Your report of Thursday’s Commons debate (Downing St and Foreign Office at odds, July 21) suggested that I thought the Israeli action in Lebanon was “necessary”. In fact, as I pointed out later in the debate in response to a question from Susan Kramer, my view is “I would not …

Condoleezza Rice has described the plight of Lebanon as a part of the “birth pangs of a new Middle East” and said that Israel should ignore calls for a ceasefire.

A deathly silence prevails in southern Beirut, as Lebanese people are evacuating to escape Israeli bombs. Hezbollah has the region under tight control to prevent infiltration by Israeli agents.