Qana massacre

For the 2006 airstrike, see 2006 Qana airstrike.

Qana massacre
UNIFIL peacekeepers remove the remains of artillery attack victims
LocationUNIFIL compound, Qana, Lebanon
DateApril 18, 1996; 28 years ago (1996-04-18)
Attack type
155 mm gun shelling
Deaths106 Lebanese civilians
Injured116 Lebanese civilians and 4 Fijian UN peacekeepers
PerpetratorsIsrael Defense Forces

The Qana massacre[1] took place on April 18, 1996, near Qana, a village in Southern Lebanon, when the Israel Defense Forces fired artillery shells at a United Nations compound.[2][3] The artillery barrage had been launched to cover an Israeli special forces unit after it had come under mortar fire launched from the vicinity of the compound and radioed a request for support. Of 800 Lebanese civilians who had taken refuge in the compound, 106 were killed and around 116 injured. Four Fijian United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers were also seriously injured.[4][5]

The attack occurred amid heavy fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah during Operation Grapes of Wrath. A United Nations investigation later stated that the Israeli shelling was deliberate,[6][7] based on video evidence showing an Israeli reconnaissance drone over the compound before the shelling. The Israeli government at first denied the existence of the drone, but then said, after being told of the video evidence, that the drone was on a different mission.[7] Israel categorically rejected the findings of the UN report concerning the incident.[8]

The incident would attract attention in later years after Naftali Bennett, the commander of the Israeli commando unit which had called in the barrage, entered politics, eventually becoming Prime Minister of Israel.

Diagram from Major-General van Kappen's report to the Secretary-General of UN Boutrous Boutros-Ghali, May 7, 1996, showing the cluster of proximity fused rounds within the UN compound at Qana
  1. ^ Robert, Fisk (October 23, 2011). "Massacre in sanctuary". The Independent. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  2. ^ "ISRAEL/LEBANON:"OPERATION GRAPES OF WRATH":The Civilian Victims". Human Rights Watch. September 1997. Archived from the original on January 21, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
  3. ^ "History of Israel's role in Lebanon". BBC News Online. April 1, 1998. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
  4. ^ "Letter Dated 7 May 1996 from the Secretary-General Addressed to the President of the Security Council". United Nations Security Council. May 7, 1996. Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
  5. ^ "QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, INCLUDING PALESTINE". United Nations. United Nations Commission on Human Rights. March 11, 2004. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
  6. ^ Franklin Van Kappen, Report ... of the Secretary-General's Military Adviser concerning the shelling of the United Nations compound at Qana on 18 April 1996 Archived November 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, May 1, 1996.
  7. ^ a b Robert Fisk (May 6, 1996). "Massacre film puts Israel in dock". The Independent. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference mfa960509 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).