Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit Monday sent verbal messages to foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) member states, urging them to help reach a ceasefire in Lebanon after Israel's deadly airstrike on southern Lebanese village of Qana, official MENA news agency reported.

Abul Gheit's messages came one day ahead of the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels over the deteriorating conditions in Lebanon.

According to Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alaa el-Hadidi, Abul Gheit discussed earlier in the day with his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency this month, the importance of scrutinizing a UN resolution on Lebanon to be issued late this week.

The resolution mainly focused on the formation of an international force in south Lebanon replacing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, according to el-Hadidi.

He said that Abul Gheit also called on Tuomioja to back Egypt's call for an international probe into the Qana massacre.

Meanwhile, consultations were under way with the French side on the resolution, el-Hadidi added.

The call for a ceasefire mounted all over the world after Israel bombarded a building in Qana on Sunday and killed over 50 civilians taking cover inside.

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

Source: Xinhua