As the Qana massacre yesterday carried the tragic face of Israel's Lebanon offensive across the world, the anger of Arab public opinion was directed not only at Israel but at a US administration that has resisted international and regional pressure for an immediate ceasefire.

The gruesome killings follow a week in which US has faced a torrent of criticism on Arab television screens and newspaper pages for its refusal to stop Israel's relentless bombings. The latest wave of anti-Americanism has been exacerbated by Condoleezza Rice's description of the war as the "birth pangs of a new Middle East".