In early morning of July 30, Israeli planes attacked Qana village in southern Lebanon, killing at least 54 civilians, including 37 children. This is the most serious incident to slaughter the innocent people since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon.

The barbarous act of the Israeli troops, has rekindled the flames of hatred of the people in Lebanon. The Lebanese government has cited the airstrike of the Israel troops as a "war crime" in violation of the International Law and the relevant international norms. On the very day, the United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting and unanimously adopted the chairman statement, which expressed the extreme shock and distress at the Israeli strikes on Qana village and the ensuing heavy casualties. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, some international organizations and many countries also voiced their vehement condemnations with the atrocities of Israeli troops.

Qana village, situated in a mountain area close to Tyere, a port city in southern Lebanon, is 11 kilometers away from the Israeli border. On the pretext of responding to the Hezbolloah's "Katyusha" rocket attack, Israeli troops on April 18, 1996 launched a military action, or the "Operation Grapes of Wrath", to shell a UN temporary barrack in Qana, resulting in the death toll of more than 100 civilians.

People have never expected such a tragedy would repeat itself on the "land of misfortune" a decade later. When a three-storey building in Qana village was leveled, 63 civilians took shelter in its basement and many of them never came back to life from their dreams.

The Israeli's excuse for the airstrike of the village coincides with that of the previous one, that is, to deal hard blows at Hezbollah guerrillas, who were hiding in the village. Major General Haloutz , chief of staff of the Israeli army, went so far as to say that his troops will continue their actions for the protection of civilians in northern Israel. Such a delicate, feeble justification can only show the Israeli's total indifference of to the lives of civilians in Lebanon.

The value concepts of any culture or any religious belief cannot allow the use of violence against the bare-handed people. The main reason for Israel to declare war on Lebanon is for seeking the release of two kidnapped soldiers and retaliation against Hezbollah, In the wake of continuously escalated military attacks by Israeli troops, ordinary residents in Lebanon have been plunged into the abyss of untold sufferings amid an increasingly worsened humanity crisis.

To date, some 750 Lebanese have lost their lives and 2,000 more got injured owing to Israeli airstrike and gunfire , and many of them are women, children and elderly people. In addition, several hundred thousand people have fled their homes.

The intensified fires of Israeli soldiers have not inflicted heavy casualties on the Hezbollah guerrillas. On the contrary, many Christians and Suni Muslims, who used to take a reserve attitude toward Hezbollah, have inclined to sympathize with Hezbollah or even support its actions against Israel. And the voices of Arab nations against Israeli military violence have become stronger than ever before.

All these evidences have come to testify that Israel's disproportionate use of force in Lebanon is unacceptable.

At present, it is the high time to extinguish the flames of conflicts as both Israel and Lebanon have paid dearly for heavy losses and are faced with immense danger. Israel, with absolute superior forces, should first give up its military ventures and accept the international mediation. Only in this way, will "Qana" tragedy not be repeated, and innocent people in the Middle East, including Israelis, will not be victimized by military clashes.

By People's Daily Online