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U.N. calls for end to Lebanon fighting

Security Council expresses shock, warns of grave consequences

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U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaks at Sunday's Security Council meeting.

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UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council called for an end to the fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas Sunday night, warning that continued fighting could have "grave consequences for the humanitarian situation."

A Security Council statement expressed the world body's "extreme shock and distress" at Sunday's Israeli bombing of the southern Lebanese town of Qana, where at least 60 civilians were killed, and offered its condolences for the deaths.

"The Security Council expresses its concern at the threat of escalation of violence with further grave consequences for the humanitarian situation, calls for an end to violence, and underscores the urgency of securing a lasting, permanent and sustainable cease-fire," said a presidential statement adopted at the end of an emergency meeting.

An earlier draft contained no demand for a halt to the fighting. It was strengthened at the request of Qatar, the only Arab country on the 15-member council -- but the revised statement did not include Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call for an "immediate cessation of hostilities," which other council members have supported.

"Even though it's not the best text we could have hoped for, it's a good text," said Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, the French ambassador to the United Nations and the Security Council's current president.

The statement does not include a condemnation of Israel, whose government called the Qana bombing a tragic mistake.

Lebanese Ambassador Nouhad Mahmoud, who called the bombing a "massacre," said he was satisfied with the council's promise to follow-up by seeking a settlement.

"We were looking for stronger action or stronger language, but we believe that the presidential statement contained language which commits the council for further action," Mahmoud said.

Israeli warplanes and artillery have been pounding Lebanon since the Shiite militia Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed three others in a cross-border raid July 12. Hezbollah responded to the bombardment by firing volleys of rockets into northern Israel, often more than 100 a day.

The United States has objected to calls for an immediate cease-fire, arguing that any resolution to the conflict must make an effort to prevent future Hezbollah attacks against Israel. The council's call for a "sustainable" cease-fire echoed Washington's language.

"We don't think that simply returning to business as usual in the Middle East is a way to bring about a lasting solution," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said.

Bolton called Israel's announcement that it would suspend its bombing of southern Lebanon for 48 hours to investigate the Qana bombing a sign of "good faith" that helped council members reach agreement.

Earlier, Israel's representative to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, accused Hezbollah of hiding behind civilians to launch rockets at Israel. He said Israel was "truly sorry" for the deaths, a statement he said Hezbollah has never made in regard to Israeli civilian casualties.

"We defend ourselves in this brutal war and sometimes, as happened today, women and children do get hurt because they are used as human shields by the Hezbollah," Gillerman said.

Annan: International law broken

In pointed comments Sunday afternoon, Annan said an immediate end to the fighting was needed to produce "a lasting cease-fire."

He said evidence suggests both sides "have committed grave breaches of international law," citing Hezbollah's abduction of Israeli soldiers and its firing of rockets into northern Israel.

Annan added, "No one disputes Israel's right to defend itself, but by its manner of doing so, it has cost and is costing death and suffering on a wholly unacceptable scale."

He differentiated between a cessation of hostilities and a cease-fire, saying he was calling for the former -- an informal agreement intended to get civilians out of harm's way "to allow more time for diplomatic work and negotiations."

He urged the council members to move quickly, warning that "The authority and standing of this council are at stake."

Before the meeting, Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, called for international action to stop what he called a "holocaust against the Lebanese people and the Palestinian people."

He said that the bombs that were dropped on Qana were American-made.

"They call them smart bombs, but actually they are silly bombs," he said. "They called them laser-guided bombs, but actually they are hatred-guided bombs."

Some Lebanese protesters turned their anger on the United Nations, briefly setting the organization's headquarters in Beirut afire and injuring three staff members after the attack on Qana. Lebanese armed forces removed the demonstrators from the building. (Watch mob break into U.N. in Beirut -- 2:30)

And in Gaza City, Palestinian security forces on Sunday ejected about 2,000 demonstrators who had stormed the U.N. compound protesting the Qana attack.

CNN's Richard Roth contributed to this report.

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