A small force of US marines has landed in Lebanon to evacuate Americans stranded by a nine-day-old Israeli bombardment that has killed more than 300 people but failed to stop Hezbollah rocket strikes on Israel.

It was the US military's first return to Lebanon since it withdrew in 1984, months after a Shiite Muslim suicide bomber destroyed a Marine barracks, killing 241 US service personnel. It was also against a backdrop of Washington's backing for Israel's attacks.

About 40 marines arrived Thursday on a beach in a Christian area north of Beirut at dawn to ferry about 1,200 Americans to Cyprus as part of efforts to extract US citizens caught in a war zone like tens of thousands of other foreigners.

But some Asian leaders were struggling to evacuate their nationals.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, facing criticism for failing to do enough for about 30,000 trapped Filipinos, insisted her government was doing everything it could.

Filipino officials have conceded they are unable to evacuate thousands of people on their own and have asked foreign governments for help.

"In the name of humanity, I ask the combatants not to harm them," Arroyo said of the stranded, while appealing for other countries to "help us in the evacuation process."

Criticism of Australia's evacuation effort also mounted. It has suffered several setbacks, including the failure of a chartered ferry to arrive at Beirut's port because it was double-booked.

And Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said hundreds of Australians were left stranded on the dock after Israel refused to guarantee a Greek navy rescue ship safe passage.

He said six ships were scheduled to arrive in Lebanon from today to evacuate around 6,000 Australians, providing the ships could get into the packed port.

Beyond the evacuation chaos, there was no sign Israel or Hezbollah were ready to heed pleas for an immediate halt to a war that has killed at least 306 people in Lebanon and 29 in Israel.

But Israel told Germany it would welcome its help in diplomatic efforts to free two soldiers whose July 12 capture by Hezbollah was the immediate trigger for the war in Lebanon.

After lengthy German mediation, Israel traded 420 Arab prisoners in 2004 for an Israeli businessman kidnapped by Hezbollah and the bodies of three of its soldiers

Israel says the war will go on until the Shiite group frees the two soldiers and can no longer menace its border.

Israeli commanders believe aerial bombing has destroyed half of Hezbollah's military capability, Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz said. But Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, has denied it has been weakened militarily.

Israeli planes struck mostly at Shiite strongholds in the eastern towns of Baalbek and Hermel, the southern Beirut area of Bir al-Abed and several southern villages Thursday. Four civilians were killed in a car near Tyre, but far fewer casualties were reported than on other days of Israeli bombing.

The Israeli army said 30 rockets had landed in northern Israel, but no casualties were reported.

Russia joined France in demanding a ceasefire, but the United States, Israel's chief ally, has opposed any resolution by the UN Security Council calling for a halt to the fighting. Russia said Israel had overstepped the scope of an operation to recover the two soldiers and criticized the "unprecedented scale of victims and destruction."

Israel's offensive in Lebanon came hard on the heels of a major push into the Gaza Strip to retrieve another soldier, seized by Palestinians on June 25, and to stop cross-border rocket fire.

Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in clashes in a central Gaza refugee camp Thursday, while an air strike on the same camp killed a militant and wounded eight. REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Focus: A29-31