The European Union, Russia, France and Italy all had criticism of the extent of Israel’s operations.
France’s foreign minister came out clearly against Israel’s actions. “The Israeli invasion is a disproportional act of war with negative consequences," Philippe Douste-Blazy told France's Europe-1 radio. "The unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be preserved," he added.
Spain condemned the kidnappings while calling on Israel to show restraint. The kidnapping and Israeli response "opens a flank of instability, which adds to the deteriorating Israeli-Palestinian peace process," a statement by the Spanish foreign ministry said.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on Israel to respect Lebanon's sovereignty. "The continued destruction of civilian infrastructure in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and the disproportionate use of force by Israel, which causes suffering to the civilian population, can be neither understood nor justified. Equally unacceptable are any manifestations of terrorism and the taking of hostages, who must be released immediately and unconditionally.”
The European Union's spokesmen said that the body “recognized Israel's right to defend itself" and promised a more detailed assessment would be delivered in the coming days, but added, "We are very concerned by the actions on both sides. We have called on both sides to show as much restraint as possible."
US President George W. Bush, who is traveling in Germany for talks, defended the Jewish State. "Israel has the right to defend herself," Bush said. "My attitude is this: there are a group of terrorists who want to stop the advance of peace. Those of us who are peace-loving must work together to help the agents of peace."
Bush added that “whatever Israel does, though, should not weaken the Siniora government in Lebanon," referring to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Friday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a call for Israeli restraint. "It is extremely important that Israel exercise restraint in its acts of self-defense," she said.
Asked by reporters about Rice's statements, Israeli Ambassador Danny Ayalon responded, "I think they (Hizbullah) misinterpreted our restraint for the last six years. If we do not want to see further escalation, deterioration, violence, this is the time to stop Hizbollah and what we are doing is the most effective way to stop them."
Meanwhile, a rally to show identification with Israel's actions was held at 5 PM Thursday at the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum Building in Los Angeles. Other rallies across the US are reportedly in the works, including opposite the United Nations in New York City on Sunday.