UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who was in Rome for an international crisis conference seeking an end to the bloodshed, provoked dismay in Israel by suggesting the attack had been deliberate.

"I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces of a UN observer post in southern Lebanon," Annan said.

He described the strike as a "coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked UN post."

Ministers attending the Rome talks held a minute's silence for the four observers.

Foreign ministers from China, Japan, South Korea and the 10-nation ASEAN bloc also said on Wednesday that the strike appeared to be deliberate.

"The ministers were deeply shocked and distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by the Israeli Defence Forces of the United Nations Observer post in southern Lebanon," they said in a statement.

Lebanese police said the four UN observers were killed late Tuesday in the Israeli bombing of their two-storey post in the south Lebanon border town of Khiam.

Former comrades of the observers scrabbled through the rubble with bare hands and improvised shovels to remove three of the corpses because they could not get a bulldozer in, a Lebanese security source said. Israel ceased its bombardment during the recovery operation.

The dead were from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, a Lebanese security source said. The UN has not confirmed the nationalities but China said it lost one observer.

Austria and Finland both said that they had troops at the base but were unable to confirm if they were among the dead. Canada was yet to comment.

The attack took place "despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would be spared Israeli fire," Annan said.

Olmert telephoned Annan and expressed "deep regrets" over the killings, assuring him that he would order a comprehensive inquiry.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, however, told the BBC that Annan's criticism was premature.

"I was shocked and deeply distressed by the hasty statement by the secretary general insinuating that Israel has deliberately targeted the UN post at Khiam and surprised at these premature and erroneous assertions," he said.

"The secretary general, while demanding an investigation, has already issued his conclusions."

The White House sided with Israel, saying there was no sign that the peacekeepers were deliberately targeted.

"There is no reason to suggest" that Israel struck the post in Khiam, southern Lebanon, on purpose, said spokesman Tony Snow.

"It is a horrible thing, and that is true of any innocent -- whether they live within Israel or Lebanon, or they are people working for the UN or other international organizations -- to happen to be the innocent victims of hostilities," he said.

Beijing strongly condemned the attack and summoned Israel's ambassador to demand an apology.

"The Chinese side is deeply shocked and strongly condemns this," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. "The Chinese side demands that all sides in the confrontation, especially Israel, take all measures to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers."

The UN Security Council agreed to issue a statement condemning the attack, but the United States vetoed China's demand for a statement saying it was "apparently deliberate", diplomats said.

Finnish President Tarja Halonen demanded Israel launch an investigation, saying: "Nothing can justify Israel's attack on a UN observer base."

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik told her Israeli counterpart Tsipi Livni by telephone of her "indignation" at the incident, saying a strike on a UN post was "totally unacceptable".

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said the incident was "deeply regrettable".

"We send our condolences to the families of those killed and the UN as a whole," a spokesman said.

The Finnish presidency of the European Union voiced "shock" about the deaths and demanded an immediate inquiry, while in Brussels, the European Commission also lamented the attack but was more measured in its comments.

"I express our regret at this incident, this very tragic incident. But we cannot speculate until we know all the facts," a commission spokesman said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office expressed "deep regret" but applauded Israel's swift reaction in ordering an enquiry.

"We expect Israel to respect and observe the special legal status and the inviolability of the UN missions," a Berlin spokesman said.

French President Jacques Chirac issued a condemnation of the attack, which he said "demonstrates more than ever the urgency of stopping the violence".

Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Sallukh condemned the attack as "barbaric and premeditated aggression".

"This aggression shows once again that Israel makes no distinction between a woman, a child, a hospital or a UN post whose mission is to assure security and peace, violated by the Jewish state," he said in a statement.

India said one of its peacekeepers had been wounded in the attack and it was considering withdrawing its 600 troops in the existing UN force, indicating the problems that forming a new force might face.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said she deplored the Israeli attack, while Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern condemned the incident.

"At this time, the Irish troops serving with UNIFIL are in all our thoughts and we remember those who have previously died in the UN service in Lebanon and elsewhere," Ahern said.

Ireland has been involved in peacekeeping in Lebanon since 1978. Irish soldiers served almost 30,000 six-month tours of duty before the involvement of battalion-strong contingents ended in 2001, suffering 45 casualties.

Denmark also called for an enquiry.

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