Annan was asked by reporters after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit in the city of Alexandria if he expected Israel to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.

"Yes, within 48 hours," he answered. "Because we are all working very hard and with a bit of goodwill and reasonableness, we should be able to resolve it within the next 48 hours."

Israel imposed its air and sea blockade on Lebanon at the outset of its 34-day conflict with Hezbollah on July 12, aimed at preventing the Shia militia from receiving arms.

However, aid flights have landed regularly at Beirut international airport after receiving Israeli authorisation.

The only two companies currently authorised to operate regular commercial flights to Beirut, via Amman, are Lebanon's Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian.

But a Qatar Airways passenger plane flew in on Monday despite the blockade, landing in Beirut to the cheers of a crowd that handed out roses to passengers as they passed through immigration.

Israel has said the blockade would be lifted once a UN-brokered truce that went into effect on August 14 has been implemented fully under Security Council Resolution 1701.

Meanwhile, UN chief Kofi Annan said Monday that Israel and Lebanon's Shia group Hezbollah have accepted United Nations mediation on the issue of prisoners.

"I wouldn't want to refer to it as an agreement but I would want to say that both parties have accepted the good offices of the secretary general to help resolve this problem," he told a press conference in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

"I will work with the parties and I will designate someone to work discreetly and quietly with them to find a solution," he said.

"I will not even tell you the name of the person, either today or tomorrow, because I want him to be able to work discreetly."

Annan stressed that "the only (thing) I insisted on is that if I am going to use my good offices, then my mediator should be the only mediator. If (others) get involved, we will pull out because you would get wires crossed."

Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12 sparked a massive Israeli onslaught against Lebanon until a ceasefire under UN Resolution 1701 took effect on August 14.

The Shia movement demands Israel's release of Lebanese prisoners in exchange for the soldiers.

In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin reacted swiftly to Annan's announcement.

"Israel does not agree on anything together with Hezbollah. Israel sees the Lebanese government and the UN, within the framework of Resolution 1701, as the only ones responsible for the unconditional release of the kidnapped soldiers," she said.