Amnesty Says Qana Shelling Intentional

Thursday, July 25, 1996
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LONDON: Amnesty International has determined that Israeli artillery forces deliberately shelled a U.N. base last April in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Forces have maintained that they were aiming for Hizballah guerrillas nearby but missed their target; former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said again last week that the Israeli military did not know the U.N. position had become a camp of refugees. Despite Peres' claim that "nothing was done intentionally," the Amnesty International report released Wednesday finds that the Israeli Defense Forces had deliberately attacked the Qana compound April 18, killing 91 civilians in violation of international rules of war. "The horrific nature of the events at Qana has only been made worse by the Israeli government's refusal to own up to its responsibility," said the report. More than 150 Lebanese civilians were killed and 350 injured during Israel's 16-day Operation "Grapes of Wrath," an air, land and sea military campaign against the Hizballah. Sixty-two Israeli civilians were injured during Hizballah rocket attacks on northern Israel, according to Israeli officials. Amnesty International report also criticized the Hizballah for attacking civilians. -- Chris McKenna