US vetoes UN ceasefire call

The US was the sole member of the 15-nation UN body to oppose any council action at all at this time, they said.

"We would expect much more from the Security Council," Lebanese Foreign Ministry official Nouhad Mahmoud told reporters after the council meeting, singling out the United States for blame.

While Washington has been very supportive of the Lebanese government in the past, "when it comes to Israel, it seems things changed," Mr Mahmoud said. "Destruction is still going on, people are still dying ... and here we are impotent."

China's People's Daily called for both sides to sit down and talk.

"History tells the peoples of the Middle East that armed force does not solve the enmity between the Arabs and the Israelis.

"Only if a political road is followed will it be possible to replace war with talks, fighting with consultation, extremism with reason, and hostility with tolerance."

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Bush and Co. are looking for a "lasting peace". Allowing Israel to kill children in Lebanon will not bring this about.