Nabatieh Fawka attack (Redirected from Nabatieh Fawka massacre)

Nabatieh Fawka attack
Part of Operation Grapes of Wrath
Nabatieh Fawka massacre.png
Ibrahim Abed, 15, trapped under the rubble
Fawka is located in Lebanon
Fawka
Fawka
LocationNabatieh Fawka, Lebanon
Coordinates33°21′22″N 35°29′44″E / 33.35609770976337°N 35.495629224522226°E / 33.35609770976337; 35.495629224522226
Date16 April 1996
6:30 AM (UTC+03:00)
Attack type
Airstrike
Deaths9
Injured2
PerpetratorsIsrael Defence Forces (IDF)

The Nabatieh Fawka attack occurred on 16 April 1996, when Israeli helicopters fired rockets at a building in the village of Nabatieh Fawka, killing nine people, seven of whom were children.

Context

The attack was one of several incidents in which Lebanese civilians were killed by missiles fired from Israeli helicopters, which occurred during Operation Grapes of Wrath in April 1996. On the 13th, an Israeli Apache helicopter, after hovering for several minutes over the Shiite village of Mansouri 8 kilometres from the Israeli border, fired a missile at a vehicle as it was passing a UN checkpoint. The vehicle was carrying 13 people, aware of Israeli requests that villages in the south evacuate their residents, who were fleeing. 4 children and two women were killed. It later stated that the village ambulance, either was a vehicle owned by a member of Hezbollah or was hiding one of its guerillas, a claim denied by Robert Fisk who interviewed eyewitnesses on the site soon afterwards. Hezbollah retaliated the following day by firing 81 Katyusha rockets into Israel, 28% of the total it launched during the Israeli operation.

On the 18th of April, Israeli artillery opened fire on the Shiite and Catholic Melkite village of Qana, killing 106 people in what became known as the Qana massacre. In other incidents that week, an Israeli helicopter pilot fired a missile at a car near the Jieh power station driven by a young woman who had just stopped to buy a sandwich. In West Beirut a two year old girl was decapitated by another missile.

Attack

The village of Nabatieh Fawka, 20 miles north of Qana, is located on a stretch of hills 3 km north of the Nabatieh city. The Al Abed had family moved there since it seemed a relatively safer location, out of the way of the IDF and the South Lebanon Army. The father, Hassan, was absent at the time, since he had departed to perform the Hajj in Mecca.

Around 5 AM, IDF helicopters were flying over the area. At 6:30, they fired rockets at the two-story house where the family was sleeping, completely demolishing it. They also hit two other buildings, causing severe damage. Initial reports from the Lebanese Army stated that 11 civilians had been killed, including a four day old infant.

Aftermath

Shortly after the attack, the IDF released a statement claiming that it was a "response to a Hezbollah attack in the security zone". Investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found no evidence that Hezbollah was hiding in the building.

Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres blamed the civilians for staying in Nabatieh, saying that they should have left earlier.

The ID attack on the UNIFIL compound in Qana, leaving 106 civilians dead, took place later on the same day.

Operation Grapes of Wrath concluded shortly after this last attack. In 16 days, Israel carried out 600 air strikes and fired some 25,000 shells into Southern Lebanon, resulting in the death of 154 civilians and a further 351 injured.

The incident has been cited in a recent study of media bias in reporting conflicts in the Middle East.

Notes

  1. ^ The vehicle was painted white with a flashing blue light on the roof, had, under Israeli observation ferried wounded people to hospital, and had been purchased with expatriate funds by the village's diaspora community. A Reuters reporter filmed the strike's immediate aftermath.

Citations

  1. ^ lebanons02 (2014-10-22). "An Israeli warplane destroyed a two-story house in upper Nabatieh killing nine civilians, including a mother and her seven children". Civil Society Knowledge Centre. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  2. ^ a b c HRW 1997, p. 22.
  3. ^ a b c Fisk 2006, p. 959.
  4. ^ The Economist 1996-07-15: Vol 336 Iss 7923. Internet Archive. The Economist Intelligence Unit N.A., Incorporated. 1996-07-15.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (16 November 1998). "Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Lebanon document - Letter from Lebanon". Question of Palestine. United Nations. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b Jehl 1996.
  7. ^ a b Fisk 2006, pp. 953–959.
  8. ^ Fisk 1997.
  9. ^ Fisk 2006, p. 955.
  10. ^ a b Bardan 1996.
  11. ^ a b c d Amnesty 1996.
  12. ^ "Nabatieh Fawka: the 18th anniversary of the Al Abed massacre". Jnoubia (in Arabic). 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  13. ^ Lein 2000.
  14. ^ Catignani 2008, p. 70.
  15. ^ Aima 2019, pp. 158, 339.

Sources


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