On the 30 July 2006, a double air strike on an apartment building near a Hezbollah rocket launching site in the downtown district killed at least 65 civilians, including 40 children most of which are under the age of ten. All the people were killed in the building’s bomb shelter.
The circumstances of the 2006 Massacre were very similar to those of the 1996 incident in which caused over 100 deaths.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora addressed the nation and the world community. Qana bombing made the need for a settlement more urgent than before, he said on a televised press conference.
Lebanon Prime Minister, Fouad El Siniora denounced Israeli as war criminals. The Lebanon Officials canceled their meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and said that she was unwelcome in Beirut before a cease-fire.
Prime Minister Siniora appealed to the U.N. Security Council for an urgent meeting, which will hold consultations on July 30, 2006.
The raid of the Israeli jets on Qana, the southern village in Lebanon, was one of the bloodiest attacks during Israel War on Hezbollah.
Great anger spread across Lebanon and the Arab world, several thousand protesters shouted “Death to Israel, Death to America” outside the United Nations headquarters in downtown Beirut. Many protesters smashed the main floor of the USCWA as they broke into the building.
Rice said she was sad by the Qana air raid, yet still refused to call for an immediate cease-fire in the region.
Israeli Defense Forces said that they were targeting buildings which they believed are being used by Hezbollah.
An IDF Spokesman said that the target was selected through a deep analysis, and they would not have attacked had they known of civilian activity. However, as usual, the civilians are the ones getting killed.
Lebanese Army Forces who announced the death toll, said that the Israelis bombed Qana village around 1:30 a.m., causing a three storey building to be destroyed over the heads of about 100 displaced people which were sheltering in the basement of the building.
Ehud Olmert, Israel Prime Minister, expressed regret over the incident. His excuse was that residents of the village of Qana have been warned to leave the area.
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