The United States, in an emergency meeting of the Security Council, forced the 15-member body to water down its official statement so that Israel was not openly criticised. But many countries hailed the statement as a sign that the Security Council is starting to take the Lebanon crisis seriously.

"The Security Council expresses its extreme shock and distress at the shelling by the Israeli Defence Forces of a residential building in Qana, southern Lebanon, which has caused the killing of dozens of civilians, mostly children, and injured many others," said the statement.

The Security Council said it "strongly deplores this loss of innocent lives and the killing of all civilians in the present conflict."

It called on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to report on the deaths in the Lebanese village of Qana within a week.

Qatar, which proposed the measure, had wanted to call the attack "deliberate" and to call for a ceasefire.

The statement said: "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 ceasefire."