Thursday, July 27 2006 15:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New York: The UN Security Council failed to agree on condemning Israel for its deadly missile hit on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, as the veto-holding US argued against hasty finger-pointing. China and France called for condemnation, but a rift over how to describe the Israeli strike left the council deadlocked after 10 hours of negotiations Wednesday.

Four members of the force died in the attack Tuesday but Israel says it was a mistaken missile strike.

"France can only condemn this attack," said its UN ambassador, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere. But council members were unable to agree on the wording, including whether the attack was deliberate or even an attack at all, he said.

Diplomats said that condemning the incident as an Israeli attack on UN peacekeepers had majority support in the 15-nation council.

But non-binding statements like the one being debated are traditionally passed unanimously by the council, where China, Russia, France and Britain also have vetoes.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya indicated that his country also condemned Israel for the strike. "As far as China is concerned, we certainly condemn it," he said. In contrast, US Ambassador John Bolton said a "more thorough investigation" was needed before drawing conclusions about the deaths of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) observers. "The Israeli government has expressly denied that they intended to hit the UNIFIL outpost, and I know of no evidence to the contrary," he told reporters.

Israel has expressed regret for the deaths but strongly denied UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's charge that the attack was apparently deliberate.

The Israeli Army said it mistakenly fired a missile at the building near the hilltop town of Kiyam, just inside Lebanon, because Hezbollah fighters had launched rockets from near there.