Friday, August 04, 2006
Qana
The ongoing saga of what happened at Qana continues to infuriate. I make no apologies for my beliefs that the Israelis never knowingly hit civilian-only targets and are definitely not targeting Red Cross or identified medical personnel in their attacks. All of which made it easy for me to avoid joining in the rush to judgment to accept the CW on Qana.
The initial reports, of course, noted the 57 dead count because that was the number originally reported by Lebanese media.
“QANA, Lebanon Jul 30, 2006 (AP)— An Israeli airstrike killed at least 56 people, including at least 34 children, in a southern Lebanese village Sunday, the Lebanese Red Cross said. It was the deadliest attack in 19 days of fighting. Lebanese security officials put the toll at 57 dead. Security officials said the toll rose dramatically after 18 people from two families were found in a single room of the building, where dozens of people had been taking refuge from the fighting.” ABC News: 34 Youths Among 56 Dead in Israeli Attack
Interesting that ABC would use the Lebanese Red Cross as their source since, as we later learned, the Red Cross wasn’t called to the scene until the next morning. CNN quoted this objective source without comment:
“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.” CNN.com - Qana attack stirs worldwide outcry - Jul 30, 2006
Even the Israeli media was not immune to the hype:
“Lebanese media report at least 55 people killed, including 21 children, after three-story building struck by IAF collapses in southern Lebanon village of Qana. Building used as shelter for southern Lebanon refugees. Senior IAF officer says many Katyusha rockets were fired from village where terrorists are hiding, residents were warned to leave. Defense minister instructs IDF to launch immediate inquiry into incident” Lebanon: Dozens killed in IDF strike - News from Israel, Ynetnews
Days later, that number remains unconfirmed although still reported as fact:
“Five days have passed since Israel's deadly air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana in which 57 civilians were killed when a struck building collapsed. But the International Red Cross said Sunday that 28 people, including 19 children, were killed and the world body published the same figure on Thursday, Ynet has learnt.” How many were killed in Qana? - News from Israel, Ynetnews
…so why is Ynet still reporting it as “57 civilians…killed”? I would not be surprised if additional bodies are found and the count rises but the 57 number simply has no clear basis for being reported. Even the Washington Post ran an AP story acknowledging the problems of an accurate count:
“The Israeli bombing of Qana became a textbook case Thursday when a new look at the civilian death toll in this week's Israeli airstrike showed it was about half the initial report.” Counting the Lebanon Dead Not So Easy
This of course still doesn’t stop the Washington Post from continuing to report and show:
“Qana, Lebanon, after days of Israeli airstrikes, including one which killed at least 57 civilians, mostly children. The July 30 strike was the bloodiest single incident in 19 days of warfare between Israel and Hezbollah. Qana, Lebanon
Soccer Dad, as usual, has been all over this story. (see here). Also, EU Referendum has assessed the whole picture taking scenario at Qana. Without fully assessing the claims, I found his link of interest. UPDATE: Fellow MBA-blogger Not So Free State has soundly beaten me to EU Referendum Qana Staged
The initial reports, of course, noted the 57 dead count because that was the number originally reported by Lebanese media.
“QANA, Lebanon Jul 30, 2006 (AP)— An Israeli airstrike killed at least 56 people, including at least 34 children, in a southern Lebanese village Sunday, the Lebanese Red Cross said. It was the deadliest attack in 19 days of fighting. Lebanese security officials put the toll at 57 dead. Security officials said the toll rose dramatically after 18 people from two families were found in a single room of the building, where dozens of people had been taking refuge from the fighting.” ABC News: 34 Youths Among 56 Dead in Israeli Attack
Interesting that ABC would use the Lebanese Red Cross as their source since, as we later learned, the Red Cross wasn’t called to the scene until the next morning. CNN quoted this objective source without comment:
“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.” CNN.com - Qana attack stirs worldwide outcry - Jul 30, 2006
Even the Israeli media was not immune to the hype:
“Lebanese media report at least 55 people killed, including 21 children, after three-story building struck by IAF collapses in southern Lebanon village of Qana. Building used as shelter for southern Lebanon refugees. Senior IAF officer says many Katyusha rockets were fired from village where terrorists are hiding, residents were warned to leave. Defense minister instructs IDF to launch immediate inquiry into incident” Lebanon: Dozens killed in IDF strike - News from Israel, Ynetnews
Days later, that number remains unconfirmed although still reported as fact:
“Five days have passed since Israel's deadly air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana in which 57 civilians were killed when a struck building collapsed. But the International Red Cross said Sunday that 28 people, including 19 children, were killed and the world body published the same figure on Thursday, Ynet has learnt.” How many were killed in Qana? - News from Israel, Ynetnews
…so why is Ynet still reporting it as “57 civilians…killed”? I would not be surprised if additional bodies are found and the count rises but the 57 number simply has no clear basis for being reported. Even the Washington Post ran an AP story acknowledging the problems of an accurate count:
“The Israeli bombing of Qana became a textbook case Thursday when a new look at the civilian death toll in this week's Israeli airstrike showed it was about half the initial report.” Counting the Lebanon Dead Not So Easy
This of course still doesn’t stop the Washington Post from continuing to report and show:
“Qana, Lebanon, after days of Israeli airstrikes, including one which killed at least 57 civilians, mostly children. The July 30 strike was the bloodiest single incident in 19 days of warfare between Israel and Hezbollah. Qana, Lebanon
Soccer Dad, as usual, has been all over this story. (see here). Also, EU Referendum has assessed the whole picture taking scenario at Qana. Without fully assessing the claims, I found his link of interest. UPDATE: Fellow MBA-blogger Not So Free State has soundly beaten me to EU Referendum Qana Staged
