A meeting of contributors to a possible international force to be sent to Lebanon will be held at the United Nations on Thursday, the UN announced.

The meeting had been scheduled for Monday but was postponed to give UN Security Council members more time to draw up details of a proposed settlement for the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has left hundreds dead.

France had said it considered Monday's meeting "premature," while US officials said the postponement was more a "scheduling" problem.

The UN peacekeeping operations department will host the meeting at the UN headquarters, said the UN press service.