Human Rights Watch on Hizbullah

Human Rights Watch has published a detailed report on Hizbullah's rocket attacks on Israeli towns and villages during last summer's war. The report, "Civilians under Assault," includes a number of "case studies" describing attacks on a number of sites in the north. The conclusion is hardly surprising; according to the report,

Hezbollah forces in Lebanon fired thousands of rockets into Israel, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian structures. Hezbollah’s means of attack relied on unguided weapons that had no capacity to hit military targets with any precision. It repeatedly bombarded cities, towns, and villages without any apparent effort to distinguish between civilians and military objectives. In doing so, Hezbollah, as a party to an armed conflict governed by international humanitarian law, violated fundamental prohibitions against deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians.

Human Rights Watch has previously issued sharp condemnations of Israel's bombing of Lebanon, which led to the deaths of hundreds of Lebanese civilians. Hizbullah, it appears, is less eager for this latest report to become public knowledge in Lebanon. Earlier today, Human Rights Watch staffers reported that the group as well as the Lebanese government are trying to silence them.