From the the BBC website on July 27th
"He(Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon) said that in order to prevent casualties among Israeli soldiers battling Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, villages should be flattened by the Israeli air force before ground troops moved in".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
A villiage cannot be flat with a 4 story building standing in it.
More from the same article
"-He added that Israel had given the civilians of southern Lebanon ample time to quit the area and therefore anyone still remaining there could be considered a Hezbollah supporter"
"All those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah," Mr Ramon said."
more on the flip
These quotes make it clear that Israel thought it had the right to attack any building and any person in southern lebanon. Israel believed it had the right to attack innocent civilians. His logic is absurdly faulty.
People in southern lebanon are terrified to leave, because vehicles leaving southern lebanon have been attacked, even after the IDF dropped leaflets telling civillians to leave before an attack.
from Human rights watch. http://hrw.org/...
"The Israeli military is telling civilians to leave, but the casualties caused by its attacks on the roads have made many people too frightened to travel," Whitson said.
it's not like the infrastructure of lebanon is in great shape. Not everyone has somewhere to go and a way of getting there. Not all sick and and elderly people can leave. Children don't have a say whether they leave or not. If a civilian can leave and is to stubborn to, that in no way means he or she is associated with terrorism.
It's possible this attack was really an accident, but it is clear that the IDF thought intentionally attacking a 4 story building filled with civillians was within it's right.
This dehumanization of life by Israel and Hezbollah is truly disgusting. Yes, Hezbollah started it, but responding to an unjustified attack by targeting civillians is absolutely disgusting. I desperately hope the Dkos members who support the Israeli offensive will reconisder.