China on Wednesday felt "deeply shocked" by and "strongly condemned" an Israeli air raid on a United Nations post in south Lebanon, and urged for immediate ceasefire.

The air raid killed four UN observers, including one from China.

"China urges the concerned sides, especially Israel, to take tangible measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Wednesday.

It called concerned sides back to the track of talks to seek for a political solution.

"China will work with the international community, further diplomatic efforts and push the Middle East situation back to peace and stability at an early date," Liu said.

"We feel deep sorrow for the victims and convey sincere condolences to their families," Liu said.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun called in Israeli Ambassador Yehoyada Haim Wednesday morning and made solemn representations.

"China strongly condemns the activity to raid the UN peacekeeping post and urge Israel to carry out thorough investigation and apologize to China and the victim's families and coordinate with China to deal with the aftermath," Zhao told the ambassador.

Yehoyada Haim expressed the Israeli government's apology for the event, pledging to carry out broad and in-depth investigation to find the truth at an early date.

Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya on Wednesday made an emergency call to UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, asking the UN to require Israel to take every measure to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers, including those from China, and investigate the event.

The Chinese victim Du Zhaoyu was among the four UN peacekeepers killed in the Israeli air strike Tuesday night.

The other three dead UN observers were from Finland, Austria and Canada, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sources confirmed.

Milos Struger, spokesman of the UNIFIL said earlier that an Israeli bomb directly hit the base of the UN Observer Group in the town of Khiam near the eastern end of the border with Israel.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement that he was "shocked and deeply distressed" by the attack, saying it's "apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces."

In Jerusalem, Israel expressed regret on Wednesday over the deaths of four UN observers in south Lebanon.

"Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel in south Lebanon," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.

France and New Zealand condemned the bombing. U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton also expressed regret over the deaths of UN observers.

A total of 180 Chinese officers and soldiers as well as three observers, including Du, were working in Lebanon, as part of the UN peacekeeping mission, according to diplomatic sources.

There are nearly 2,000 UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, which were launched in March, 1978 based on UN resolutions.

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Chinese UN observer killed in Israeli airstrike

A Chinese UN observer was among the four UN peacekeepers killed in an Israeli air strike on south Lebanon on Tuesday night.

The body of the Chinese victim, whose name is Du Zhaoyu, has been recovered, said sources of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The UN observer from China was part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon.

Milos Struger, spokesman of the UNIFIL, said earlier that an Israeli bomb directly hit the base of the United Nations Observer Group in the town of Khiam near the eastern end of the border with Israel.

By 03:10 am local time Wednesday, the UNIFIL have recovered three bodies of the victims from the rubble, including the Chinese observer.

The other three dead UN observers were from Finland, Austria and Canada, the UNIFIL sources confirmed.

Since Israel launched a massive military offensive against Lebanon and Hezbollah guerrillas on July 12, a Nigerian civilian employee working with UNIFIL and his wife, also a Nigerian, have been killed in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas in the southern port city of Tyre.

Five UNIFIL soldiers and one military observer have also been wounded, Struger said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a UN Observer post in southern Lebanon."

"This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked UN post at Khiam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by (Israeli) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would be spared Israeli fire," Annan said in a statement.

"I called on the government of Israel to conduct a thorough inquiry into this tragic incident and will inform the UN of its results as soon as possible, " he said.

In Jerusalem, Israel expressed regret on Wednesday over the deaths of four UN observers in south Lebanon.

"Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel in south Lebanon," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton also expressed regret over the deaths of UN observers.

"We are obviously very sorry about that. We're attempting to get information where we can to confirm the nature of the incident," Bolton said.

4 UN observers killed in Israeli attack in Lebanon

An Israeli air strike killed four United Nations military observers at their base in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the United Nations said.

"This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked U.N. post at Khiam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that U.N. positions would be spared Israeli fire," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement issued at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Annan called on Israel to investigate the "apparently deliberate targeting" of the base.

Meanwhile, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said at U.N. headquarters in New York: "I can confirm that the four military observers that came under attack in Khiam were killed in that attack."

In Jerusalem, an Israeli army spokeswoman said the military was investigating the report.

170 Chinese evacuated from Lebanon

China has altogether evacuated 170 citizens from Lebanon, including 37 Hong Kong compatriots, since Israel launched the massive assault on Lebanon on July 12, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday night.

Through the cooperation of the Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassies to Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and Israel, the evacuation is almost completed and only several Chinese citizens choosing to stay in Lebanon for various reasons, an official from the Department of Consular Affairs said in anonymity.

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