Lebanon yesterday suffered its worst day of violence since Israel began its bombardment last week with at least 61 people killed in airstrikes. All but one of the dead were civilians, write Ferry Biedermann, in Beirut, and Sharmila Devi, in Jerusalem.
The greatest number of deaths occurred in the south of the country, with at least 17 people, including several children, killed and 30 wounded in a strike that destroyed houses in the southern village of Srifa, according to residents.
There were also reports that some people had been buried alive in their homes following attacks in the south and east of the country.
At the UN in New York, French proposals for a Security Council resolution urging a ceasefire met with opposition from the US ambassador, John Bolton. Mr Bolton argued such a measure made little sense between a state and a "terrorist group" like Hizbullah and that the council should focus on disarming the Hizbullah militia and extending Lebanese government control over the entire country.
But in Beirut, Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora said more than 500,000 people had been displaced and appealed for international help. "I call on you to respond immediately and without reservation to our call for a ceasefire and to provide urgent international humanitarian aid," he said in a television address.
Hizbullah rocket attacks on Israel killed two children and wounded 14 in the predominantly Arab city of Nazareth, while other northern Israeli cities such as Haifa were again targeted by the Islamist group.
Elsewhere two Israeli troops were killed and nine wounded in ground fighting after they crossed the Lebanese border to raid guerrilla posts.
Ehud Olmert, Israeli prime minister, ruled out a ceasefire and reiterated that the Lebanese offensive would last "as long as necessary". Israel says it has no plans for a full invasion of southern Lebanon but aims to clear a 1km zone and prevent Hizbullah deployments there.
But the rapidly increasing civilian death toll is radicalising Lebanon's population, especially the Shia community that bears the brunt of the Israeli attacks, according to a Beirut pollster.
"The Shia will never forgive the Israelis for this," said Abdo Saad of the Beirut Centre for Research and Information that carries out surveys in Lebanon. Mr Abdo did an ad hoc poll of the mood among Shia displaced by the fighting and said that they were "defiant".
The Israeli strikes for the first time hit the heart of Beirut's Christian neighbourhoods, when several trucks carrying drilling equipment were targeted. Defence experts say the trucks can easily be mistaken for missile launchers on radar images.
- (Financial Times service)