The human rights group claimed that both Hezbollah and the Jewish state had committed "grave violations" of international humanitarian law but said there was an "Israeli policy of deliberate destruction" of non-military targets.

"Israel's assertion that the attacks on the infrastructure were lawful is manifestly wrong," the London-based group's executive deputy secretary general Kate Gilmore said as she launched their report into the hostilities.

"Many of the violations identified in our report are war crimes, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks.

"The evidence strongly suggests that the extensive destruction of power and water plants, as well as the transport infrastructure vital for food and other humanitarian relief, was deliberate and an integral part of a military strategy."

The report -- "Deliberate destruction or 'collateral damage'? Israeli attacks against civilian infrastructure" -- is based on research from Amnesty's own missions in Israel and Lebanon, plus interviews with dozens of victims.

Meanwhile, Lebanon yesterday urged the United States to make Israel remove a sea and air blockade it imposed at the start of its 34-day war with Hezbollah fighters.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora also called on Washington to boost its financial aid to help Lebanon recover from war-related economic damage running into billions of dollars.

"The United States can do more," he told a news conference. "The United States can support us in putting real pressure on Israel to lift the siege."

Israel has eased its blockade since a UN truce halted the conflict on August 14, but no flights can use Beirut airport and no ships can dock in Lebanese ports without its permission.

Israel launched its offensive after Hezbollah militants seized two of its soldiers and killed several others during a cross-border raid on July 12.

Israeli Defence Force, Lebanese government and United Nations officials were also interviewed, Amnesty added.

The group said that taken together, statements, testimony and press reports showed a pattern indicating that Israeli bombardments on infrastructure were "not simply incidental to lawful military objectives" as they claimed.

Gilmore added: "The pattern, scope and scale of the attacks makes Israel's claim that this was 'collateral damage' simply not credible.

"Civilian victims on both sides of this conflict deserve justice. The serious nature of violations committed makes an investigation into the conduct of both parties urgent.

"There must be accountability for the perpertrators of war crimes and reparation for the victims."

The UN's humanitarian co-ordinator in the Middle East, Jan Egeland, on July 24 also criticised Israel's targeting of civilians saying it was wrong and a violation of humanitarian law.

Gilmore said a "comprehensive, independent and impartial" inquiry should be "urgently established" by the UN to look at violations by both sides.

The 34-day conflict, sparked by the kidnap of two Israeli soldiers in a Hezbollah cross-border raid on July 12, left nearly 1,300 Lebanese dead, most of them civilians, as well as 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

More than 900,000 people were displaced in bombardments estimated by economists to have cost Lebanon at least three billion dollars in lost infrastructure.