Qana and Jenin

This isn't Internet goofy blogger-stoked conspiracy talk.

There is, in fact, a timeline gap that calls into question what happened in Qana, Lebanon.

There are issues that need to be addressed.

Ynet News spells out the gap between the Israeli air strike and the collapse of the building that killed dozens of civilians.

An IDF investigation has found that the building in Qana struck by the Air Force fell around eight hours after being hit by the IDF.

"The attack on the structure in the Qana village took place between midnight and one in the morning. The gap between the timing of the collapse of the building and the time of the strike on it is unclear," Brigadier General Amir Eshel, Head of the Air Force Headquarters told journalists at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, following the incidents at Qana.

Eshel and the head of the IDF's Operational Branch, Major General Gadi Eisnkot said the structure was not being attacked when it collapsed, at around 8:00 in the morning.

The IDF believes that Hizbullah explosives in the building were behind the explosion that caused the collapse.

Another possibility is that the rickety building remained standing for a few hours, but eventually collapsed. "It could be that inside the building, things that could eventually cause an explosion were being housed, things that we could not blow up in the attack, and maybe remained there, Brigadier General Eshel said.

..."I'm saying this very carefully, because at this time I don't have a clue as to what the explanation could be for this gap," he added.

Eshel said that an additional attack took place at 7:30 in the morning, but added that other buildings were targeted. "This was an attack on three buildings 460 meters away from the structure we are talking about. Four bombs were dropped and all of them are documented by the planes' cameras. They all struck their targets. In addition, we carried out a filming sortie that photographed the village during the afternoon showing that the three targeted buildings we struck. We have verification of strikes on the building and that the bombs reached their targets," Eshel said.

"An attack that took place at two in the morning struck two targets, both of them 400 meters away from the building (that collapsed). They were also destroyed. The attack between 12 and 1 a.m. struck the area of the affected house, and there were accurate strikes on the target. We are asking the question – what happened between 1 in the morning and 8 in the morning… we understand this building was attacked between 12 and 1 in the morning, seven hours before it was seriously damaged," he said.

Brigadier General Eshel explained that "since the start of fighting in Lebanon 150 rockets from a very high number of rocket launchers have been fired from the village and its surrounding areas, at a number of sites in the State of Israel. Within the village itself we have located a diverse range of activities connected to firing of rockets, beginning from forces commanding this operation – because such an operation needs ongoing command to direct it – and logistical sites that serve this end."

"From this village rockets are fired almost every day across Israel. The operation carried out overnight is an extension of operations that didn't start last night but before, and during this night we struck a number of targets in the village. All of the targets are being meticulously sifted," Eshel added.

Haaretz reports that the IDF is commenting on the gap.

The Israel Defense Forces indicated yesterday that it might not have been responsible for the deaths of at least 54 Lebanese, including 37 children, when a building bombed in an Israeli air strike in the village of Qana collapsed yesterday - but was unable to offer an alternative explanation.

There is an unexplained gap of about seven hours between the one Israeli air strike that hit the Qana building housing the civilians, which took place around 1 A.M. Sunday, and the first report that the building had collapsed, said the chief of staff of the Israel Air Force, Brigadier General Amir Eshel. Speaking at a press conference at the Kirya military complex in Tel Aviv last night, Eshel said that of three Israeli air strikes on Qana early Sunday, only the first strike hit the building in which the civilians were staying. The other two hit areas at least 400 meters away.

"I can't say whether the house collapsed at 12 A.M. or at 8 A.M.," said Eshel. "According to foreign press reports, and this is one of the reports we are relying on, the house collapsed at 8 A.M. We do not have testimony regarding the time of the collapse. If the house collapsed at 12 A.M., it is difficult for me to believe that they waited eight hours to evacuate it."

...IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and other senior officers expressed regret yesterday over the deaths of the civilians. They said the IDF was not aware that the civilians were in the village and had expected them to leave Qana the week before, following Israeli warnings of an impending attack.

Eisencott blamed Hezbollah for the deaths, saying the group uses the civilian population as a human shield.

These issues are irrelevant to the Left.

They are irrelevant to the lib media.

There is only condemnation for Israel and the United States.

The deaths in Qana prompted James Zobgy to charge President Bush with "CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE."

Zogby cites "the lack of any meaningful response by the Administration to Sunday's massacre in Qana" as the reason for his stinging criticism.

The civilian deaths in Qana are tragic, whatever the reasons for the discrepancies in the timeline.

I'm not troubled by the international outcry over the loss of life.

I'm troubled by all the blame for the deaths being dumped on Israel, and even the U.S.

It appears that there was plenty of time to evacuate the building before it collapsed -- eight hours.

Most importantly, civilians were warned of an impending attack, yet they stayed.

It would seem that many innocent lives could/should have been spared.

There are lots of questions, that fog of war.

I'm reminded of the "massacre that wasn't" at the Jenin refugee camp.

For a time, Israel was mercilessly blasted by leaders, the lib media, and people the world over for the massive atrocities that supposedly took place there.

As it turned out, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. report released Thursday found no evidence to support Palestinian claims that Israeli forces massacred up to 500 people in the Jenin refugee camp, but it criticized both sides for putting civilian lives at risk.
The long-awaited report accused Palestinian militants of violating international law by stockpiling weapons and putting fighters among civilians in the densely populated camp. It in turn accused Israel of delaying critical medical and humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and raised questions about the massive destruction of homes and buildings in the camp that left 17,000 people homeless.

Israel, which had repeatedly denied any massacre took place, praised the report. The Palestinians called it "an important step."

"It does confirm what we felt all along which was that there was no massacre in Jenin," said Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States, Israel's closest ally.

While the death count at Qana is not in dispute as the number of casualities were in Jenin, there are issues about the building collapse that remain unresolved.

What is the truth of Qana?

Let's find out before there's a rush to judgment on responsibility.

Too late. There already has been a rush to judgment.

Israel and the United States are terrorist nations that commit war crimes.



Truth is the first casualty of war.