MIDDLE EAST: Israeli leaders expressed "deep sorrow" yesterday over the killing of at least 54 civilians, at least 37 of them children, in an air strike on a building in the village of Qana in south Lebanon, but Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said Israel planned to push ahead with its military offensive against Hizbullah.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who was in Jerusalem for talks on a ceasefire, cancelled a planned trip to Beirut, saying she was "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life". But she did not call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, saying that what was necessary was a "sustainable" ceasefire. "We have to try and do our work well so that there will not be more and more and more incidents over many, many more years," she said, indicating that the US would not back an immediate, unconditional ceasefire.
Israeli defence minister Amir Peretz told visiting Italian foreign minister Massimo D'Alema that Israel planned to continue its military operation for two more weeks in an effort to weaken Hizbullah and undermine its rocket-firing capability.
Mr Olmert was reported to have told his cabinet yesterday morning that Israel "will not stop this battle, despite the difficult incidents this morning. We will continue the activity and if necessary it will be broadened without hesitation."
Mr Olmert expressed "deep sorrow" over the civilian deaths and a spokeswoman for the government, Miri Eisen, said Israel "deeply regrets" the killing of civilians and would "start an open investigation to find out how this happened". Officials said they were unaware that there were civilians in the building at the time of the air strikes.
But despite the expressions of regret, Israeli leaders pointed the finger of blame at Hizbullah, accusing the Shia organisation of firing rockets from Qana at towns in Israel and of taking cover among the civilian population there. Mr Peretz said Hizbullah was using the civilian population as a "human shield".
Military officials said they had repeatedly told residents of south Lebanon to leave their homes and move northward so that they would not be caught in a war zone. They showed journalists aerial photographs that they said clearly indicated Hizbullah fighters firing rockets into Israel from the vicinity of homes in Qana in recent days.
"From the village and its surroundings, hundreds of Katyushas have been fired at Israel, toward Kiryat Shmona and Afula," Mr Olmert said during the cabinet meeting.
Hizbullah fired over 140 rockets at towns in northern Israel yesterday, injuring eight people. It was the highest number of rockets fired into Israel in a single day since hostilities erupted on July 12th. Eighteen Israelis have been killed in the rockets attacks since the fighting began.
Criticism inside Israel came mainly from Arab lawmakers. Yossi Beilin, the leader of the left-wing Meretz Party, was also critical, calling for negotiations to reach an end to the hostilities. "No explanations from the IDF spokesperson's office, as correct as they may be, can undo the damage of the photos of the loss of life of innocent civilians," he said.
Ten years ago, during another Israeli military offensive in south Lebanon, over 100 Lebanese civilians were killed when Israeli artillery shells slammed into a UN base in Qana where they were taking cover. At the time, the deaths sparked an international outcry that put a swift end to the Israeli operation. But with the American administration apparently not pressuring Israel to immediately end its offensive, it was not clear last night whether the killing of dozens of civilians this time round would have the same effect.
Both Israeli and US leaders have opposed an unconditional ceasefire, saying it would not address the root cause of the conflict - the presence of Hizbullah on Israel's border with Lebanon.
Dr Rice was in Jerusalem to discuss a ceasefire package, including the deployment of an international force in the Hizbullah-controlled south that would be responsible for keeping the Shia organisation far from the border with Israel.
Dr Rice was said to be pushing a proposal whereby Israel would agree to relinquish the disputed Shabaa Farms area and in return an international force would be deployed in south Lebanon.