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From CNN reports: A deadly Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of
Qana provoked stiff and swift condemnation across the globe
Sunday as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah
guerrillas in Lebanon showed little sign of ending.
Denunciations spread across the Arab and Muslim world, with
citizens decrying the attack that killed civilians and
diplomats reproaching the Israeli act as unacceptable at a
time the world wants to find a solution to the 19-day
crisis.
But Western reaction showed a split, with many calling for
an immediate cease-fire, but the United States and Britain
stopping short of supporting such calls.
The U.N. Security Council met Sunday in emergency session,
with Secretary-General Kofi Annan reiterating his call for
an immediate cessation of violence. (Full story)
More than 60 bodies have been pulled from the rubble in
Qana, the Lebanese representative to the U.N., Nouhad
Mahmoud, said Sunday. Lebanese internal security officials
said 37 of the dead are children.
A Red Cross official said the Qana airstrikes hit a
residential building that housed refugees.
Israel said the
building was near Hezbollah rocket launching sites.
Israel later agreed to halt airstrikes on southern Lebanon
for 48 hours to investigate the raid, a U.S. State
Department spokesman said.
"This was a mistake, and we will have a full investigation,"
Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisen told CNN.
"Hezbollah has chosen this as their launching ground for
their attacks on us, intentionally endangering their
civilians because they know that something like this is
liable to happen," said Israel Defense Forces spokesman
Jacob Dalal.
The actual time of the strike is uncertain, being described
as "a pre-dawn raid" and "while people slept" in the media.
The formal event was set to include time before and after
the strike, from 01:00 to 06:00 GMT. Lebanon is 3 hours
east of GMT, so this period begins at 04:00 Beirut time.
The result is Chisquare 18335.5 on 18000 df for p = 0.039
and Z = 1.761.
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