The US has condemned the capture by Hezbollah guerrillas of two Israeli soldiers and blamed Syria and Iran for the attacks.
'We call for immediate and unconditional release of the two soldiers,' said Frederick Jones, spokesperson with the White House National Security Council.
'We also hold Syria and Iran, which directly support Hezbollah, responsible for this attack and for the ensuing violence.'
Israel has launched an assault in southern Lebanon using planes, tanks and gunboats, following the this morning's capture of the two Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has described the capture as an 'act of war' and said the Lebanese government would be held responsible.
The two soldiers were captured during clashes between Israeli and Hezbollah forces on the border, in which three Israeli soldiers were killed.
Afterwards, two Lebanese civilians were killed by Israeli fire.
It is the first Israeli ground operation into Lebanon since its pullout in 2000.
Hezbollah, in a statement confirming the capture, said the two soldiers had been 'moved to a safe place'.
A spokesperson for the group, Hussein Nubulsi, has said his organisation wanted to exchange the soldiers for Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Escalating crisis
The capture of the soldiers threatens to open up a new front in the region after the capture of another Israeli soldier in Gaza two weeks ago by Palestinian militants.
Syrian Vice President, Faruq al-Shara, has said Israel's occupation of Arab land lay at the root of the new crisis.
Syria and Iran are the main backers of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia and the two governments also provide key backing to the governing Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, whose military wing is among three groups which have been holding another soldier in Gaza.
Last month, Israel flew war planes over a Syrian presidential palace as a warning following the capture of the soldier by Palestinian militants.
The EU and the US have appealed for calm and called for the release of the Israeli soldiers.
Spokesperson for EU external relations, Emma Udwin, called for both Israel and Hezbollah to respect the so-called 'Blue Line' border drawn up by the UN after Israeli troops were withdrawn from southern Lebanon six years ago.
