Madam, – Nadav Cohen of the Israeli Embassy (March 14th) is being disingenuous or economical with the truth when he writes that the bombing of a UN compound in Qana in 1996 was a “tragic accidental killing” and that Hizbullah was using the civilians as human shields.
On the day of the bombing, April 18th, there were several hundred civilians – mostly women, children and old people from surrounding towns and villages – taking refuge in the compound, which was a long-established headquarters for the UN’s observer force Unifil.
The bombing of the compound by Israeli artillery resulted in the deaths of 106 civilians and serious injuries to scores more, as well as four Fijian peacekeepers. Israel immediately claimed the attack was “accidental” and “an unfortunate mistake”, blaming Hizbullah for using the compound as a shield, just as Mr Cohen claims.
The UN secretary general at the time, Boutros Boutros Ghali, immediately commissioned a report carried out by Maj Gen Von Kappen. The report documented clearly, despite repeated Israeli denials, the presence of one remotely piloted vehicle (a drone) and two Israeli helicopters in the immediate area before, during and after the bombing. The report concluded: “It is unlikely that the shelling of the United Nations compound was the result of gross technical and/or procedural errors.”
Human Rights Watch concluded, in its investigation: “The decision of those who planned the attack to choose a mix of high-explosive artillery shells that included deadly anti-personnel shells designed to maximize injuries on the ground violated a key principle of international humanitarian law”. And Amnesty International reported: “The IDF intentionally targeted the UN compound”.– Yours, etc,