Lebanon backers rally in D.C., San Francisco

Thousands of people circled the White House on Saturday in a passionate demonstration supporting Lebanon, the country at the center of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hundreds of red, white and green Lebanese flags bearing the country's emblematic cedar tree waved beneath Lafayette Square's canopy of elms as demonstrators demanded a cease-fire, many of them mourning their war-ravaged homeland.

Most of the demonstrators were Muslim families and students, who took breaks in the shade to feed children or bow toward Mecca for noon prayers.

"We came with seven buses from Ohio. We drove all night," said Julia Shearson, director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in Cleveland.

Law-enforcement officials estimated the crowd at fewer than 10,000.

In San Francisco, about 2,000 people marched in support of Lebanese and Palestinians and against the Israel military action.

"The occupiers are being seen as the victims, and I'm really ashamed of what is going on in the Middle East," said Alicia Jrapko, a member of the ANSWER Coalition, which organized the rally.

"End the occupation now!" one demonstrator's sign read, a call for Israel to leave historically Palestinian lands.

Several hundred counter-demonstrators gathered to show their support of Israel, waving American and Israeli flags. "Hezbollah out of Lebanon!" a protester's sign said.

The rallies were held on the day that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government accepted with reservations a cease-fire declared by the United Nations to end the month-long conflict. The Israeli Cabinet is to vote on the cease-fire today.

The Washington Post and The Associated Press contributed

to this report.