ST PETERSBURG — Middle East conflict muscled its way onto the Group of Eight (G-8) agenda on Saturday, setting the United States, a strong backer of Israel, against those who say the Jewish state has been too violent.

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration, having stayed mostly on the sidelines during the latest Middle East crisis, now faces the threat of a broader regional conflict with few options for defusing it.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — A missile fired by Hizbollah, not an unmanned drone laden with explosives, damaged an Israeli warship off Lebanon, the army said Saturday.