Referring to Western officials, the Financial Times writes that Israel's expanding military operation in Lebanon is unlikely to end before the November 5 presidential elections in the United States.
"Two weeks ago, the Israelis were talking about a limited ground invasion, but these two weeks seem to be dragging on. The current situation does not inspire optimism that Israel will stop before the US presidential elections," said one of the officials.
The paper notes that the change in the rhetoric of Israel's political leadership and the scale of the population evacuation from the border regions raise increasing doubts in the West about an early end to the Israeli operation.
