Amnesty Report Accuses Hizbullah of War Crimes

Hizbullah militants broke international humanitarian law during the recent conflict with Israel, an Amnesty International report concluded today.

The report said Hizbullah had violated law by firing thousands of rockets into Israel and killing dozens of civilians during the fighting.

The human rights group called for a UN investigation into violations committed by both sides during the 34-day conflict, but the report published today focused on the actions of the Lebanese militant organisation.

Hizbullah launched nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel during July and August, killing at least 39 civilians.

The firing of rockets into urban areas violated international law calling for distinction between civilian and military targets, Amnesty said.

"The scale of Hizbullah's attacks on Israeli cities, towns and villages, the indiscriminate nature of the weapons used, and statements from the leadership confirming their intent to target civilians, make it all too clear that Hizbullah violated the laws of war," the Amnesty secretary general, Irene Khan, said.

"The fact that Israel has also committed serious violations in no way justifies violations by Hizbullah. Civilians must not be made to pay the price for unlawful conduct on either side."

The militants fired imprecise rockets packed with thousands of metal ball bearings to maximise harm to civilians, the report found.

It is Amnesty's most severe condemnation of Hizbullah since the conflict, which began in July, and comes after the group accused Israel of violating international law with indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian targets in Lebanon.

Today's report - called Under Fire: Hizbullah's attacks on northern Israel - was based on field research in Israel and Lebanon, interviews with victims, official statements and discussions with Israeli and Lebanese government officials and senior Hizbullah figures.

Amnesty has previously called on Hizbullah to release two kidnapped Israeli soldiers and abstain from targeting civilians.

Violence between Israel and Hizbullah erupted after the militant group kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12.

The ensuing fighting killed more than 1,000 people. Most were Lebanese civilians, and around one-third of those were children, UNICEF said.

Nicole Choueiry, a UK spokesman for Amnesty, said the group planned to publish additional reports into whether Hizbullah contributed to civilian deaths in Lebanon by deliberately hiding amongst civilians.