Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will deliver a rare speech on Sunday about the uprising against his rule, which has killed 60000 people.

Israeli air strikes on Lebanon killed 57 civilians and a Hezbollah fighter on Wednesday, the deadliest toll of the eight-day-old war, as thousands of villagers fled north and more foreigners were evacuated. Hezbollah rockets killed two children in the northern city of Nazareth, medics said. More Hezbollah rockets fell on the city of Haifa and one hit an empty seafront restaurant.

Western countries have been seeking a new strategy to end the violence in Syria, while President Bashar al-Assad's forces continue to bomb districts.

Syrian troops swept into Hama to break a strike by President Bashar al-Assad opponents, killing 10 people but facing resistance from armed insurgents.

A car bomb shook the centre of Damascus, killing several people and incinerating cars on a busy highway close to offices of the ruling Baath party.

Nato has told President Bashar al-Assad that any use of chemical weapons in his fight against rebel forces would be met by an international response.

Syrian tanks pounded Homs on Saturday and three people were killed, activists said, after one of the bloodiest days of the seven-month-old uprising.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will deliver a rare speech on Sunday about the uprising against his rule, which has killed 60000 people.