| Qana Massacre |
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On April 18 , 1996 , amid heavy fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah during " Operation Grapes Of Wrath ", a Fiji an UNIFIL battalion compound in the village was Shelled by Israel i artillery. Around 800 Lebanese civilians had taken refuge there to escape the fighting, of whom over 100 were killed and 300 were wounded. Four UNIFIL soldiers were also seriously injured. Critics of Israel often refer to this attack as the Qana massacre. ( UNHCR : {Link without Title} ) BACKGROUND In April who are under the responsibility of Hezbollah will be hit harder, and the Hezbollah will be hit harder, and we will find the way to act correctly and quickly." On April 11 th, after initial strikes against Hezbollah positions, Israel, through SLA radio stations, warned residents in forty-four towns and villages in southern Lebanon, to evacuate within twenty four hours. Operation Grapes of Wrath Within forty-eight hours, Israel launched the military campaign known as Operation Grapes Of Wrath . On April 11 , Israel bombarded positions in southern Lebanon and Beirut first, with artillery and later laser guided missiles. On April 13 , Israeli warships initiated a blockade against Beirut , Sidon and Tyre , Lebanon's main ports of entry. Meanwhile, Hezbollah continuously bombarded northern Israel with Katyusha rockets. Israel continued to bomb Hezbollah installations. According to U.N. spokeswoman, Sylvana Foa, on April 18 , Hezbollah, in response to this israeli military campaign, fired two Katyusha rockets and eight Mortar s at Israel from an area 300 yards away from the Fiji an compound, 15 minutes before an Israeli unit responded by shelling the area with M-109A2 155 mm guns. As a result of the shelling, 102 civilians died, with more wounded. Most of the casualties were residents of nearby villages who had fled the conflict, while four were U.N. troops. RESPONSE Israel immediately expressed regret for the loss of innocent lives, saying that the Hezbollah position and not the UN compound was the intended target of the shelling, and that the compound was hit "due to incorrect targeting based on erroneous data." Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Matan Vilnai stated that the shells hit the base not because they were off target, but because Israeli gunners used outdated maps of the area. He also stated that the gunners miscalculated the firing range of the shells. Prime Minister and Israel accused Hezbollah of " Shielding ", the use of civilians as a cover for military activities, which is a breach of the Laws Of War . The U.S. State Department spokesperson, Nicolas Burns stated, "Hezbollah {Link without Title} using civilians as cover. That's a despicable thing to do, an evil thing." and Prime Minister Shimon Peres cited the use of human shielding to blame Hezbollah. On April 18 he said, "They used them as a shield, they used the UN as a shield — the UN admitted it." Rabbi Yehuda Amital , a member of Peres' cabinet, called the Qana killings a desecration of God's name (''chilul hashem'') . The U.N. appointed military advisor Major-General Franklin van Kappen of the Netherlands to investigate the incident. Van Kappen's findings included that, "The distribution of point impact detonations and air bursts makes it improbable that impact fuzes and Proximity Fuze s were employed in random order, as stated by the Israeli forces," and ultimately that, "While the possibility cannot be ruled out completely, it is unlikely that the shelling of the United Nations compound was the result of gross technical and/or procedural errors." Amnesty International conducted an on-site investigation of the incident in collaboration with military experts, using interviews with UNIFIL staff and civilians in the compound, and posing questions to the IDF, who did not reply. Amnesty concluded, "the IDF intentionally attacked the UN compound, although the motives for doing so remain unclear. The IDF have failed to substantiate their claim that the attack was a mistake. Even if they were to do so they would still bear responsibility for killing so many civilians by taking the risk to launch an attack so close to the UN compound." A video recording made by a UNIFIL soldier showed an unmanned drone and a helicopter in the vicinity at the time of the shelling. Uri Dromi, an Israeli government spokesman, confirmed there was a drone in the area, but stated that it did not detect civilians in the compound. The Israel response to the report stated that "The IAF drone shown on videotape did not reach the area until after the UN position was hit and was not an operational component in the targeting of Israeli artillery fire in the area." {Link without Title} On December 15, 2005, relatives of those killed filed suit in a Washington, DC , court against former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon for his role in the deaths. The lawsuit was prepared by the Center For Constitutional Rights . Yaalon, who is a visiting scholar in Washington, reportedly refused the papers serving the lawsuit. ( news report , legal papers ) COMMEMORATION The shelled area is marked by a memorial and the marble sarcophagi of the 106 civilians killed. The memorial was funded by the Syrian government. April 18 is held as an anniversary to commemorate the victims of the bombardment. At other times, Hezbollah has used this event to arouse ill will toward Israel and the United States, prominently marching after the relatives of the victims, or making inflammatory speeches at the event {Link without Title} . FOOTNOTES
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