JERUSALEM - An overwhelming majority of Israelis continue to support the military operation in Lebanon and say the country should be even more forthright in its actions, a newspaper poll showed on Friday.

An man watches an Israeli mobile artillery unit as it fires into Lebanon, July 27, 2006.[Reuters]

The survey showed that 82 percent of all Israelis and 92 percent of the Jewish population felt the operation against Hizbollah fighters in Lebanon was justified.

The conflict between Israel and Hizbollah erupted after a cross-border raid into Israel by the Shi'ite militia on July 12 in which two soldiers were abducted and eight killed.

Israeli air strikes and shelling since then have killed at least 433 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians. Hizbollah rocket attacks and other operations have killed 51 Israelis, including 18 civilians.

Hizbollah has fired over 1,400 Katyusha rockets into northern Israel in the past two weeks, and says it also has long-range missiles which can strike the centre of the country.

A majority of Israelis feel the country should employ more force in the operation in Lebanon and 71 percent of respondents said they were pleased with the performance of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Only 10 percent of the Jewish population said Israel should stop fighting and start talking.

The poll was held among 513 respondents representative of a cross-section of the Israeli population which is about 80 percent Jewish and 20 percent non-Jewish, including Arab Muslim, Arab Christian and Druze.