Americans are divided about what role the United States should play in the Israeli-Lebanese conflict and how closely the nation should align itself with the Jewish state, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

Most of those surveyed, however, consider Israel's bombing campaign in Lebanon justified, according to the survey published on Thursday.

The survey also found that the public support for U.S. involvement in brokering peace was rising steadily along with the death toll - particularly after Sunday's Israeli airstrike that killed dozens of civilians in the southern Lebanon town of Qana.

Of respondents, 13 percent backed an immediate cease-fire, while 45 percent wanted the United States to work toward both sides accepting an international peacekeeping force, said the survey conducted between Friday and Tuesday.

On the first day of polling, a plurality of respondents - 46 percent - said the United States should not get involved in the conflict. But that changed over the course of the violent weekend, with far more backing the idea of the United States working toward a peace deal.

The poll found that nearly three in five respondents - 59 percent - backed Israel in the dispute that has now lasted more than three weeks, leaving hundreds dead, mostly civilians.

Overall, 50 percent of the survey's respondents said the United States should continue to align with Israel, compared with 44 percent who backed a more neutral posture.

The poll said 43 percent considered Israel's bombing campaign justified but not excessively harsh, while 16 percent described the response as justified but excessive. Fewer than one in three respondents - 28 percent - said the response to Hezbollah was unjustified.

The survey also found that the public sentiment was generally in line with President George W. Bush's position that a ceasefire should not be enforced until Hezbollah is disarmed and an international peacekeeping force can be assembled.

The Times/Bloomberg poll interviewed 1,478 adults, including 1, 331 registered voters. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Source: Xinhua