Xinhua/Shanghai Daily

Israel expressed regret yesterday over the deaths of a Chinese military officer and three other UN observers in south Lebanon.

The apology came as China expressed strong condemnation of the air raid that led to the deaths and called for a ceasefire in the fighting between the Israeli army and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed condolences over the death of his countryman and "demanded the Chinese departments concerned ... take every measure necessary to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Lebanon," according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

China's ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, met yesterday with UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, asking the world body to require Israel to take sufficient measures to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers and to investigate the deaths.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement that he was "shocked and deeply distressed" by the attack, saying it was "apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces."

The Chinese victim of the attack on an UN observation post was identified as Du Zhaoyu, a lieutenant colonel in the People's Liberation Army. A native of Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, he was sent to Lebanon in January.

Du had worked as secretary to the military attache in the Chinese Embassy in India. He is survived by a wife, who also serves in the Chinese military, and a 1-year-old son.

The other victims were from Finland, Austria and Canada.

"China urges the concerned sides, especially Israel, to take tangible measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said yesterday.

He called on all parties involved in the fighting to seek a political solution.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun called in Israeli Ambassador Yehoyada Haim yesterday morning to make "solemn representations" over the attack.

"China strongly condemns the raid on the UN peacekeeping post and urges Israel to carry out a thorough investigation and apologize to China and the victims' families," Zhao told the ambassador.

Some 180 Chinese staff officers, engineers and observers were working in Lebanon as part of the UN peacekeeping mission, according to diplomatic sources.

Israel has intensified its air raids on Lebanese targets since launching a massive assault on July 12 when Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in cross-border attacks.

More than 350 Lebanese and 42 Israelis have been killed in conflict so far.

"Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel in south Lebanon," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.

Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Annan yesterday to express his "deep regret" for the deaths of the UN observers.

Olmert said the peacekeepers were killed mistakenly and expressed dismay over Annan's accusation, according to a statement released by his office. The prime minister promised a thorough investigation and said the results would be presented to Annan.