UNITED NATIONS – Countries that could contribute to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon were gathering Thursday to find out how the troops will operate, and U.N. officials hoped many would commit soldiers.

France, meanwhile, wants to send a small, purely symbolic contingent to the force, and the

United Nations is trying to convince French officials that such a decision would be devastating, a news report said Thursday.

Though France has been widely expected to lead the force, the newspaper Le Monde reported that it planned to contribute merely 10 officers and 200 military engineers.

U.N. Secretary-General

Kofi Annan was expected to call

President Jacques Chirac on Thursday to persuade France to make a larger commitment, Le Monde said, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.

A French Defense Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report.

The U.N. resolution that led to Monday’s cease-fire between

Israel and Hezbollah authorized up to 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority throughout south Lebanon, which Hezbollah controls.

The aim is to create a buffer zone free of Hezbollah fighters between Lebanon’s Litani River and the U.N.-drawn border, about 20 miles to the south.

French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said in an interview with France-2 television Wednesday that the mandate of the strengthened force is still “fuzzy” and warned that the United Nations needs to spell out its exact mission and rules of engagement.

That’s what U.N. peacekeeping officials will do at a meeting Thursday afternoon chaired by Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said he expects early agreement at the meeting on the concept of operations and the rules of engagement, which have been drafted with help from French and U.S. military planners.

“The countries will then be reassured and make the offers,” he predicted.

Jones Parry called Thursday’s meeting among dozens of potential donor countries “crucial” and said the pace of putting together the expanded force needs to accelerate. He said he hopes troops will be on the ground within two weeks.

“I’m quite encouraged by the number of governments who are indicating quietly that they’re in the market to provide troops,” he said. “I expect that after (the) meeting there will be an acceleration and those who are in a position to deploy quickly and show leadership will do so.”

U.N. officials and diplomats said questions about the mandate for the force and whether it would be required to disarm Hezbollah fighters were holding up troop commitments. Some countries also want to see how many new troops France decides to send before making any announcement.

“We will be very happy if France agrees to provide a significant contribution that will provide the backbone of the force,” Annabi said.

Forty-five countries attended technical meetings for possible troop contributors on Saturday and Monday, and Thursday’s formal meeting could attract even more.

The United Nations has not yet received any formal offers of new troops for the 2,000-strong U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, though France, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei have indicated they will make significant contributions.

Germany said Wednesday it would be willing to help the force provide security at the border with

Syria, but made no firm commitment to send troops to act as peacekeepers.

“In the foreground are humanitarian assistance, contributions to reconstruction and to securing the Syrian-Lebanese border, particularly at the coast,” the government said in a statement.

Some politicians, mindful of Germany’s Nazi past, have warned against deploying German forces as part of the U.N. force in areas where they might have to confront Israeli soldiers, such as Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said Tuesday the U.N. hopes 3,500 well-equipped international troops can reinforce the U.N. contingent within 10 to 14 days to help consolidate the fragile cease-fire and create the conditions for Israeli forces to head home.

Israel started withdrawing some troops soon after the cessation of hostilities came into force and more than 50 percent of the areas it held had been transferred by Wednesday night, the Israeli military said.

“If there is a place that Israel can withdraw from and the Lebanese army can come, plus international forces, we’ll do it,” Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters after meeting Annan for more than an hour. “But if it takes time until the international forces are organized, it takes time until Israel withdraws. This is the equation.”

Livni said Israel’s top priority is to end Hezbollah’s control of south Lebanon.

Israel wants the expanded U.N. force to help monitor the Lebanese border to prevent

Iran and Syria from replenishing Hezbollah’s weapons because it doesn’t believe the Lebanese army can do that alone, she said.