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An Innocent Murder? The Laws Of International Armed Conflict And The 2006 Tragedy At Qana, Brendan Groves

Global Tides

In the early morning of June 30, 2006, Israeli warplanes struck a civilian apartment complex in Qana, Lebanon, killing some 28 persons, none of whom were thought to have been Hezbollah militants. Footage of the attack was streamed instantly across the world, leading many to decry Israel’s tactics in its conflict against Hezbollah. But did the attack actually violate the Laws of International Armed Conflict? Or, worse, does the attack epitomize the notion of an innocent murder—terrible, perhaps immoral, but lawful? Furthermore, do Hezbollah’s violations of the LOIAC excuse reactionary violations by Israel? This paper offers an analysis of the …