Ceasefire attempts during the 2006 Lebanon War The ceasefire attempts during the 2006 Israel - Lebanon conflict started immediately , with Lebanon calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire already the day after the start of the hostilities . Israel , however , strongly backed by the United States and the United Kingdom , insisted that there could be no ceasefire until Hezbollah ' s militia had been disarmed or removed from southern Lebanon . The United Nations Security Council held meetings throughout the conflict but failed to agree on a cease - fire resolution . Day - by - day account of the ceasefire attempts . 13 July . The Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora stated that his government had not been aware of Hezbollah ' s raid before it happened " and does not take responsibility for , nor endorses what happened on the international border " , and Lebanon urged the United Nations to take an immediate decision to stop the firing and lift the Israeli sea and air blockade . On the same day , the United States vetoed a draft resolution before the Security Council calling for a ceasefire and release of all hostages in relating the Gaza conflict , citing the " fluid and volatile nature of events on the ground " which rendered it outmoded . 14 July . BBC News reported that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would agree to a ceasefire only if Hezbollah returned the two captured soldiers , stopped firing rockets at Israel , and if Lebanon implemented UN Security Council Resolution 1559 , which calls for the group ’ s disarmament . The Security Council met to consider the situation . Russia , China , France all condemned Hezbollah ' s activities but considered Israel ' s military response to be disproportionate . 15 July . U . S . President Bush stated that , " We of course are continuing discussions with Israel , all sovereign nations have a right to defend themselves from terrorist attacks . Our message ( to Israel ) is defend yourself , but be mindful of the consequences , so we are urging restraint . " < br > On the same day , United Nations Security Council rejected pleas from Lebanon that it call for an immediate ceasefire , the U . S . reportedly being the only member of the 15 - nation Council to oppose any action . 17 July . Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the fighting in Lebanon would end when Hezbollah guerrillas freed two captured soldiers , rocket attacks on Israel stopped and the Lebanese army deployed along the border . On the same day , UN Secretary - General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for an international force to be sent to Lebanon to stop Hezbollah from attacking Israel . But Israel said it was too soon to talk about deploying an international force . 19 July . The United States rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire . Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that a ceasefire could only occur when " conditions are conducive to do so " . 20 July . Secretary - General Kofi Annan briefed the Security Council on the continuing escalation of the conflict . 25 July . The Center for Democracy in Lebanon , a Lebanese group which was involved in the Cedar Revolution movement , called for an immediate ceasefire and proposed a " Roadmap to Normalization " . The same day , a senior member of Hezbollah ' s executive committee stated : " Thus far , Hezbollah has had surprising military successes . . . But Hezbollah is still ready to accept a ceasefire and negotiate indirectly an exchange of prisoners to bring the current crisis to an end " . 26 July . Foreign ministers from the United States , Europe and the Middle East meeting in Rome vowed " to work immediately to reach with the utmost urgency a ceasefire that puts an end to the current violence and hostilities , " though the U . S . maintained strong support for the Israeli campaign and the conference ' s results were reported to have fallen short of Arab and European leaders ' expectations . At the Rome meeting , Lebanon ' s Prime Minister Fuad Siniora presented the 7 - point Siniora Plan , which called for a mutual release of Lebanese and Israeli prisoners and detainees , a withdrawal of the Israeli ground troops behind the Blue Line , that the disputed Shebaa Farms area is placed under UN jurisdiction until the ownership issue has been settled , that the Lebanese army full takes control over southern Lebanon , and that a strong multi - national force with a UN mandate is placed in southern Lebanon and given the necessary powers to guarantee stability and security . The plan received the support of Hezbollah , the EU and the Arab League , including countries such as Syria and Jordan . 27 July . The Security Council met to express its shock and distress and the bombing of a United Nations Observer post ( part of UNIFIL ) and the deaths of four of its peacekeepers . 28 July . The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland asked for a 72 hour ceasefire to let relief workers to evacuate the elderly , young , and injured and to deliver aid to Lebanon . But Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner rejected it , saying that " There is no need for a 72 - hour temporary ceasefire because Israel has opened a humanitarian corridor to and from Lebanon . " 30 July . In the aftermath of the bombing raid on Qana , the Israeli government announced a 48 hour limited suspension of air operations over southern Lebanon . The reason given was to allow the UN to coordinate " humanitarian efforts on the ground in southern Lebanon , to allow the IDF time to investigate events at Qana , and , according to an Israeli Army spokesman , to " allow a 24 - hour period of safe passage for all residents of south Lebanon who wish to leave " . The IDF reserved the right to attack targets that threatened its forces during the pause . The Security Council was briefed by the Secretary - General about the raid on Qana and took statements from the representative of Lebanon , and then issued a statement expressing its " extreme shock and distress " at the incident . 31 July . The Security Council passed United Nations Resolution 1697 ( 2006 ) calling for the resupply of UNIFIL and to extend its mandate till 31 August , and then held a meeting where the representative of Lebanon and Israel exchanged their points of view . 4 August . France and the United States presented a draft UN Security Council resolution . It was , however , regarded as much too favourable to Israel by Lebanon and most Arab nations , as it didn ' t call for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory , and only called on Israel to stop its offensive activities , while calling for Hezbollah to stop all activities . 7 August . At an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Beirut , the Siniora Plan was further detailed , by specifying that 15 , 000 Lebanese Army troops would fill the void in southern Lebanon between an Israeli withdrawal and the arrival of the international force . The number of soldiers corresponded with what Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier had said that the size of the international force would need to be . 8 August . A delegation from the Arab League came to New York to try to persuade the architects of the UN draft , France and USA , to base it on the Siniora Plan . This , combined with a strong opposition to the existing draft from several of the 15 Council members , especially Quatar , resulted in a change of France ' s position . In order to avoid a total collapse of the UN efforts to end the hostilities , this eventually led to a substantial revision of the draft proposal ( with several re - drafts in between ) , which included many elements from the Siniora Plan . The Security Council met and discussed the merits of a draft resolution which was before them ( although not publicly available ) . 11 August . The Security Council unanimously adopted a revised draft of the resolution as United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 in a meeting attended by the Secretaries of State or Foreign Ministers of United States , United Kingdom , France , Qatar , Greece , and Denmark . The main differences , compared with the original draft proposal , was that the 15 , 000 men assigned from the Lebanese Army would have a central role , with a much strengthened UNIFIL force ( from current 2 , 000 to possibly 15 , 000 men ) assisting them in fully implementing the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords and resolutions 1559 and 1680 ( taken on 17 May 2006 , urging Lebanon to speed up the disarming of Hezbollah , and urging Syria to help in this , as well as urging Syria to help Lebanon settle their common border , i . e . Shebaa Farms ) , including disarmament of Hezbollah . The resolution , however , made it clear that the Lebanese would decide when and if they require UNIFILs help in these matters . The resolution also stated that Israeli forces should withdraw in parallel with the combined Lebanese and UNIFIL forces moving into the conflict area . 12 August . The Lebanese government unanimously accepted the UN resolution , and it was also accepted by Hezbollah ' s leader , Hassan Nasrallah . Later the same day , UN Secretary - General Kofi Annan announced that a ceasefire was to start at 8 : 00 am local time on 14 August , a time accepted by both Lebanon ' s PM Fouad Siniora and Israel ' s PM Ehud Olmert . 13 August . The Israeli government also endorsed the resolution , with 24 ministers voting in favour and one , former Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz , abstaining . 18 August . In the first large - scale violation of the U . N . - brokered cease - fire between the sides , Israeli raided a Hezbollah stronghold deep inside Lebanon , that led to the killing of one their soldiers . UN Secretary - General Kofi Annan said Israel had violated the terms of the UN resolution that ended the fighting , and called on all parties to respect the embargo on unauthorised arms shipments to Lebanon .