Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations Security Council risks igniting a civil war in Lebanon by failing to order the withdrawal of Israeli troops and an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, Qatar's foreign minister said.

``If we adopt a resolution without fully considering the reality of Lebanon we will face a civil war and, instead of helping Lebanon, we will destroy Lebanon,'' Hamad bin Jasim al- Thani told the Security Council. He said a draft resolution now under consideration was ``unenforceable'' and would ``further complicate the situation on the ground and have grave ramifications for Lebanon and all the countries in the region.''

Al-Thani criticized the council's failure to act since the conflict began July 12, when Hezbollah forces fired on Israeli troops patrolling south of the Lebanese border and staged a cross-border raid in which three Israelis were killed and two kidnapped. Since then, at least 103 Israelis and more than 800 Lebanese have died, according to officials in the two countries.

``It is most saddening that this council stands idly by, crippled, unable to stop the blood bath,'' al-Thani said. ``What is happening will sow the seeds of hatred and extremism in the area.''

Pressure for Amendments

Al-Thani, Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al- Nahyan came to New York today to press for amendments to a resolution drafted by the U.S. and France. His statement on behalf of the Arab delegation was designed to push them to revise the text to make it acceptable to Lebanon.

Israel faces a deadline to cease operations in the 28-day- old conflict because the Security Council may vote in the next two days on a resolution calling for an end to hostilities. The U.S.-French draft would allow Israel to hold positions it took before the cease-fire. Israel now occupies an area about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) deep into Lebanon.

French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said he and U.S. Ambassador John Bolton would continue working on the text, trying to incorporate the Lebanese and Arab League proposals.

De La Sabliere said he couldn't say when another version would be circulated to the Security Council. He said he wanted to move ``swiftly.''

Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman told the Security Council that while his government wants a cease-fire, the resolution under consideration might not produce an end to hostilities.

``It is time to bring this conflict to an end, but speeches and resolutions do not themselves bring conflict to an end,'' he said. ``The question is whether this council and the international community can adopt a course of action, a blueprint for change, that will end the threat Hezbollah and its sponsors pose.''

U.S.-French Proposal

The U.S. and France agreed four days ago on a text that calls for a ``full cessation of hostilities.'' The resolution would bar further Israeli ``offensive'' operations while allowing it to keep soldiers in Lebanon until a multinational force arrives. The Lebanese government, which said yesterday it will dispatch 15,000 troops to the south, said the draft failed to call for Israeli forces to leave.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss an army plan to advance to the Litani River, an area that extends as far as 30 kilometers into southern Lebanon, in an effort to bring an end to Hezbollah rocket attacks.

At least 165 Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel today, while Lebanon's state-run news agency said at least 31 civilians were killed in Israeli air strikes across Lebanon. Three Israeli soldiers and 15 Hezbollah gunmen were also killed in incidents in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said.

Travel Ban

Residents of southern Lebanon were instructed by leaflets dropped yesterday not to travel at all by vehicle south of the Litani River, the Israel Defense Forces said in a written statement. The IDF said it intends to intensify its attack against Hezbollah in the region.

Israel's destruction of a bridge across the Litani River yesterday left the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, with a population of more than 100,000, cut off from delivery of outside aid, the United Nations said today.

Hezbollah Militia

The Israeli government said operations will continue until the soldiers are returned and the Shiite Islamist group, classified by Israel and the U.S. as a terrorist organization, is disarmed in accordance with a 2004 UN resolution that called for the disbanding of Hezbollah's militia.

Israel's offensive is its first full-scale military attack on Lebanon since the army pulled troops out of an area of southern Lebanon it had controlled or occupied for 22 years until May 2000.

French President Jacques Chirac will meet with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste- Blazy and Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie tomorrow in Toulon to discuss the conflict, according to Chirac's office.

A second UN resolution would put an international force into southern Lebanon to act as a buffer until the Lebanese military can take control, U.S. government officials said.

Israel supports a ``strong, robust and effective international force that will ensure the dismantling of all terrorist groups,'' Gillerman said. ``We want a cease-fire, but a cease-fire that sows the seeds of future peace, not of future conflict.''

Hezbollah, founded in 1982, is sponsored by Syria and Iran. The organization has been linked to scores of terrorist attacks on Israelis and Americans, including rocket assaults on Israeli towns, separate bombings on Oct. 23, 1983, in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. servicemen and 58 French soldiers at their bases in the city, and the 1994 attack that killed 85 people at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

The group has 14 seats in Lebanon's 128-member parliament. While participating in politics, Hezbollah has defied the Security Council resolution that calls for the disarming and disbanding of militias in Lebanon.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net; Dania Saadi in Beirut at dsaadi2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 8, 2006 19:03 EDT