Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik on Monday urged Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas to negotiate an immediate ceasefire.

Plassnik also called for an end to what she called the use of "blind force" in the ongoing military conflicts.

In a statement, she said the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese town of Qana was "an inexpressible sorrow inflicted on defenseless people."

Israel on Sunday bombed the southern Lebanese town of Qana, killing at 57 civilians, including 37 children.

"The (use of) blind force must stop," Plassnik said.

"I appeal seriously to the Israeli army and Hezbollah to stop their attacks and no longer oppose diplomatic efforts" to end the conflict, she said.

Source: Xinhua