UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called an emergency Security Council meeting for later today to prod the 15-member body into taking action on the Lebanon-Israeli conflict, such as issuing a demand for a ceasefire.
Mr Annan, speaking to reporters on his way into UN headquarters, said he would brief the council on the Israeli air strike in the Lebanese village of Qana in which 54 people died, and on other developments.
The secretary-general said he hoped council members would realize "how dangerous the situation is and how it can't escalate and get out of hand and the urgency for them to act."
Mr Annan said he had always been in favor of an "unconditional" cessation of hostilities, which did not preclude the need for a long-term political agreement. He noted that the Beirut government said it would not engage in any more diplomatic discussions until violence had stopped.
He also said he had a "very good conversation" with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, now in Israel.
The United States is under increasing pressure from European and Arab allies to call for an early truce, though so far it shows no sign of softening its stand that a cease-fire cannot preserve the status quo.
Both the United States and Israel want to make sure that any solution leads to the removal of Hizbullah from the border and its eventual disarmament under a UN resolution, though it is unclear if the group would accept the force.