"The members of the UN Security Council now appear to have agreed" on the text on Lebanon, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said before leaving for the Middle East, and amid haggling at the world body over how to end the four-week-old conflict.
A resolution would constitute "a real chance for a necessary, urgent ceasefire in the Middle East", he said on German state television.
A ceasefire would only be possible "on condition that both parties, Israel as much as Lebanon, are agreed on the installation of an international stability mission in southern Lebanon," he added.
It was now a question "of working to get (the text) accepted in the region," he said.
But a short time later Russia's UN envoy was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying it could not support a draft resolution that is "useless" for the Lebanese government.
France and the United States are working on modifying the wording of their draft UN resolution to try to overcome objections from Lebanon. The text is not due to be adopted until Wednesday.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday he hopes to see a UN resolution by Wednesday to stop the fighting in Lebanon.
Qana could be 'law violation'
Israel's deadly attack on the Lebanese village of Qana could be part of "a pattern of violations of international law" in the Israel-Hezbollah war, the UN chief has said in a report.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has made a new appeal to Israel and Hezbollah "to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law," in a preliminary report on the July 30 attack which left at least 28 civilians dead including 16 children.
"The attack on Qana should be seen in the broader context of what could be, based on preliminary information available to the United Nations, including eyewitness accounts, a pattern of violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, committed during the course of the current hostilities," Mr Annan said.
Israel said in a statement to the United Nations that Qana was a base for Hezbollah "terrorists" and that it had given advance warning to residents of its intention to attack.
Lebanon, in its declaration, called the attack "a war crime" and said that other bodies may still be under the rubble.
According to the Lebanese government's account, in the early hours of July 30 a house collapsed under the impact of one direct hit by a missile fired by an Israeli jet and another that landed nearby.
The UN Security Council expressed "extreme shock and distress" at the attack, which was first reported to have killed more than 50 civilians, and ordered Mr Annan to produce a report within seven days.
Lebanon to send troops south
Earlier, the Lebanese government said it would send 15,000 Lebanese troops to the south as soon as Israeli troops start pulling out of the territory.
The measure, which has long been demanded by the international community, was announced by Information Minister Ghazi Aridi after an extraordinary cabinet meeting.
"The government stresses its willingness to send a 15,000-strong
Lebanese army force to deploy in south Lebanon as Israeli forces pull back behind the (border) Blue Line," the cabinet said in a statement read by Mr Aridi.
However, Mr Aridi did not explicitly say whether Hezbollah would pull out from border areas, adding that he would not reveal any future steps. But he said the army would be "alone" in the south.
The statement said the army was willing to seek the help of a boosted UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
But Israel later reacted coolly to Lebanon's offer, saying the move could serve as a "smokescreen" for Hezbollah.
"We need to see how serious this proposition is. This could be a smokescreen behind which Hezbollah can continue operating," government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP.
"This could be a tactical move ahead of the UN Security Council meeting" due to convene later Tuesday, he said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev was a little more upbeat, recalling Israel's longstanding support in principle for the deployment of Lebanese troops to the international border in the place of Hezbollah fighters.
Proposal 'interesting'
Later Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Lebanese proposal to deploy 15,000 troops was "an interesting step."
"We have to study all the aspects and see how realistic it is to carry them out in a reasonable time," he told a news conference.
"We are studying the proposals. We do not want to occupy Lebanon. We do not want to stay in Lebanon. We want to apply the goals of the operation – to prevent rocket fire and to push Hezbollah from the region," he said.
"The faster we leave Lebanon, the more satisfied we'll be. But that will not be possible before our goals are met."
Call for early ceasefire
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called again for an early ceasefire but said Lebanon was unhappy with a US-French draft resolution to end the fighting, demanding that it include a call for the immediate withdrawal of Israel's 10,000 troops from southern Lebanon.
Political sources said Saad al-Hariri, the head of the anti-Syrian majority in parliament, has held talks with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and contacted UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other French and European officials to push Lebanon's demands.
While Israel has not formally commented on the draft resolution, one senior government official and Israeli media have said the Jewish state viewed it favourably, partly because it allowed soldiers to remain in southern Lebanon until an international force arrived to take over.
Arab league
Arab League foreign ministers who met in Beirut sent a delegation to the United Nations to push through the amendments to the resolution that Lebanon wants.
It was not immediately clear how many reservists Lebanon had called up. Their role would be to extend the state's control to the south of the country, as demanded by the UN Security Council, not to fight Israel.
The south of the country has been under the virtual control of Hezbollah guerrillas. They say they will cease fire only once all Israeli soldiers leave Lebanese land.
Israel is trying to push Hezbollah back to behind the Litani River, about 20 kilometres from the border, in an effort to limit rocket attacks into northern Israel.
France has asked the United States to delay a discussion by the UN Security Council of a draft resolution on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in order to make certain changes, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said.
Among the changes are inclusion of a demand that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, he told France 3 television.
"We are saying to the Americans: 'Let's not submit this resolution until we have taken on several amendments by the Arab League, in any case, the Lebanese government'," the minister said.
"That is the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and as well as being more precise about the Shebaa farms region," he said, referring to an Israeli-controlled area near Lebanon's eastern border with Israel and Syria. "We think that we can go much further," he said.
US willing to listen
The US has downplayed Israeli and Lebanese concerns about the draft and President George W. Bush has insisted that the measure was needed "as quickly as possible."
"I understand both parties aren't going to agree with all aspects of the resolution," said Mr Bush. "We will work with our partners to get the resolution laid down as quickly as possible."
Mr Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meeting here at the president's Texas ranch, declined to endorse Beirut's demand that the measure require Israeli troops to withdraw immediately from southern Lebanon.
Ms Rice said earlier she was willing to listen to proposed amendments on the resolution, as the Arab league delegation headed to the UN to press Lebanon's objections to the draft.
"I think we have a reasonable basis here that both sides can accept," said Ms Rice. "We're going to take a little time and listen to the concern of the parties and see how they can be addressed."
Washington says it wants speedy approval of the resolution to set the stage in "days, not weeks" for a second resolution setting up an international force to help the Lebanese military end Hezbollah militia attacks on Israel.
Meanwhile Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel wanted to amend the draft to make the Lebanese government explicitly responsible for arms transfers to Hezbollah, and the removal of all mention of Shebaa Farms.