Thousands of Montrealers hit the streets for the second protest against the war in Lebanon in as many weeks.

Sunday's demonstration was peaceful as it navigated through city streets creating a sea of red and white Lebanese flags after starting at a downtown park. Police estimated the crowd at about 15,000.

Protesters are upset about the growing death toll of civilians in Lebanon, currently estimated to be more than 500. Many protesters were from Montreal's 200,000-strong Lebanese community.

The spotlight was on Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as adults following children carrying Lebanese flags accused Harper of being an accomplice to Israeli "assassinations."

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair and Liberal MP Denis Coderre were among the demonstrators.

The two separatist party leaders told The Canadian Press that their goal was to promote peace, not chalk up points with the electorate.

But Duceppe told CTV News that it was time for Harper to stop taking sides in the war.

"Mr. Harper said he supports the all the efforts made by other nations to come to an immediate ceasefire," said Duceppe. "It means by Israel and by Hezbollah also."

Recent polls show the Conservative's popularity has slipped, partly because of its policies on the Middle East.

Duceppe wouldn't say whether he plans to vote for a non-confidence motion against the minority Conservative government to protest its handling of the crisis.

Protesters had also rallied outside a Tory caucus meeting in Cornwall, Ont., on Friday to accuse the prime minister of toeing the American line by supporting Israel in the Middle East conflict.

Harper appeared to temper his support for Israel in an interview that appeared on CTV's Question Period on Sunday, stressing the importance of negotiations. But he held firm on certain issues.

"Are they suggesting Israel unilaterally stop defending itself?" Harper asked. "What is neutrality here? Are we neutral with regard to Hezbollah? Are we neutral on a terrorist group? I don't think the Opposition wants to say that."

The majority of the people at Montreal's protest were condemning Israeli attacks and defending Hezbollah rocket attacks, an attitude common to many of the anti-war protests in Montreal since the beginning of the conflict.

The imbalance has attracted criticism in the Jewish community. But Montreal Jews say they want an end to the conflict, too.

"We're supposed to live peacefully in any country, whether it's Canada or U.S.A. or Lebanon or wherever," Abraham Kruman, a ultra-orthodox Hassidic Jew, told CTV Montreal.

Sunday's protest in Montreal came on a day that saw Israel exchanging some of the bloodiest attacks yet with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Violence between the small Jewish nation and Hezbollah's Shiite Muslim fighters have killed about 700 people since hostilities began a month ago.

This is the second protest in Montreal against hostilities in Lebanon in the last two weeks.

A rally on July 31 came in reaction to Israel's attack on Hezbollah insurgents in the village of Qana, which killed 29 civilians.

Eric Morin, 37, told The Canadian Press that a ceasefire is essential to prevent an escalation in the crisis.

`"I'm here as a citizen who doesn't want to see a baby die for ideological reasons," said, Morin, who was joined by his two children.

"They should all get together and try to find a way to live in peace."

With a report from CTV Montreal's Paul Karwatzky and files from The Canadian Press