houla and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora initially said that 40 people had died.

However, it was later reported that a United Nations spokesperson said that five people had died in the attack.

On Monday, Hezbollah reportedly fired more than 140 rockets into northern Israel.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution, drawn up by the US and France, on Wednesday.

The draft resolution calls for an end to Hezbollah's military operations, as well as Israel's offensive into Lebanon and paves the way for a second resolution which would allow the formation of an international force to be deployed in southern Lebanon.

However, the resolution would allow Israel to retaliate if the country was attacked by Hezbollah.

An Arab League delegation is travelling to New York and is expected to try and persuade the UN Security Council to call for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said that he hoped that a UN resolution would be agreed by Wednesday. Speaking during a round of interviews before he headed off on holiday with his family, Mr Blair said that the international community should "get it done and get it done without delay".

He said that three things were needed for the Lebanese government to regain control of its territory without leaving room for the Hezbollah militia to operate in. He said: "The first is that we need to take account obviously of any reasonable representations made about the existing UN resolution.

"The second thing however is to get it done and get it done without delay. We should not make the best the enemy of the good here. Let's get the resolution which will call for the cessation of hostilities.

"And then thirdly that will give us the space in which to deal with the long term solution, both for the Lebanon which is putting the Government of Lebanon back in charge of its country and also, 'cause I believe this very, very strongly, to return to the Israel Palestine question which I think is completely fundamental to the whole of the issues in the Middle East."

Mr Blair insisted that diplomats at the UN would "take account" of representations from the Arab League.

The Prime Minister also said that he would do "all I can possibly do" in terms of negotiations while he was away on his summer break. He said: "I've put off going away for a couple of days because it was necessary to get everybody in the international community together and get a text (of the resolution) and we've done it now."

(KMcA/SP)