JERUSALEM: The world reacted with horrified shock yesterday to an Israeli army attack on Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip that killed 18 civilians, eight of them children.

Condemnations poured in from the UN, the European Union, the Middle East and Europe over what Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called a "black day".

Of the Quartet overseeing the moribund Middle East peace process - the EU, the UN, Russia and the US - only Washington refrained from harsh criticism. The White House said it "regretted" the deaths and urged both sides to show restraint.

The UN special envoy for the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, said he was "deeply shocked and appalled" by the Israeli shelling in the town of Beit Hanoun, which killed five Palestinian men, five women and eight children.

De Soto urged Israel "to call off these and other military operations without delay" and appealed to Palestinians to cease firing rockets into Israeli territory.

The European Union said the Israeli onslaught was "a profoundly shocking event" and also demanded a halt to its military operations.

The 22-nation Arab League called an emergency meeting of its foreign ministers.

"These massacres of children, women and civilians are unjustified and incomprehensible and unexpected," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said.

"Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories have gone too far."

The Saudi-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said immediate action should be taken "to guarantee the protection of the Palestinian people from Israel’s oppression and state terrorism practised against Palestinian civilians."

The OIC statement said that the shelling was "a reaffirmation of Israel’s disregard for the international law, its persistence in committing war crimes, and its violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which requires urgent international action to stop these massacres and violations."

Israel’s Arab neighbours reacted sharply.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II condemned the "horrible massacre" and pledged to "exert all the efforts necessary to stop the Israeli military operations".

Syria accused Israel of "state terrorism" and urged the UN Security Council to "punish Israel for its repeated crimes".

Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, joined Britain, Italy, Russia and Turkey in rebuking it for using excessive force.

"This immoral and inhumane attack ... constitutes a violation of all international laws and norms," Cairo said.

"This behaviour does not help achieve security or peace and it cannot be justified under any circumstance."

Britain concurred: "It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified," said Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett. "Israel must respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians."

Russia said Israel’s attacks went "beyond the stated aim of preventing rockets being fired into Israel from Gaza".

And Turkey - which signed a military co-operation deal with Israel in 1996 - declared: "Israel’s disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force against rocket attacks is not conducive to permanent security and stability in the region."

The EU said Israel had "a right to defend itself but not at the price of the lives of the innocent", while the International Red Cross (ICRC) stressed that international humanitarian law "strictly prohibits" attacks on civilians and homes.

The world’s failure to staunch the bloodshed was roundly criticised by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Territories.

"This brutal collective punishment of a people, not a government, has passed largely unnoticed by the international community," deplored rights expert John Dugard.

"The Quartet ... has done little to halt Israel’s attacks."

"Worse still, the (UN) Security Council has failed to adopt any resolution on the subject or attempt to restore peace to the region. The time has come for urgent action." – Agencies