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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to postpone a visit to Beirut on Sunday. (AP)
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| By Associated Press July 30, 2006 |
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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she is "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life" in an attack on a village in southern Lebanon but did not call for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militias.
Rice said she called Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to say she would postpone a visit to Beirut on Sunday, and that she had work to do in Jerusalem to end the fighting.
"We are also pushing for an urgent end to the current hostilities, but the views of the parties on how to achieve this are different," she said.
Lebanese officials said in Beirut that they asked Rice not to come, saying Beirut would only consider an immediate and unconditional cease-fire.
Israeli missiles hit structures in the southern Lebanese village of Qana early Sunday. In one case, a strike at a ground position apparently cause the collapse of a nearby building. Some 50 people died, many of them children, according to initial reports.
"We all recognize this kind of warfare is extremely difficult," Rice said, noting it comes in areas where civilians live. "It unfortunately has awful consequences sometimes."
"We want a cease-fire as soon as possible," she added.
The United States and Israel are pressing for a settlement that addresses enduring issues between Lebanon and Israel and disables the Hezbollah -- not the quick truce favored by most world leaders.
Rice said she was meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz when news of the attack came. "Once again, I was reiterating our strong concern about the impact of Israeli military operations on innocent civilians," she said.
She said she is working with all parties to try to stop the violence. "Too many innocent people -- Lebanese and Israeli -- have suffered. Too many people have lost their lives. Too many families are homeless, and too many children have been killed, injured or are living in fear for their lives."
"Emotions are understandably running high on all sides," she said.
Rice said she planned to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after an Israeli Cabinet meeting.
She has spoken by phone to the Lebanese prime minister to express the condolences of the U.S. government and its citizens.
"In the wake of the tragedy that the people and the government of Lebanon are dealing with today, I have decided to postpone my discussion in Beirut," Rice said. "In any case, my work today is here."
She said she will continue to meet with Israeli officials on the elements of an agreement that will allow the U.N. Security Council to take decisive action in a resolution.
"We are making real progress on the political framework and believe the parties are coming together," she said.
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