UN Relief Coordinator Calls Israel's Actions in Final Days of War With Hezbollah "Outrageous"

Last Wednesay, in an article titled "Israel Hopes to Complete Its Withdrawal From Lebanon on Friday," the New York Times published the following on comments by the UN relief coordinator:

In Beirut on Tuesday, the United Nations relief coordinator, David Shearer, said Israeli artillery had scattered at least 350,000 unexploded cluster bomblets over southern Lebanon toward the end of the fighting. “The outrageous fact is that nearly all of these munitions were fired in the last three to four days of the war,” Mr. Shearer said.

If Mr. Shearer's comments are true, they are further evidence that the Israeli Defense Forces acted with a callous disregard to innocent civilian lives. It is truly criminal that Israel, knowing full well that a cease-fire was imminent, would scatter so many cluster bomblets over southern Lebanon.

--JB