2006 Qana airstrike

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The 2006 Qana airstrike was an attack by the Israel Air Force (IAF) on a building in the South Lebanese village of Qana on 30 July 2006 during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. A three-storey building collapsed following the airstrike, burying a large number of people sheltering inside. It is still unclear what caused the collapse. Initial media reports stated that more than 50 people, including 37 children, had died[1][2], though later reports revised this to a lower figure of 28, including 16 children, with 13 people reported missing. [3] [4] According to the Israel Defense Forces, the bombing was a response to numerous Katyusha rockets firings by Hezbollah over a two-week period into northern Israel from the village. [5]

File:South lebanon map qana.png
Map of South Lebanon showing location of Qana

Timeline of events

Early accounts have differed regarding the timing of the building's collapse. Although residents have reported that the building collapsed within minutes of a late-night bombing, Israeli Defense Force spokesmen initially reported that they understood the building to have collapsed several hours after Israeli bombing.

Timeline according to residents

According to residents the timeline was:

  • IAF bombed the building which is located in the Hariva neighborhood of Qana around 1:00 A.M. [6]
  • At least part of the building collapsed instantly, killing at least several young children, according to eyewitness reports.[7]
  • Following initial strike, some of the people in the building exited in an attempt to survey the damage.
  • Within ten minutes, a second IAF airstrike hit the building, causing the walls to collapse on the residents who did not vacate, killing them in the process.[8]

Timeline according to the IDF

  • A high-ranking IAF officer said 31 July that the IDF had targeted the village since July 28, when it struck 10 targets there, and that the building that was hit on July 30 was chosen as a target after Israeli intelligence indicated that Hezbollah soldiers along with Katyusha rockets and launchers were hidden inside. The IDF also said they believed the building to be empty. "We warned the residents that we would be attacking there," the high-ranking officer said. "We work under the belief that the villages are empty and that whoever is there is affiliated with Hezbollah."[9]
  • According to the IAF Chief of Staff, Brigadier-General Amir Eshel, missiles struck the building a little after midnight. He also stated that he didn't know when the building collapsed, but "according to foreign press reports, and this is one of the reports we are relying on, the house collapsed at 8 A.M. We do not have testimony regarding the time of the collapse. If the house collapsed at 12 A.M., it is difficult for me to believe that they waited eight hours to evacuate it."[10]
  • Senior IAF officers said that the collapse could have been caused by an unexploded missile or by a Hezbollah-planted explosive device.[11]
  • The IDF did not release footage of the airstrike itself, but did release a video it said was taken some time before the incident showing Katyusha rockets being fired from near Qana, and rocket launchers being hidden in residential areas of the village[12].

Medical and humanitarian response

Sami Yazbuk, the head of the Red Cross in Tyre, told the Guardian that the first call about the bombing was received at 7 AM. He claimed that previous shelling on the road to Qana had delayed the arrival of Red Cross personnel.[6]

Position of Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the Qana bombing made the need for a settlement more urgent. He denounced "Israeli war criminals" and cancelled talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Prime Minister Siniora appealed to the U.N. Security Council for an emergency session, which held consultations on July 30, 2006. AFP reported that according to a Lebanese MP nearly half of the children killed were physically or mentally handicapped children awaiting evacuation.[13]

Position of Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret over the incident and apologized for the pain the Lebanese people have endured but said that residents had been warned to leave the area. Olmert said that Hezbollah used Qana to store and fire Katyusha rockets, and used the villagers as human shields. "We will not blink in front of Hezbollah and we will not stop the offensive despite the difficult circumstances."

The IDF has claimed that the airstrike was in response to over 150 Katyusha rockets fired from the village into Israel in a two week period. [14] In addition, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman accused Hezbollah of possibly being responsible for the civilian deaths: "Israel has [beseeched] and asked repeatedly for the residents of Qana to leave. I would not be surprised if the Hezbollah made them stay."[15]

On July 31, in response to global criticism, Israel agreed to suspend air strikes over southern Lebanon for up to 48 hours, which would allow for further civilian evacuations from the area, as well as investigation of the incident, but would not refrain from responding to imminent threats.[16]

Religious response

The Yesha Rabbinical Council as a response to the attack issued a statement that "according to Jewish law, during a time of battle and war, there is no such term as 'innocents' of the enemy", and added: "All of the discussions on Christian morality are weakening the spirit of the army and the nation and are costing us in the blood of our soldiers and civilians."[17]

Investigations into the incident

IDF investigation

On August 2, the IDF concluded its investigation into the attack on Qana. The report was not released to the public but was presented to IDF Chief of Staff Halutz and Defense Minister Peretz. In a statement read out to the press Chief of Staff Halutz's summary of the report was given.[18] The IDF stated that the building was thought to have been empty, and "was struck at 00:25 Sunday by two bombs launched by the IAF. One of the bombs exploded and the other was apparently a dud." The statement accused Hezbollah of using human shields. The statement noted that the IDF "operated according to information that the building was not inhabited by civilians and was being used as a hiding place for terrorists." Had they known that civilians were in the building, the statement continued, "the attack would not have been carried out". The statement also noted that "the building was adjacent to areas from which rockets had been launched towards Israel" and prior to the 30 July attack "several other buildings which were part of the infrastructure for terror activity in the area were targeted." [19] [20]

Questions raised over military accounts of the incident

Israeli Haaretz reports: "As the Israel Air Force continues to investigate the air strike [at Qana], questions have been raised over military accounts of the incident. It now appears that the military had no information on rockets launched from the site of the building, or the presence of Hezbollah men at the time. The Israel Defense Forces had said after the deadly air-strike that many rockets had been launched from Qana. However, it changed its version on Monday. The site was included in an IAF plan to strike at several buildings in proximity to a previous launching site. Similar strikes were carried out in the past. However, there were no rocket launches from Qana on the day of the strike."[citation needed]

Human Rights Watch

According to the Human Rights Watch on 2 August, the initial estimate of 54 persons killed was based on a register of 63 persons who had sought shelter in the basement, and the rescue teams first having located only nine survivors. However, it was later established that 22 had escaped the basement and that 28 bodies had been recovered, whereof 16 were children. There were still 13 people missing, and locals feared they were buried in the rubble.

Human Rights Watch also added that its own researchers, who visited Qana on 31 July, the day after the attack, did not find any destroyed military equipment in or near the house. "Similarly, none of the dozens of international journalists, rescue workers and international observers who visited Qana on July 30 and 31 reported seeing any evidence of Hezbollah military presence in or around the home. Rescue workers recovered no bodies of apparent Hezbollah fighters from inside or near the building." [21]

Bomb details

A piece of bomb fuselage bearing the markings (in English) "FOR USE ON MK-84 GUIDED BOMB BSU-37/B (ASSY) 96214-700922-6" was reportedly unearthed by Lebanese Civil Defence officials at the scene of the bombing and was seen by the international media.[22] The BSU 37/B is a detachable tail fin unit which is used to stabilize the Mk 84 bomb, a United States-made general-purpose bomb which weighs around 2,000 lb (900 kg).[23] Israel received some 2,500 Mk 84s equipped with precision-guidance systems in an arms transfer agreed with the United States Government in 2004.[24]

Reactions

Main article: International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrike
File:UnionSquareLebanonProtest.JPG
New York City: Union Square protest of Israeli bombing of Lebanon, August 3 2006

International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrike involved the near-universal condemnation of Israel by both countries and Non Governmental Organisations, resulting in a partial 48 hours cessation of air operations by the IAF.

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch said the attack could be judged a "war crime".[25][26] Futhermore, Human Rights Watch warned that the “consistent failure to distinguish combatants and civilians is a war crime.”[27]. The HRW also labelled the Hezbollah's attacks in Israel as serious violations of international humanitarian law.[28]

Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a 30 July statement on the IDF's attack on Qana said:"Issuing advance warning to the civilian population of impending attacks in no way relieves a warring party of its obligations under the rules and principles of international humanitarian law. In particular, the principles of distinction and proportionality must be respected at all times... The ICRC once again urgently calls for a distinction to be drawn at all times between civilians and civilian objects on the one hand, and military objectives on the other. All necessary precautions must be taken to spare civilian life and objects and to ensure that the wounded have access to medical facilities."[29]

Journalist commentary

Some commentators have pointed out similarities to the 1996 shelling of Qana, in which over 100 civilians were killed by Israeli anti-personnel shells. In both cases, the IDF was acting in response to repeated rocket attacks by Hezbollah, and both incidents resulted in increased pressure on Israel to declare a cease-fire. Qana's strategic location at the confluence of five major roadways and on the northern edge of Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon may have contributed as to its repeatedly being caught in the crossfire. [30]

Conspiracy theories

Main article: 2006 Qana airstrike conspiracy theories

Several conspiracy theories emerged in the aftermath of the attack, alleging that some or all of the loss of life reported during the Qana attack was either faked (by planting previously-killed corpses) or done by Hezbollah fighters themselves, in order to generate anti-Israel sympathy.[31] On August 2, the Israel Defense Forces stated they were "aware of the rumors", although the allegations did not form part of their later statement on the bombing.[32] Others have claimed that some widely-circulated images of the dead were staged, though the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse news agencies have strongly denied this. [33]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dozens killed in Lebanon air raid, July 30, 2006"
  2. ^ "34 Youths Among 56 Dead in Israeli Attack, July 30, 2006"
  3. ^ "Israel/Lebanon: Qana Death Toll at 28", Human Rights Watch, August 2, 2006
  4. ^ "ZeeNews, Qana death toll revised to 28 : Lebanese hospital officials"
  5. ^ http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1153292030858
  6. ^ a b "UN 'They found them huddled together'". The Guardian. 2006-07-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Inside a death house". The Australian. 2006-08-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Qana villagers refute IDF claims building fell hours after strike". Haaretz. 2006-07-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Kana collapse was hours after attack", Jerusalem Post,July 30, 2006
  10. ^ IDF says it may not be responsible for Qana deaths, Haaretz,1 August, 2006
  11. ^ "Kana collapse was hours after attack", Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2006
  12. ^ "IDF: 150 rockets fired from Qana at Israeli cities", Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2006
  13. ^ "15 disabled children killed in Qana", The Australian, July 31, 2006
  14. ^ "IDF: We assumed building in Qana to be empty", Ynetnews, August 2, 2006
  15. ^ Democracy Now!, Headlines for July 31, 2006
  16. ^ "Israel halts fire for Qana probe". BBC. July 31, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Yesha Rabbinical Council: During time of war, enemy has no innocents". Ynet. July 30, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Completion of inquiry into July 30th incident in Qana", IDF, August 2, 2006
  19. ^ http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1154525796295&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
  20. ^ "IDF: We assumed building in Qana to be empty", Ynetnews, August 2, 2006
  21. ^ "Israel/Lebanon: Qana Death Toll at 28", Human Rights Watch, August 2, 2006
  22. ^ Associated Press image by Lefteris Pitarakis, July 31, 2006; "Israel Moves to Suspend Air Attacks for 2 Days After Strike in Lebanese Village Kills 57 Civilians", Washington Post. July 30, 2006
  23. ^ Janes Air-Launched Weapons issue 47, 2006
  24. ^ "U.S. to Sell Precision-Guided Bombs to Israel", Newhouse News Service. September 23, 2004
  25. ^ "Israel/Lebanon: End Indiscriminate Strikes on Civilians". Human Rights Watch. 2006-08-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Qana bombs an Israeli 'war crime'". BBC News. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2006-08-01.
  27. ^ "Witnessing war crimes". August 2 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/18/lebano13760.htm%7CAnti-personnel Ball Bearings Meant to Harm “Soft” Targets
  29. ^ "Lebanon/Israel: ICRC alarmed by high number of civilian casualties and disrespect for international humanitarian law". 2006-07-30. Retrieved 2006-08-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "BBC News: Qana makes grim history again". 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2006-08-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "Evidence Mounts that Kana "Massacre" Was a Fake", Arutz 7, August 3, 2006
  32. ^ "Bloggers raise questions about Kana", Jerusalem Post, August 2, 2006
  33. ^ "News agencies stand by Lebanon photos", Associated Press, August 1, 2006

External links

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