July 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Group of Eight nations condemned ``extremists'' who triggered violence in the Middle East, calling on Hamas and Hezbollah to cease missile attacks on Israel and for Israel to limit its retaliation.

The G-8 also called on Lebanon's government to secure its own territory in the south where Hezbollah gunmen are operating. It said Israel should release Palestinian officials it holds prisoner.

``These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos,'' the G- 8 said in a statement issued today during its annual leaders' summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. ``We call upon Israel to exercise utmost restraint.''

The release of the statement followed a call earlier in the day from President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair to root out the forces behind the attacks. They said Iran and Syria backed the escalation in violence.

``There are those in the region, notably Iran and Syria, who do not want this process of democratization and negotiation to succeed,'' Blair said after a meeting with Bush. ``There has been a real hesitation to put the real truth of this situation.''

The G-8 statement sets out the steps that it says should be taken to renew peace efforts in the region. It calls for the safe return of captive Israeli soldiers, an end to shelling of Israeli territory, a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Gaza and the release of Palestinian officials arrested by Israel.

U.S. View

The U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, Nicholas Burns, said the leaders had agreed that the first two steps must be fulfilled before Israel would be expected to stop its military operations.

``The discussion among leaders presupposed the notion that we had to see the return of the Israeli soldiers, unharmed, and an end to the shelling of Israel territories, and then Israel would halt its military action,'' Burns told reporters in a conference call.

Britain and France praised the text, saying it addressed the underlying problems leading to instability.

``It is totally unacceptable that a government does not have total authority over its territory,'' French President Jacques Chirac said, referring to Lebanon. He said the leaders also expressed ``big reservations about the disproportionate reaction of Israel, which was provoked.''

Iran and Syria

The G-8 statement didn't identify Iran and Syria by name as forces behind the violence, as Blair and Bush did.

Bush, while maintaining his refusal to join in calls for a cease-fire, emphasized the need for Israel to show restraint in its actions. ``Our message to Israel is to defend yourself, but be mindful of the consequences,'' Bush said at the joint press conference with Blair. ``We're urging restraint.''

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the G-8 leaders had ``agreed on a common, strong message with clear political content.'' In a statement issued by the German government, Merkel said: ``The forces of terrorism and those who support them must not get the chance to cause chaos in the Middle East.''

``The international community will not allow itself to be split apart,'' Merkel said in an interview on German ARD television.

Origins of Conflict

The conflict across the Israel-Lebanon border began on July 12, when Hezbollah fighters who control southern Lebanon staged a raid into Israel, seizing two soldiers. That followed the capture of another Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip by Hamas.

The fighting sent the price of crude oil to a record $78 a barrel in New York and London on July 14. From the perspective of the U.S. and Britain, the seizures and rocket attacks pushed Israel into a counter-strike, derailing the prospect of coaxing Hamas, the Islamic movement that controls the Palestinian government, away from violence and into a political dialogue.

``You have to remember where we were before this started,'' said Tom Kelly, a spokesman for Blair. ``We were on the verge of talks between Israel and the Palestinians. That is what is being disrupted by this crisis. There are underlying issues that have to be addressed.''

Today's Attacks

Eight people were killed and at least 20 injured today when Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, and its suburbs, the police and emergency services said. Most of the casualties occurred when one of the rockets hit a garage adjacent to the city's main train station at about 9:20 a.m. local time.

That brought the number of Israeli casualties to 21 as the conflict in Lebanon moved into its fifth day. At least 110 Lebanese civilians have been killed as well as three soldiers and two Hezbollah fighters, according to Lebanese police.

It was the most serious Israeli military action in Lebanon since May 2000, when Israel pulled out of a swath of southern Lebanon it had held for 18 years.

Bush and Chirac said today they would seek to use an existing United Nations resolution calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon as a means of pressuring Iranian and Syrian leaders. Chirac said he ``totally'' shares Bush's view on Lebanon, adding that ``we have to stop all forces which question or put in danger the security, stability and sovereignty of Lebanon.''

Russians Skeptical

Still, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, when asked by the U.K.'s Sky News television in an interview whether his country regards Iran and Syria as the main backers of Hezbollah, said that ``I will be convinced if I see facts.''

In Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad compared the Israeli government with Adolf Hitler's. Iran doesn't recognize Israel and has voiced support for groups including Hezbollah and Hamas that the U.S. says support terrorism.

``The Zionists think that they are victims of Hitler, but they act like Hitler and behave worse than Genghis Khan,'' Ahmadinejad said late yesterday, according to the state-run Iranian News Agency.

Syria's ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha, denied his government was providing Hezbollah with training and equipment and said the Israel's raids on Lebanon were at the cause of the conflict.

``Damascus and Tehran are not the problem,'' he said on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program in the U.S. ``The problem is Israel's aggression on other countries.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Reed V. Landberg in St. Petersburg at 7861 or landberg@bloomberg.net; Emma Vandore in St. Petersburg at evandore@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 16, 2006 16:44 EDT