As many as 900 Lebanese have been killed by Israel's three-week onslaught, and one million - a quarter of the population - have been forced to flee their homes, said prime minister Fouad Siniora yesterday. A third of the dead are children under 12.
Three thousand people had been injured, he added, in a video message to a conference of Islamic countries in Malaysia, which called for an immediate ceasefire.
As the full extent of Lebanon's catastrophe began to emerge yesterday, the US-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW)accused Israel of war crimes.
"In some instances, Israeli forces appear to have deliberately targeted civilians . . . the failures cannot be dismissed as mere accident and cannot be blamed on wrongful Hizbullah practices. In some cases, these attacks constitute war crimes," it stated when releasing a study of attacks in Lebanon.
"Israeli forces have fired with war planes and artillery on dozens of civilian vehicles, many flying white flags," it said.
Israel has sought to justify the deaths by saying Hizbullah fighters hide among civilians to fire rockets.
HRW says it believes Hizbullah does violate the laws of war by hiding among civilians during military operations, but "the image promoted of such shielding as the cause of so high a civilian death toll is wrong".
The report charges Hizbullah with war crimes for firing unguided rockets at civilian areas in Israel, but the focus of its inquiry was two dozen cases of Israeli air and artillery attacks on civilian homes and vehicles.
Israel says it gives civilians repeated warnings to leave the war zone before military operations. The Red Cross said this was no justification.
"Giving people advance warning is a responsibility, if allowing them to escape is meant as a temporary measure; it's not a justification for turning it into a permanent situation - moving a population out is not acceptable," said Roland Hugenin, the International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman in Tyre yesterday.
The number of displaced people was so large they were beginning to face serious health threats, the health minister, Mohammed Khalifa, said.
"Many diseases are spreading among the displaced communities." Another hazard was the bodies trapped under rubble. "Those bodies need to be recovered and buried properly."
His concerns were echoed by Chris Black of the World Health Organisation. "We are seriously concerned by the continuing violence and the psycho-social impact on the people," he said.
"One of our biggest concerns is access to those with chronic diseases: diabetes, heart conditions, cancer, kidney problems. Many fled without their medicine, or are simply unable to get access [ to it]." There was potential for infectious diseases, he added. "Two out of three of Tyre's water pipes are now broken."
The World Food Programme had serious problems. "Bombed-out roads mean we have to take incredible detours, [ we are having] difficulties getting clearance from all sides," said chief spokesman Robin Lodge. "We are sometimes taking up to 10 hours to make a journey that usually takes 90 minutes."
He was extremely concerned about fuel for power stations. "If they shut down it would be catastrophic for hospitals."
Power was also essential for pumping stations. "If the water stops running, people will be forced to drink out of ponds. The danger from water-borne diseases is unimaginable."
Mr Khalifa said five hospitals were out of action through shortage of supplies or because their locations were too dangerous. Casualties had overwhelmed many of the others, although many victims had died before getting there due to the destruction of roads and bridges. Fuel for generators was running out.- (Guardian service)