SOUTHERN LEBANON (Agencies) – Israel’s war crimes against the Lebanese nation entered a new stage as at least 52 civilians, most of them children, were killed in attack which buried them under rubble while they were sleeping. The civilians had taken shelter in the buildings to avoid Israel’s barbaric attacks. The genocidal acts are coordinated between Tel Aviv and Washington with the complicity of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The deaths of civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana fuelled global outrage at the Zionist regime. Israel committed a similar crime in the village in April 1996. At the time more than 100 civilians were killed.

The dawn air raid, which is considered a “crime against humanity”, pulverized several buildings, including a three-storey house in which civilians were sheltering. The bombing in the southern village prompted Lebanon to tell U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has resisted calling for an immediate truce, that she was unwelcome in Beirut before a ceasefire.

Thousands of demonstrators attacked the UN headquarters in Beirut, shouting "Death to America", destroying furnishings and forcing staff to hide in the basement, AFP reported.

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Rice said it was time to "get to a ceasefire" in Lebanon but declined to call for an "immediate" halt to hostilities in the aftermath of the Qana bombing.

But the international reaction was swift and generally scathing.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's personal representative in Lebanon was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the civilian deaths, and called for an immediate ceasefire and an investigation, a UN statement said.

Hezbollah vowed to punish Israel for the carnage. "This horrible massacre, like the others, will not remain unpunished," the Shiite group said in a statement.

Regional leaders including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the attack was inexcusable and "irresponsible". Jordan's King Abdullah II denounced it as "criminal aggression".

The Saudi-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) blasted what it called a "war crime" by Israel.

The United Arab Emirates condemned what it described as an "ugly massacre", and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said it was a "crime" that underlined the need for an immediate ceasefire in the region.

Echoing Hezbollah's warning of retaliation, Palestinian militant group Hamas said "all options were open" against Israel which had "crossed all red lines" with its attack on Qana.

The armed wing of Abbas's Fatah faction said it would target the United States and other Western countries in retaliation.

Iran called for American and Israeli leaders to be put on trial for "crimes against humanity".

“The Zionist regime once again revealed its inhumane and terrorist face by killing innocent children and women,” Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said in a statement.

“Undoubtedly, the United States and the Zionist regime are responsible for such a brutal terrorist catastrophe,” the minister added.

Turkey, India and Pakistan added their voices to the condemnations of the raid.

In Europe, Finland, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said it was "shocked and dismayed" by the strikes on Qana.

"There is no justification for attacks causing casualties among innocent civilians, most of them women and children," it said in a statement, echoing condemnations from Scandinavian and other European countries.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett described the Qana raids as "quite appalling" and said Britain had "repeatedly urged the Israelis to act proportionately".

German Foreign Minister Franck Walter Steinmeier expressed "profound pity" for the victims of the bombing. He called on Israel to observe "proportion" in its attacks and avoid civilian casualties, and reiterated calls for a swift ceasefire.

French President Jacques Chirac condemned the bombardment as an "unjustifiable action which shows more than ever the need to agree on an immediate ceasefire".

Spain joined in condemning the Israeli action and the governments of Italy and Ireland also expressed their consternation.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said nothing could justify the Qana bombing, adding that the EU backed an "immediate ceasefire".

Lebanon's Health Minister Mohammed Khalifeh on Sunday put at 750 the death toll in the country after 19 days of Israeli attacks.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa termed it a "massacre" and demanding an international probe.

"The Arab League Secretary-General requested an international investigation into this massacre and other Israeli war crimes that were committed in Lebanon, especially those that affected Lebanese civilians," an Arab League statement said.

In Cairo, scores of opposition lawmakers joined a protest march of several hundred people from parliament to the Arab League. They carried placards that said: "We're all with the resistance" and chanted demands to expel the Israeli ambassador and "liquidate Zionists".

Moussa, who characterised Israeli attacks in Lebanon as "savage", also called on the United Nations Security Council to pressure Israel to stop its military offensive. "The massacre committed by Israel in Qana this morning shows the barbarity of this aggressive entity," Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quoted as saying by state news agency SANA.

"It constitutes state terrorism committed in front of the eyes and ears of the world."

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Israeli attacks would not break the will of the Lebanese people and called for unity "in the face of Israeli war criminals".

Hezbollah retaliation for Qana 'normal': Lebanese PM

Siniora said it would be "normal" for Hezbollah to retaliate over Qana raid, as he hailed the sacrifices of the Shiite guerrilla group.

"It is normal," Siniora said when he was asked about a possible Hezbollah attack on Israel in response to the killing of 52 civilians, including 30 children, in an Israeli bombardment on Qana early Sunday.

"As long as the aggression continues against Lebanon, there will be retaliation," he said.

"But the right way to resolve the issue is to impose an immediate and complete ceasefire...and a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon," he said.

"I thank (Hezbollah leader) Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for his efforts and I thank all those who are sacrificing their lives for Lebanon's independence," he said, rerferring to Hezbollah fighters.