French President Jacques Chirac condemned Sunday Israeli bombardment of the Lebanese village of Qana which left at least 51 people dead, including 22 children.

"France condemns this unjustifiable action which shows more than ever the need to agree on an immediate ceasefire, without which these kinds of tragedies will only be repeated," Chirac said in a statement.

At a telephonic conversation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, United Nations' Secretary General Kofi Annan and Lebanese speaker Nabih Berri, the French president recalled that France would not agree on the sending of an international force to Lebanon unless there was a political agreement between the concerned parties.

This agreement is an indispensable precondition to the sending of an international force under the mandate of the United Nations, Chirac had said in a statement.

Chirac hoped that the United Nations could adopt "as quickly as possible" a resolution to mark the international community's commitment to an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

Source: Xinhua