The Daily Background

48-HOUR STAY ON BOMBING
After international outcry against the Israeli bombing of a small town in southern Lebanon, killing upwards of 50 civilians, the majority of them child refugees, Israel has decided to allow the UN to provide humanitarian aid to southern Lebanon and says it will not bomb the area for 48 hours. This is not a ceasefire but merely a stay on bombing operations in southern Lebanon, and Israeli military activities may continue either on the ground in Lebanon (where the Israeli military is still occupying some areas), or bombing may continue in northern and mid Lebanon; this is unknown.

PREVIOUS UN CEASEFIRE REQUEST
The 48 hours stay is less than the United Nations earlier said was needed to evacuate civilians and provide aid. Before the most recent atrocity, the United Nations was planning to send a World Food Program convoy to deliver food aid and medical supplies to southern Lebanon but after the Israeli military refused to promise not to bomb the convoy, it was called off because the UN was afraid more of its personnel would be killed by Israeli airstrikes.

EARLIER ATTACKS ON UN
Last week the Israeli military executed an 8-hour direct attack on an unarmed UN observing post which had been in the area for 50 years and was clearly marked. The last time that the Israeli military tried to wipe out Hezbollah several years ago, it bombed a UN refugee compound killing more than 100 refugees and UN personnel.

RETALIATION
In response to the illegal Israeli airstrikes on the small town in Lebanon today, Hezbollah fired 140 rockets into Israel and were not able to kill anyone, although 8 people were reported to be wounded. Late last week Hezbollah rockets hit a hospital but again did not kill anyone.

DEATH TOLL
51 Israelis have been killed by Hezbollah, 18 of them civilians killed in illegal rocket attacks on civilian areas, the rest Israeli soldiers killed in ground fighting in southern Lebanon after the Israeli military decided to launch a partial invasion.

Lebanese officials estimate that 760 civilians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on civilian areas, only about 450 0f these deaths have been confirmed- the rest are said to be trapped under rubble and said to be missing and presumed dead. Between 9 and 11 Lebanese soldiers were killed after the Israeli military struck a barracks in Beirut last week.

Hezbollah does not make public casualty figures, but their losses are estimated at substantially less than the number of Lebanese civillians killed. The Israeli military said that it has killed one high level Hezbollah militant recently.

The violence has been continuing for about 20 days.

Filed under: Middle East Crisis, Z-TDB Blog