Israel outraged at 'deliberate bombing' claim over UN deaths

United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan was at the centre of a diplomatic storm today after accusing Israel of deliberately bombing a UN observer post in southern Lebanon, killing at least two peacekeepers.

Two peacekeepers were killed and two were feared dead under the rubble of their post in the town of Khiyam, near the eastern sector of the border.

On hearing the news Annan rushed out of a Rome hotel where he had been dining with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and Lebanon’s prime minister last night, on the eve of international talks on the Lebanon crisis. He said the Israeli hit on the observer post was “apparently deliberate” and demanded an investigation.

“I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces of a UN observer post in southern Lebanon,” Annan said in a statement.

Annan said the post had been there for a long time, was marked clearly, and was hit despite assurances from Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would not be attacked.

“I call on the government of Israel to conduct a full investigation into this very disturbing incident and demand that any further attack on UN positions and personnel must stop,” he said.

But Dan Gillerman, Israel’s UN ambassador, reacted furiously, describing Annan’s comments s “premature and erroneous”.

“First of all let me express Israel’s deep regret for the tragic incident and we send our deep condolences to the families of the peacekeepers who were killed,” he told Radio Five Live early today.

He said Israel was investigating the incident and, parroting Annan, said he too was “shocked and deeply distressed” by the “hasty statement” made by Annan.

“He went far too far for a seasoned and experienced diplomat that he is. I think that his statement was irresponsible, unfortunate and deplorable.

“Hopefully when he reflects on it he will be able to retract it and issue a more responsible statement,” he said.

“We certainly expect a person of Annan’s stature to be much more careful in his accusations – this adds to a litany of UN accusations against Israel which have eventually proved to be totally untrue.

“I think jumping to conclusions when he doesn’t have all the facts is premature, unfortunate and regrettable.”

Observers from Canada, China, Austria and Finland were among the dead at the UN post, UN and Lebanese officials said.

Meanwhile Israeli troops sealed off a Hezbollah stronghold yesterday and widened their foothold in southern Lebanon.

With Israel saying it will carve a security zone in the south, a top Hezbollah official admitted the guerillas had not expected such an Israeli onslaught when they kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.

A new volley of Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel, killing a teenage girl. Hezbollah’s leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, issued a taped television message saying guerillas would now start firing rockets deeper into Israel.

Today’s meeting in Rome will discuss proposals for ending the fighting that has claimed more than 400 lives. Key issues are how to disarm Hezbollah and assemble an international peacekeeping force to enforce the peace along the Israel-Lebanon frontier.

Yesterday marked a month since the start of what is now a two-front war between Israel and Islamic militants. On June 25, an Israeli soldier was captured by Hamas militants in Gaza, prompting an Israeli offensive there. Two weeks into that flare-up, Hezbollah snatched the tw other soldiers.

Israel and the US say their ultimate aim is to fundamentally reshape Lebanon to end Hezbollah’s presence by the border, strengthen democracy in the country and ensure lasting peace with Israel. In the process, Lebanon has been ravaged, with hundreds killed, hundreds of thousands driven from their homes and perhaps billions in damage to roads and infrastructure.

Mahmoud Komati, the deputy chief of the Hezbollah politburo, told The Associated Press that the group’s leadership had not anticipated a massive offensive when it snatched the Israeli soldiers on July 12.

“The truth is – let me say this clearly – we didn’t even expect (this) response ... that (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us,” he said.

Instead, he said Hezbollah had anticipated Israel would respond by snatching Hezbollah leaders in commando raids and that negotiations for a swap would start, giving Hezbollah the chance to try to win the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.

He called the Israeli assault “unjustified” and said Hezbollah would not lay down its weapons.