Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday warned of the collapse of the Middle East peace process in the wake of Israel's dreadful carnage in the southern Lebanese town of Qana, the official news agency MENA reported.

"Egypt, which launched the peace process, warns against the consequences of its collapse and of what the current Israeli aggression could lead to in terms of limiting the chances of its continuation and success," Mubarak was quoted when he was giving a television address to the nation.

"I warned at the start of the crisis against its dangerous consequences for the security and stability of the Middle East and the entire world," said Mubarak.

Condemning Sunday's Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanese town of Qana, which resulted in death of over 50 civilians, as a "horrible massacre", the president called for an immediate international investigation over the incident.

"The Israeli offensive has crossed all red lines and brazenly violated international law," he said.

He also criticized the indolence of the United Nations on reining in Israel's escalation, saying it "reflects the defects in the collective security system the United Nations represents and the inefficiency of the current international order".

"The Rome meeting failed last week to do so and the UN Security Council has failed to shoulder its responsibilities in stopping the Israeli aggression," the president added.

He, however, vowed to continue moves and contacts with all the regional and international parties to stop this assault, despite the setback in the Middle East peace process.

Over 50 Lebanese civilians, 22 of them children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanese town of Qana on Sunday, which drew widespread condemnation and calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Sunday's airstrike was the deadliest single attack since the conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah erupted on July 12 when the Lebanese Shiite group kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border attack.

Egypt was one of the only two Arab nations, the other is Jordan, to have signed peace treaties and diplomatic relations with Israel.