Scant progress in Hezbollah talks over soldiers: U.N.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Little progress has been made in talks with Hezbollah over two abducted Israeli soldiers whose capture by the guerrilla group exactly a year ago triggered the Lebanon war, the U.N.'s Middle East envoy said on Thursday.

"I'm distressed as we mark that anniversary that we have not been able to make substantial progress," Michael Williams told Reuters in an interview.

"We continue to talk to Hezbollah about it. But I regret that not only have we been unable to expedite the release of the two soldiers, but we have not been able to obtain proof of life," he added.

Soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were captured in a cross-border Hezbollah raid on July 12, 2006, triggering a 34-day war in which 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed.

An internal Israeli probe concluded the two soldiers were seriously wounded during their capture and at least one of them could now be dead.

Hezbollah has ignored a United Nations call for the immediate release of the soldiers and said Israel must first free Lebanese prisoners and possibly others held in its jails.