Ceasefire hope grows despite unrelenting bombardment | Defence | The Australian

Sorry, I do not hold out much hope. This isn't a cross-border skirmish.

Ceasefire hope grows despite unrelenting bombardment Defence The Australian:

HINTS of a ceasefire in Lebanon began to emerge yesterday even as Israeli planes and artillery continued to pound targets around the clock and 40 more Hezbollah missiles struck across northern Israel.

Political sources in Jerusalem said the fighting might end by the end of the week but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office issued a statement rejecting the prediction, while a senior military officer said the fighting could go on for 'days or weeks'.

A UN delegation meeting with Lebanese President Fuad Siniora presented him with a ceasefire proposal, according to Lebanese sources, that calls for Hezbollah to pull back from the border with Israel and hand over the two Israeli soldiers it holds to the Lebanese Government.
Simultaneously, Hamas in Gaza would hand over the Israeli soldier it is holding to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The proposal does not mention a subsequent prisoner exchange with Israel. However, it does not rule it out.