The ISNA news agency quoted Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who heads the Guardian Council - a powerful political watchdog in Iran, as saying: "Muslim countries are expected not to deny Hezbollah and the Lebanese any kind of help, especially weapons, medicine and food".
"I request Muslim to give Hezbollah political and financial help as well as publicity, as this is a religious duty," he was quoted as saying.
The comments mark a break with Iran's usual position, which emphasises "moral support" only for the Shiite movement.
The Islamic republic regularly denies Israeli and Western allegations that it finances and arms the movement.
Warplanes strike roads
Despite a halt in air raids which allowed thousands of southern Lebanese to flee the war zone, Israeli warplanes this morning struck roads leading to Syria in northeastern Lebanon, police said.
An Israeli army spokesman said the raids on the Hermil area were aimed at "preventing the transferring of weaponry" to Hezbollah.
Later in a statement Hezbollah claimed that they had forced Israeli forces which had launched new ground attacks in the triangle of Aita al-Chaab/al-Qaozah/Ramie villages, to another part of the border, about 30 kilometres to the south-west.
A military spokesman in Jerusalem later denied the claim, saying the operation was continuing as planned.
Lebanese police later said intense clashes were raging for the third consecutive day in the region of Taibe, Adaisseh and Kfar Kila, 35 kilometres east of the Lebanese port of Tyre.
Hezbollah also said fierce battles with Israeli forces backed by helicopters, fighter-bombers and heavy artillery took place during the night northeast of Aita al-Chaab.
The Israeli army later said that its troops had killed 20 Hezbollah guerrillas during clashes in the villages of Taibe, Adaisseh and Rob Thalantheen, a few kilometres over the Lebanese border.
Ground operation
The Israeli cabinet has since given the green light for expanding the ground operation in Lebanon after a four-hour cabinet meeting.
The aim was to push Hezbollah back to the Litani River, some 20 kilometres north of the border, a political source said.
The Litani river previously acted as a demarcation line for Israel's so-called security zone during its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in May 2000.
Israel Radio reported plans to call up more reserve soldiers – up to 15,000 reservists - to support the expanded ground operations.
"The fighting is continuing," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a meeting of mayors in Tel Aviv. "There is no ceasefire and there will be no ceasefire in coming days."
"We will end it when the threat over our heads is removed, when our kidnapped soldiers return to their homes and when we can live in security," Mr Olmert said.
Later, Labor Party lawmaker Ephraim Sneh, a former deputy defence Minister, said the Israeli army would move up to the Litani river and hold on to that territory for several weeks, until a multinational force can deploy there.
"The goal is not to occupy Lebanon," Mr Sneh said.
Diplomatic efforts
As the fighting looked set to intensify, diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire gathered pace in New York where the five permanent UN Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – held their first official consultations to prepare a resolution on the war.
Encouraged by the brief halt in air bombardments, tens of thousands of villagers fled southern Lebanon, carrying piles of luggage, mattresses and blankets on car roofs or pickup trucks.
They streamed from mountain villages toward the coastal highway leading north to Beirut.
Syria backs Lebanon
Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, has told the army to raise its state of readiness, pledging that his country will not abandon Lebanon after Israel ruled out a ceasefire.
President al-Assad says international circumstances and regional challenges require the military to be cautious, alert, ready and prepared.
"The barbaric war of annihilation the Israeli aggression is waging on our people in Lebanon and Palestine is increasing in ferocity," Mr Assad said in a written address.
Mr al-Assad’s comments came in spite of a renewed call by the United States President, George W Bush, for Syria and Iran to end their support for Hezbollah.
Lebanon calls for ceasefire at UN
Lebanon demanded that Israel agree to an immediate ceasefire at a special UN Security Council meeting on the new Middle East crisis.
Lebanon's acting foreign minister Tarek Mitri also sought an international investigation into Israel's bombing of the town of Qana on Sunday which he said killed 62 people, including 35 children.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, said it was up to Lebanon to act to end attacks on Israel by the Hezbollah militia.
Mr Gillerman told the council that Lebanon had become "a hotbed of terrorism in a cesspool of hatred".
France and Germany push for ceasefire
French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have vowed to pursue efforts to find a political settlement to the crisis.
"They agreed to continue their efforts to find the terms of a political
settlement as soon as possible," Mr Chirac’s office said.
Chirac and Merkel spoke by telephone on Monday about the crisis in Lebanon and United Nations discussions on the issue.
On Sunday France proposed a draft UN resolution that calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.
It was due to be examined at the UN on Monday.
France wants there to be a ceasefire and a political agreement before any multinational peacekeeping force is deployed.
Peacekeeping force extended
The UN Security Council has postponed a meeting on an international peacekeeping force for the region.
It has instead extended the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) for a month.
Mr Bush said the United States would "probably not" contribute
troops to a multinational force for Lebanon.
"Probably not, but we would be glad to help, you know, with logistics and/or command and control," he said when pressed on the issue during an interview with the Fox News channel.
"Most nations understand that we won't have troops there on the ground," he said.
President Bush says he is working urgently on a plan to end the
violence in southern Lebanon.
“We're going to work with our allies to bring before the United Nations Security Council a resolution that will end the violence and lay the groundwork for lasting peace in the Middle East,” Mr Bush said.
Humanitarian operation struggles
Israel said it was giving a 24-hour window to allow aid workers to reach the worst hit areas and residents to flee.
But because of the continued Israel strikes in southern Lebanon, the United Nations said access had not improved.
"Let's be clear about this ... we don't have a cessation of hostilities and we don't have a cessation of aerial bombardments," UN spokesman Khaled Mansour in Lebanon said.
Mr Mansour said the UN was forced to stick to the same procedure it was using before the suspension, namely trying to get clearance for each aid convoy from the warring parties before leaving Beirut.
"If we want a system where we can send convoys anywhere over a period of 48 hours, then we need guidelines," Mr Mansour said. "We don't have the precise clarification of the terms of this policy and the exact guidelines."
"We're planning to send three convoys to the south tomorrow but we're still waiting for the green light which is not enough," he said. "There are massive needs in the region, and they are growing.”
At the United Nations, UN emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland said Israel had given no information on the scope and timing of any pause in the bombing.
Scores flee
The Australian government is scrambling to evacuate hundreds more of its citizens from Lebanon before a brief Israeli halt on air strikes ends.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the Australian embassy in Beirut is chartering taxis and buses to get up to 300 Australians out of the country during the 48-hour reprieve.
Civilians fled battered villages in southern Lebanon as some aid convoys headed into the area to deliver supplies.
Mr Downer’s told ABC radio it's not going to be easy getting all the Australians out before the deadline's up because of ongoing fighting.
Rescue workers found 49 bodies buried for days in collapsed buildings or inside destroyed vehicles, medical sources said.
Reuters reports that at least 598 people have been killed in Lebanon, while an AFP count has put the death toll at 530, with the United Nations reporting that around one-third of the casualties have been children.
The Lebanese health minister has puts the toll at 750 including bodies still buried under rubble.
AFP says a total of 51 Israelis have been killed, most of them soldiers.
Meanwhile, the southern Lebanese village of Qana was preparing to bury bodies of at least 54 civilians, including 37 children, two days after they were killed in an Israeli air strike.