Jul 30 2006
Israel Kills Civilians In Air Raid, Did Hezbollah Target The Attack?
Update:Now there are questions as to when the building collapsed (H/T to readers and other sites like Hot Air). Did Hezbollah do more than entice an Isreali attack? Did they stage the attack including the demolition and killing? Which news agencies were first on the scene to cover this eleborate event?
Update: Israel will be releasing more video (no links for any video yet) of rocket launchers being driven into civilian areas of Qana during the last 20 days where 150 rockets were launched from the area during that time
Update: UPI is inaccurately reporting that the building next to the launchers seen in the Fox video was ‘the wrong target’. Actually, if those launchers were in the parking lot of the building (which is probably where they were to ensure a proper surface for targetting) then the building was in the ‘kill zone’ of the bombs. The bombs only need to be off target a few meters to hit a key foundation point of a building and bring it down. But it was Hezbollah who placed their launchers at the site knowing full well that the Israelis retrace launches to their launchers. Hezbollah targetted the Lebanese who died by enticing an Israeli defensive response against their offensive rocket attacks. No rocket attacke no Israeli response and no dead Lebanese.
Addendum: What Hezbollah has done by placing their weapons nearby known civilian centers and enticing a defensive attack from Israel is a war crime and against the Geneva Conventions. The UN, EU and liberal hand-wringers better start pointing to the true criminal acts here. If Israel simply traced rockets back to their launchers and bombed these launchers that is a DEFENSIVE military response to an attack. That makes the culprit Hezbollah. Is the UN goinbg to look the fools agains? We shall see.
Update: I just saw the first images released by the IDF of the rocket launches from qana. They are infrared iimages showing multiple launches from a building in the area. I counted 6-7 8 launches from what appears to be two launchers positioned in front of a building.
The IDF is double checking that the launches came from the exact building they ended up targetting. But even if it the building is within the ‘neighborhood’ that would make the Israeli action warranted. The IDF warned the people to leave days ago. I would guess Hezbollah would not be below forcing civilians to stay in the area. It is clear Israel has exposed a lot of their capabilities in publicizing these images. The perspective of the images shows these images were made by Special Forces monitoring activities from inside Southern Lebanon. So Israel is paying a price to show the world the war crimes of Hezbollah in hiding within civilian areas but obviously enticing Israel defensive attacks on these areas.
Update: Here are more details on the evidence that Israel will produce that Hezbollah was not only hiding among civilians, but probably were deliberately enticing Israeli bombs.
IAF Brigadier Yohanan Locker: ‘Hezballah Guerillas Launched Rockets At Israel And Then Ran For Cover Inside Building That Was Bombed’
‘Air Force Has Airial Photos Documenting Hezballah’s Use OF Lebanese Civilians As Human Shields’
The IDF has been consistent in their response to rocket launchers. So This is not an accident, this is a deliberate effort to create a PR campaign by Hezbollah killing Lebanese.
Update: The news about the IDF video showing Hezbollah inviting attack by launching rockets from a location nearby or on top of where civilians were huddled in the basement of the destroyed building is now hitting Meet The Press. This news must get out ASAP so the anger in Lebanon and in the Arab street is retargetted at Hezbollah where it belongs
Breaking Update: Fox News is reporting that the Israeli IDF is reporting that they have video proof that Hezbollah did in fact in place artillery and ricket luanchers in the area and therefore did entice Israel to attack the area. More on this when the details come out. Addendum: The Israelis respond by tracking a rocket immediately back to its launcher so that Hezbollah cannot move the equipment our of the way Israeli bombs or artillery. This is math. There is now way to understand what is in the area of the launchers in this type of age old defensive act.
There is no way to ignore the two bits of news we have seen this weekend in deciding how to go forward in dealing with the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. First came pictures and first hand accounts of Hezbollah moving artillery and rocket launchers INTO civilian populations and attracting the wrath of Israel which uses the trajectory of the rockets and shells to pinpoint the source of an attack. This is DEFENSE 101 in military tacticts. Even if there was not a large scale attack ongoing, any missile launch by Hezbollah would receive the same defensive attack (note the artillery or missiles must be launched first in order to target the source).
Now we see the results of such tactics as Israel accidentally kills a lot of civilians, including chilfren, as they track attacks by Hezbollah and respond as predicted.
Olmert said that the area was a focal point for the firing of Katyusha rockets on Kiryat Shmona and Afula. He said that from the outset of the conflict, “hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Qana area.”
Defense Minister Amir Peretz was also profoundly repentant for the fatal strike, saying, “this is a tragic incident that is a result of war. Hizbullah operates in the heart of populated centers with the full knowledge of endangering the lives of innocent civilians.”
So it is clear who targetted Israeli jets and their bombs: it was Hezbollah. We have the proof from the Australian reporting one day prior. As I said when posting the pictures of Hezbollah locating their weapons in civilian areas, this clear war crime has to be exposed. Because Hezbollah finally got what they wanted. They aimed Israeli bombs at their own people.
For Enforcement
If you enter the string “33°12′29.00″N 35°18′1.00″E” (just cut and paste without the enclosing quotes) into Google Earth (get it here http://earth.google.com ) you will clearly see the structures in the town I have identified as Qana.
That doesn’t mean it *is* Qana. And it doesn’t mean that the building wasn’t built since the satellite image was made.
And I understand that the IDF says the building may not be the one in question. I am responding here and elsewhere to commenters who are analyzing the video as if it *is*.
Here’s some more fun with Google Earth.
If you go to the IDF website http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa there’s a video labeled “IDF Video: Hizbullah missile fire from within the village of Kafr Qana”.
That video shows combat footage of a launcher in a small orchard near Qana.
I believe I have found precisely where that is on Google Earth. what’s neat is you can orient the view to precisely reproduce the pilots view of the launcher.
Here are the parameters:
Location: 33°12’25.33″N 35°17’49.08″E
View Heading: -127 deg
Tilt: 64 deg
The video shows the launchers racing back to homes in town. I’m trying to identify the homes shown.
Check one post over at JOM by larwyn. She notes that the “victims” they photographed on stretcher were not covered in dust, nor were the ones being carried in arms of RED Cross.
The “resucuers” handing off the “injured” were also clean – dark pants and no concrete dust?
Saw no bloody wounds in the clips either.
What do you make of it?
All of the above is not to mention we’ve had UN “observers” in Lebanon for 28 years at a cost of 100 Million $ per year. One report on Fox about their “observations” is that they recorded but did not report Hezbollah aggressive-building-up activities.
To quote a couple of great minds around here, “WTF?”
Ya know, none of this stuff really matters a whit. Until Israel is mostly destroyed the world will not have the backbone to act decisively. We and they have already surrendered, they live to fight another day. Next time they hit Israel it will be very big and it will be apparent that she is fighting for her very life. She is now, but it is not apparent to the world because of MSM. Next time MSM won’t have time to comment because Israel will have to destroy its enemies or be completely destroyed. It will be big and decisive, or Israel will be no more. I hope they are ready. I think it could come as soon as Aug 22nd.
AJStrata, larwyn has a question: the “victims” they photographed on stretcher were not covered in dust, nor were the ones being carried in arms of RED Cross.
The “resucuers” handing off the “injured” were also clean – dark pants and no concrete dust?
Also, no bloody wounds in the clips.
What do you think?
hey, that’s interesting, I remember watching them loading someone on a stretcher and there was no blood, I thought at the time that was strange, but didn’t put 2 and 2 together.
Mike’s America is quick to point out the coordinates of these videos using the point that the Hezzies do use civilians as human shields.
There are new photos showing the Hezzies exploiting the dead.
You know. it’s summer vacation time and I haven’t yet noticed a single Berkely undergrad amongst the human shields. What’s happening to the antiwar movement?