JERUSALEM - Israel agreed Sunday to halt air attacks on south Lebanon for 48 hours in the face of widespread outrage over an airstrike that killed at least 56 Lebanese, mostly women and children, when it leveled a building where they had taken shelter.

The announcement of the pause in overflights — made by State Department spokesman Adam Ereli — appeared to reflect American pressure on Israel. Ereli, who was in Israel with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said Israel reserved the right to hit targets if it learns that attacks are being prepared against them.

An Israeli government official confirmed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to a 48-hour halt in airstrikes on Lebanon. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to talk to reporters,

The stunning bloodshed in Lebanon earlier on Sunday prompted Rice to cut short her Mideast mission and intensified world demands on Washington to back an immediate end to the fighting.

on the flipside, i was surprised to read about the 8 hours between the attack on that building and when it actually collapsed, which seems kinda.... odd. also surprised to hear about all the world-wide condemnation on China and Russia (especially) for their support, and all the diplomatic back channels being opened with a flood of calls for them to exert maximum pressure on Iran to put a stop to the voilence, since everybody knows how much pressure the United States actually can put on the mullahs of Iran to reign in their hizbollah dogs.