Only one person was killed when houses collapsed in Hula village by the Israeli bombardment, rather than 40 as earlier feared, Siniora told reporters.

"The massacre in Hula, it turned out that there was one person killed," he said, adding "they thought that the whole building smashed on the heads of about 40 people ... thank God they have been saved."

Earlier, Siniora denounced that more than 40 people were killed by an Israeli "deliberate massacre" in the village of Hula in southern Lebanon on Monday.

He made the denunciation at an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers over the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Shiite group Hezbollah, which started here earlier in the day.

"One hour ago there was a horrible massacre in the village of Hula, a deliberate massacre, in which there were more than 40 martyrs," Siniora told the Arab ministers, urging Arab countries to support an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

Lebanese police said at the time that Israeli air strikes destroyed six buildings in Hula, trapping 45 people under the rubble.

A resident later said the people under the rubble had been found alive.