McAleese devastated by violence in Lebanon

President Mary McAleese has said she is devastated by the ongoing violence in Lebanon and today called on both sides to pull back from the brink.

Speaking after talks with Austrian President Heinz Fischer in Vienna, Mrs McAleese said she hoped that the bloodletting would stop to make way for dialogue.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, meanwhile, has criticised the conduct of the Israeli government in its military offensive against Lebanon.

Speaking before the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs today, Mr Ahern said that while Israel had a right to defend itself, it must act in accordance with international law.

He said the country's actions in Lebanon over the past week had been harsh and disproportionate.

Israel's ambassador to Ireland, however, has defended his country's actions, saying it had a right to fight "terror".

He claimed that 300,000 Israelis were basically living in shelters due to cross-border rocket attacks by the Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement.