United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan is accusing Israel of what he calls an “apparently deliberate” attack on a UN base in southern Lebanon that killed four UN observers. They were all members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon —-— UNIFIL. According to the UN, Israel continued bombing the base as workers attempted to rescue the victims. Former UNIFIL spokesperson Timur Goksel told Democracy Now! from Beirut the Israeli military must have known they were targeting a UN building. Israel denies the bombing was deliberate.

• Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev: “Prime Minister Olmert spoke a short time ago to Secretary Annan and he expressed our regret and sorrow at this terrible event. We totally and unequivocally reject a charge that this was a deliberate act against a UN position, on the contrary I know from day one of this crisis we have been co-coordinating with UN personnel on the ground to ensure their safety and too make sure that UN personnel are not caught up in the fighting this is not our intention.”

Israel is also demanding Koffi Annan apologize for accusing it of a deliberate attack. The bombing has added further strain on Israel’s relations with the UN. Israeli and US officials have expressed outrage in recent days over the UN’s criticism of its attack on Lebanon. In an interview with CNN Sunday, UN High Commissioner Louise Arbour suggested Israel’s actions in Lebanon could lead to the prosecution of its military commanders for war crimes.

• UN High Commission for Human Rights Louise Arbour: “It’s pretty apparent that the number, the scale of civilian casualties in this conflict raises very serious questions about breaches of the laws and customs of war in a way, not only that is a breach of international humanitarian law but that could engage international criminal law and could engage personal criminal responsibility, all the way up the chain of command.”