The beginning of the sixth day of the Israeli offensive on Lebanon saw much more international handwringing but only tentative moves towards United Nations intervention as 42 civilians died in Israeli air strikes and dozens of Hizbullah rockets continued to rain down on northern Israel, write Peter Hirschberg in Jerusalem and Patrick Smyth, Foreign Editor.
Many thousands of refugees have left their homes in southern Lebanon and south Beirut for refuge, many in the open air, away from the Israeli attacks. Some 100,000 have crossed into Syria to escape the violence.
Yet Israel may have several days left, possibly until the weekend, to continue its assault on Hizbullah, before international pressure brings an end to its offensive in Lebanon, Israeli security officials estimated yesterday
At the G8 summit in St Petersburg, UN secretary general Kofi Annan and the leaders of both Britain and Germany called on the security council to deploy a peacekeeping UN force in Lebanon.
In Brussels EU foreign ministers debated the idea and agreed they might be willing to participate and issued a call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
Diplomatic sources suggest one option being considered is that of an EU-led mission under UN mandate. After the meeting, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called on member states to be prepared to participate in any operation in the Middle East.
"It is important that member states are ready to consider participating in this force," he said at a press conference. I am confident they are ready to take part if required. But at the moment this is just an idea."
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said Irish participation was unlikely because of other commitments but that Ireland supported the initiative.
Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert, in his first major public address since the crisis began, did not put a time limit on Israel's offensive in Lebanon, telling parliament that it would continue until the Lebanese army was deployed in the Hizbullah-controlled south, the Shia organisation had been disarmed, and two Israeli soldiers captured last week by Hizbullah were released.
"Our enemies have challenged the state of Israel's sovereignty and the peace of its citizens, first in the south and then on the northern border and deeper into the country," Mr Olmert told politicians, in what amounted to an address to the nation.
"Our enemies erred in thinking our readiness for restraint was a sign of weakness," he said.
The civilian toll continued to mount in Lebanon yesterday as Israeli planes struck dozens of targets. Nine civilians, including two children, were killed when they were hit by a missile that struck a bridge in the southern port city of Sidon . In the southern city of Tyre , rescue workers pulled nine more bodies from the civil defence building that was hit on Sunday in an Israeli strike.
Close to 200 civilians have been killed in Lebanon since the Israeli offensive began last week, when Hizbullah attacked an Israeli border patrol, killing three soldiers and capturing two. Five more soldiers were killed when they gave chase into Lebanon .
Israeli officers said that many of the aerial strikes have been aimed at Hizbullah's main compound in south Beirut, reducing it to rubble. The officers said the air force was trying to strike Hizbullah leaders who had taken refuge in underground bunkers in the area.
Despite the fierce Israeli air raids, Hizbullah continued to fire rockets into Israel yesterday, including four salvos that struck the northern port city of Haifa, where eight civilians were killed the day before by a rocket. A three-storey building in the city collapsed yesterday after being hit by a rocket, injuring 11 people. Israel yesterday shut down the port in Haifa as a precautionary measure. Twenty-four Israelis - 12 civilians and 12 soldiers - have been killed since the fighting erupted.
A senior officer told a parliamentary committee yesterday that Israel was flattening a one-kilometre-wide strip on the Lebanese side of the border to ensure Hizbullah militants did not approach the fence. "One of the aims of this operation is to set up a security zone, without any presence of the Israeli army in Lebanon," said defence minister Amir Peretz.
Israel yesterday rejected the suggested deployment of an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, saying it would only accept the deployment of the Lebanese army on its border.
In the West Bank yesterday an Israeli soldier was killed and six others injured by Palestinians.