Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said on Monday that he is "shocked" by Sunday's Israeli air attack on the Lebanese village of Qana, in which more than fifty civilians were killed.

"I condemn the Israeli Air Force strike on Qana, in which dozens of innocent civilians, included children, were killed or injured. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the families of the victims," De Gucht was quoted by VRT news as saying.

He added that "Israel has a right to defend itself, but I feel that such an attack is out of all proportion and can not be justified. Faced with a further escalation of violence, I call for a cease-fire".

According to VRT news reports, two Belgian Air Force C-130 carrying humanitarian aid were refused clearance to land at Beirut Airport by the Israelis "for security reasons."

The planes were carrying medical aid from the Belgian Army and the charity "Societe Medicale Euro-Libanaise".

The Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut is to try and find another way of getting the aid into Lebanon, VRT news reported.

Source: Xinhua