Qana airstrike

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The 2006 Qana airstrike was an attack by the Israel Air Force (IAF) on a building in the small community of al-Khuraybah near the South Lebanese village of Qana on July 30, 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. A three-story building collapsed following the airstrike, burying a large number of Lebanese refugees sheltering inside. The move came amid increasing calls for a cease-fire in the conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas.^[1]

Initial media reports stated that more than 50 people, including 37 children, had died^[2]^[3], though later reports revised this to a lower figure of 28, including 16 children, with 13 people reported missing. ^[4]^[5]^[6] Residents dug through the rubble with their hands, searching for survivors as bodies were removed. Video broadcast by Arab TV showed the bloodied bodies of women and children who appeared to be wearing nightclothes. ^[1]According to the Israel Defense Forces, the bombing was in response to Katyusha rockets being fired by Hezbollah into northern Israel from the village over a two-week period. ^[7]

Military operations of the 2006 Lebanon War
Zar'it-Shtula – Baliste – Bint Jbeil – Qana – Ayta ash-Shab – Baalbek – al-Qaa – Tyre – Shiyyah – Ghaziyeh – Marjayoun – Litani

Map of South Lebanon showing location of Qana

1 Medical and humanitarian response
2 Casualties and memorial services
3 Reactions
4 Investigations into the incident
5 August 6 attack
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] 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.^[8]

[edit] Casualties and memorial services

Although the attack was aimed at Hezbollah fighters, many civilians who were seeking shelter in the basement were accidentally killed, even though the IAF had warned civilians of an incoming air strike. The IAF later said that had they known civilians were in the building, the attack would have never been carried out.^[9] The aerial attack killed members of the Shalhoub and Hashem families who had used the destroyed apartment building as a shelter during the bombing. The dead ranged in age from nine months to 75 years.^[10]

Memorial services were delayed until after the ceasefire, and a funeral was held on August 17 for at least 26 civilians killed in the strike as well as four Hezbollah fighters, claimed by the militia to have been killed in Bint Jbail and Ayta ash-Shab.^[11] The pro-Israel media watchdog group CAMERA speculates that the fighters were killed in Qana.^[12] Hundreds of people, predominantly Lebanese but including foreign peace activists, marched in the funeral. The civilians were buried under Lebanese flags, and the Hezbollah fighters under the Hezbollah flag.^[13]

[edit] Reactions

Responding to the incident, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora denounced "Israeli war criminals" and canceled talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In a television address to the country, he said, "There is no place on this sad morning for any discussion other than an immediate and unconditional cease-fire as well as an international investigation into the Israeli massacres."^[14]After the announcement, Rice canceled her planned visit to Beirut.^[1]

Prime Minister Siniora appealed to the U.N. Security Council for an emergency session, which held consultations on July 30, 2006. In a statement, the Security Council expressed the world body's "extreme shock and distress" at the Qana bombing and offered its condolences for the deaths. The airstrike on Qana threatened to derail work toward a resolution in the 19-day conflict between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrillas.^[1]

In Beirut and Gaza City, outrage over the attack sparked violent protests outside the cities' respective U.N. offices. Palestinian security forces had to eject about 2,000 demonstrators who had stormed the U.N. compound in Gaza City protesting the Qana attack.^[15] In Israel, thousands joined in protests on July 30, most of them in the Arab village of Um al-Fahem, but also including hundreds of Gush Shalom and Meretz supporters (in separate demonstrations) in Tel Aviv, and smaller numbers in Haifa and the Galilee.^[16]

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel called for state commission of inquiry into "a [alleged] blatant violation of two basic principles of humanitarian law and international criminal law."[1]

[edit] International Reaction

Main article: International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrike

Protest in Times Square, New York City, August 3, 2006.

The Qana airstrike was condemned by several countries and non-governmental organizations, as well as resulting in public demonstrations in a number of countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. 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.^[17]

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a July 30 statement on the IDF's attack on Qana: "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." It also called 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."^[18] Red Cross worker Sami Yazbak, who was helping to pull bodies from the building, said that "many of the children who were sleeping inside were handicapped."^[1]Human Rights Watch also warned that the "consistent failure to distinguish combatants and civilians is a war crime."^[19]^[20]

[edit] 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 claimed it 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. ^[21]

[edit] Position of Israel

Israeli Defense Force spokesmen initially reported that they understood the building to have collapsed several hours after Israeli bombing. According to the IAF Chief of Staff, Brigadier-General Amir Eshel, the building was attacked a little after midnight. He also stated that he did not 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."^[22] In addition, it was reported that senior IAF officers had said that the collapse could have been caused by an unexploded missile or by a Hezbollah-planted explosive device.^[23]

IDF Still shot identification of a rocket being launched from near Qana houses.

Screen captures from an IDF video showing rockets being launched from near Qana houses.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret over the incident and apologized for the pain the Lebanese people had endured, while also blaming the Hezbollah for using the villagers as "human shields." Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman also initially 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."^[24] Gillerman called it a "horrible, tragic incident," but he said the dead were "victims of Hezbollah," which he said was using civilian buildings as cover to launch rockets into Israel. "We are dealing with a ruthless, cynical, cruel enemy, one of the most monstrous terror organizations this world has known," he said. "They have no regard for Israeli life, and they have no regard for Lebanese life."

"Clearly, we did not know the civilians were in the way," said IDF spokesman Jacob Dalal, who added that Israel was exercising its right to defend itself with its campaign of airstrikes. Israel reserved the right to take action against targets preparing attacks against it during the 48-hour period, an Israeli official said. Other officials called the attack a tragic mistake.^[25] Israel also arranged with U.N. officials to allow safe passage for 24 hours so residents of southern Lebanon can flee the region. The official confirmed an earlier announcement by U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli, who said the bombing halt should "significantly speed and improve the flow of humanitarian aid." ^[1]

A high-ranking IAF officer said on July 31 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 has claimed that the airstrike was in response to over 150 Katyusha rockets fired from the area of the village into Israel in a two week period.^[9] The IDF also said that they believed the building to be empty. "We warned the residents that we would be attacking there," a high-ranking IDF officer said, "We work under the belief that the villages are empty and that whoever is there is affiliated with Hezbollah."^[26]

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 southwest of Qana. The video also showed rocket launchers being hidden in buildings but the buildings were not identified as being in Qana as was reported.^[27]. On August 6, the BBC News reported that in a second attack in Qana, the IDF destroyed the Hezbollah rocket launchers in the village used against targets in Haifa, Israel.^[28]

[edit] Timeline of events according to IDF

Accounts have differed regarding the timing of events at Qana. According to reports of the incident:^[8]^[29]^[30]^[2]

In the two weeks prior to the bombing, Hezbollah fired a number of Katyusha rockets from an area between Qana and the nearby village of As Şiddiqin (transliterated as "Zidkin" in IDF statements).
The Israeli Defence Forces identified a building in the hamlet of Al Khuraybah just north of Qana as a Hezbollah hideout/weapons store.
Around 1:15 A.M on July 30, 2006, the Israel Air Force bombed the building in al-Khuraybah.
At least part of the building collapsed instantly, killing at least several young children who were sheltering inside.
Following the 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.

[edit] Allegations of a hoax and of staging

Several controversial 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 brought about 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"^[32], although the allegations did not form part of their later statement on the bombing.

Others have claimed that some widely-circulated photographs of the dead in Qana were staged.

Further information: 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict photographs controversies

[edit] Investigations into the incident

On August 1, the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported:

"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."^[33]

[edit] 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.^[34] 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.^[9] 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.'"^[35] "Had they known that civilians were in the building," the statement continued, "the attack would not have been carried out."^[36] The statement also noted that "the building was adjacent to areas from which rockets had been launched towards Israel"^[37] and prior to the 30 July attack, "several other structures were attacked in the same area, because they served as terrorist infrastructure.^[9]

The IDF did not explicitly take responsibility for the casualties, but Lt. General Halutz was quoted as saying that he "expressed his sorrow for the deaths of civilians, among them children, in the incident in Qana". ^[34]

[edit] Human Rights Watch

Memorial to the 28 people killed by the Qana Airstrike

According to 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, of whom 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 July 31, the day after the attack, did not find any destroyed military equipment in or near the house. They reported:

"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."^[38]

[edit] 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 Defense officials at the scene of the bombing and was seen by the international media.^[39] 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).^[40] Israel received some 2,500 Mk 84s equipped with precision-guidance systems in an arms transfer agreement with the United States Government in 2004.^[41]

[edit] August 6 attack

On August 6 the IDF announced that a missile launcher located in the area of Qana which had fired rockets into Haifa was later destroyed in an Israeli airstrike.^[42] As part of the announcement the IDF released a video of the launcher which showed three rocket launchers in an area the video described as "between Qana and Zidkin." This area is a large uninhabited area to the southwest of Qana.^[43]