WASHINGTON, July 19  The outlines of an American-Israeli consensus have begun to emerge, in which Israel would continue to bombard Lebanon for another week or so to degrade the capabilities of the Hezbollah militia, according to officials of the two countries.  Then, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would go to the region and seek to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, and perhaps an international force to monitor Lebanons borders and prevent Hezbollah from obtaining more rockets for bombarding Israel.  American officials signaled that Ms. Rice was waiting at least a few more days before wading into the conflict, in part to give Israel more time to weaken Hezbollah.  The strategy carries risk, partly because it remains unclear just how long the rest of the world, particularly Americas Arab allies, will remain silent as the toll on Lebanese civilians rises.  The administration announced today that Ms. Rice would meet with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan over dinner in New York Thursday night.  In the meantime, American officials said that Washington was discussing with its Arab allies and Israel the question of how to strengthen Lebanons borders, a central Israeli demand. Israel has been lukewarm to the idea of an international force in Lebanon, but is willing to consider such a deployment if it includes troops from major powers and if it is used to prevent Hezbollah from supplementing its arsenal.  On Tuesday, Israel said it blew up six more long-range rockets that it said were being trucked into Lebanon from Syria.  American and Israeli officials are also contemplating a buffer zone 12 miles wide in southern Lebanon to keep Hezbollah away from the Israeli border. While disarming Hezbollah entirely remains Israels goal, it is no longer demanding that it be done as a condition for a cease-fire, officials said.  Israeli airplanes have been trying to destroy Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, in particular the roughly two dozen long-range rockets in the militant groups arsenal that are believed to be capable of hitting Tel Aviv.  Israel had made clear that it does not want Ms. Rice to begin a peacemaking effort yet, and the Bush administration has, for the time being, gone along with an Israeli request for more latitude. President Bush and American officials have resisted joining other world leaders in calling for an immediate cease-fire, reflecting the Israeli view that reaching a truce before a significant number of Hezbollahs missiles have been destroyed would leave Israel vulnerable to more attacks.  Sean McCormick, the State Department spokesman, said in a televised interview today that Ms. Rice would begin her trip in the near future.  But he ruled out any visit to Damascus, saying that Syria was isolated along with Hezbollah and Iran. Instead, Ms. Rice will work with countries he described as being interested in a permanent solution, like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  President Bush has said repeatedly that Israel must be allowed to defend itself. Everybody abhors the loss of innocent life, he said on Tuesday, speaking at the White House before a meeting with Congressional members. On the other hand, what we recognize is that the root cause of the problem is Hezbollah.  A senior administration official said of the stance: Some people are uncomfortable with the American position, and were very careful how we talk about it. We are not going to be wagering with the lives of innocent people here. He added that Bush administration officials are telling the Israelis privately that there is a limit to how much more time the United States will be able to give Israel. He spoke on condition of anonymity, under normal diplomatic rules.  Beyond the desire to give Israel time to weaken Hezbollah militarily, administration officials said Ms. Rice should not go to the region until she can actually produce results. Israel, which is trying to destroy the military capacity of Hezbollah and secure the release of two captured soldiers, said it is aiming only at Hezbollah itself and not the Lebanese Army, although attacks on Monday and Tuesday killed 19 Lebanese soldiers.  The Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Siniora, criticized the world for not stopping the Israeli offensive. The international community is not doing all that it can in order to stop Israel continuing its aggression against Lebanon, Mr. Siniora said in an interview in his Beirut office. They are stopping short of exercising the necessary pressure on Israel, while Israel is taking this as a green light.  In other comments, he accused Israel of committing massacres against Lebanese civilians and working to destroy everything that allows Lebanon to stay alive.  As the bombs and rockets fell, diplomats and officials continued to debate the effectiveness of any new international force that could patrol the border and help Lebanon implement United Nations Security Council resolutions that call for Hezbollah to be disarmed and for the Lebanese government to extend its authority over the whole country.  Helene Cooper reported from Washington for this article, and Steven Erlanger from Jerusalem. Greg Myre contributed reporting from Haifa, Israel, Jad Mouawad from Beirut, Lebanon, and John ONeil and Christine Hauser from New York.
The plan is for Israel to hit Lebanon for about another week, followed by a visit by Condoleezza Rice to establish a buffer zone, officials said.
 
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