Israel's air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana sparked global outrage, with the UN Security Council deploring the deaths and Arab and Muslim leaders and thousands of livid protesters in the Middle East branding the assault a war crime.

Diplomats said the United States again forced the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to water down its statement so that Israel was not openly criticised.

But the statement said: "The Security Council strongly deplores this loss of innocent lives and the killing of all civilians in the present conflict and requests the secretary general to report to it within one week on the circumstances of this tragic incident."

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

The final statement was agreed after the United States announced that Israel has agreed to suspend its air attacks for 48 hours pending an investigation into the Qana bombing.

The 15-nation council met in emergency session at the demand of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora after the Israeli raid left 60 people dead, including at least 37 children.

"We must condemn this action in the strongest possible terms, and I appeal to you to do likewise," Annan told the council.

"I'm deeply dismayed that my earlier calls for immediate cessation of hostilities were not heard, with the result that innocent lives continue to be taken and innocent civilians continue to suffer," he said.

In Lebanon, where the deadlist attack of the 19-day-old conflict killed at least 60 people, more than half of them children, the government accused Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity as thousands of demonstrators attacked the UN headquarters in Beirut.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said he "strongly condemned Israel's ongoing barbaric attacks on Lebanon, the latest of which is the attack on the village of Qana."

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference said "the latest Israeli massacre amounts to a war crime and shows Israel's contempt for international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in times of war."

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose country has been involved in diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis, called Israel's attack "irresponsible" and reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire.

Jordan, another regional broker, also strongly condemned the raid. "This criminal aggression is a flagrant violation of international laws," said Jordan's King Abdullah II in a statement.

Iran blamed the bloody attack on Rice's visit to the region.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas condemned the attack and asked the United Nations to oversee an immediate ceasefire, top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

Some 2,000 Palestinians protested in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The United Arab Emirates joined the chorus of condemnations of the ugly massacre.

"This crime ... provides new proof of Israel's systematic policy of using its destructive weapons to kill in an indiscriminate way and without consideration for international laws and conventions that protect civilians," said Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Muslim nations around Asia led furious regional condemnation, with unified calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, branded Israel's attack a criminal act that violated international and humanitarian laws.

"The Indonesian government strongly condemns this criminal act, which goes beyond humanity," a government statement read by foreign affairs spokesman Desra Percaya said.

The government said the indiscriminate military attack was "a gross violation of international laws, including humanitarian laws ... (and has) blatantly been conducted in contravention of universal humanitarian values."

Indonesia, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, urged the UN Security Council to enforce an unconditional ceasefire.

Pakistan also denounced the attack as thousands of its Muslims protested.

"Pakistani government and people strongly condemn this sad incident, which is clearly unwarranted aggression," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told reporters on Sunday.

The call for a ceasefire was echoed in Afghanistan, where foreign ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen said Kabul strongly condemned the latest attack.

"We want an end to the fighting. We want an urgent ceasefire," he said.

The outrage reverberated right across Asia.

China said it strongly condemned the attack as it pushed for a ceasefire.

"China strongly urges the two sides involved in the conflict to cease fire immediately to avoid further disaster," Xinhua news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao as saying.

In Japan, the government's top spokesman Shinzo Abe said it was "extremely regrettable that this kind of incident occurred amid international calls on Israel to exercise self-restraint," according to Kyodo News.

Singapore said it was "deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of innocent lives" as it backed the UN call.

It ordered an inquiry into the incident, with one official suggesting the lethal blast could have been caused by Hezbollah explosives.

In Europe, Finland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said it was "shocked and dismayed" by the strikes.

"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 Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed "profound pity" for the victims, calling on Israel to observe "proportion" in its attacks and avoid civilian casualties, and reiterating calls for a swift ceasefire.

Britain and Germany issued a joint statement saying the events at Qana "have underlined the urgency of the need for a ceasefire as soon as possible."

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

Spain announced that Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, a former EU Mideast envoy, would visit Lebanon on Wednesday out of "solidarity with the Lebanese people and government."

The governments of Italy and Ireland also expressed their consternation, as did Greence, saying: "Nothing can justify the massive slaughter of civilians."

Switzerland said it acknowledged the right of Israel to defend itself but added: "The operations should adhere strictly to the rules of international humanitarian law."

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

Morocco dubbed the attack "odious" and reiterated calls for the international community to press for an end to hostilities.

Around 5,000 protesters marched in Belgium following the attacks, as did more than 600 in Paris.

PHOTO CAPTION

Australian ambassador to Israel Tim George attends the funeral of Israeli soldier, killed in Lebanon, at the military cemetery in Haifa July 30, 2006. (Reuters)