Despite intense negotiations and warnings that the ceasefire could unravel if peacekeepers fail to deploy quickly, few European countries have made firm commitments.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will attend an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on Friday in Brussels to discuss contributions to the expanded force.
"The purpose of the meeting is to focus on EU member states' contributions to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the conditions needed to make the operation a success," said a statement from Finland, current holder of the EU rotating presidency.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has weighed in with a warning that a deployment along his country's border as demanded by Israel would be considered a hostile action, Dubai Television reported.
However Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has conditioned the lifting of Israel's air and sea blockade of Lebanon on the deployment of international troops at the Beirut airport and along the Syrian border, public radio has reported.
EU Discussions
Ahead of the EU meeting, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja is visit Berlin and Paris.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has said his country is willing to lead the expanded UN force and offered 3,000 troops, but insisted a new UN Security Council resolution was needed to clearly define the peacekeepers' role.
Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema was quoted as saying that Italy will commit troops to Lebanon only if Israel respected the ceasefire, after its ground troops in Lebanon said they had killed two Hezbollah fighters on Monday.
"From Israel, we expect a renewed commitment ... to respect the ceasefire," Mr D'Alema told the La Repubblica newspaper. "It is right to demand that Hezbollah gives up its weapons but we cannot send our soldiers to Lebanon while the Israeli armed forces continue to fire."
Meanwhile France, Lebanon's former colonial power, has offered only 200 more troops so far to bolster the existing 2,000-strong UNIFIL.
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal have made firm commitments but Israel opposes the deployment of troops from nations that have not established diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
Israeli soldier killed
As negotiations continued one Israeli soldier was killed and three others injured when a landmine hit their tank in south Lebanon, Arab news channels Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera reported.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military.
Israel has vowed to keep some troops in Lebanon until the United Nations can provide an international force to safeguard the ceasefire with Hezbollah.