Violations of The Laws of War
According to Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations, both sides in the conflict violated the laws of war by attacking civilian targets.
During the week-long operation, Israel bombarded thousands of houses and buildings resulting in 300,000 civilians being displaced from southern Lebanon towards Beirut and other areas. Israeli forces also destroyed much Lebanese infrastructure and civilian targets, such as major electricity stations and bridges, and have been accused of failing to take adequate measures to minimize civilian casualties, and may have used weapons inappropriate for the environment.
Hezbollah retaliated with rocket attacks on Israeli civilian targets, though it inflicted significantly fewer casualties. They were also accused of hiding small arms in civilian houses.
Ultimately, Israel declared that it attacked Hezbollah targets only to pressure Hezbollah to stop attacking Israeli civilians - while Hezbollah declared similar motive for their attacks along with liberating of Southern Lebanon.
Read more about this topic: Operation Accountability
Famous quotes containing the words violations of, violations, laws and/or war:
“The peace loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those violations of treaties and those ignorings of humane instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality.... When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Stories of law violations are weighed on a different set of scales in the Black mind than in the white. Petty crimes embarrass the community and many people wistfully wonder why Negroes don’t rob more banks, embezzle more funds and employ graft in the unions.... This ... appeals particularly to one who is unable to compete legally with his fellow citizens.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“While I am in favor of the Government promptly enforcing the laws for the present, defending the forts and collecting the revenue, I am not in favor of a war policy with a view to the conquest of any of the slave States; except such as are needed to give us a good boundary. If Maryland attempts to go off, suppress her in order to save the Potomac and the District of Columbia. Cut a piece off of western Virginia and keep Missouri and all the Territories.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“[Veterans] feel disappointed, not about the 1914-1918 war but about this war. They liked that war, it was a nice war, a real war a regular war, a commenced war and an ended war. It was a war, and veterans like a war to be a war. They do.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)