Israel expresses ‘deep regret’ after U.N. strike

updated 4:41 p.m. ET July 26, 2006

KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel - Israel’s prime minister expressed “deep regret” Wednesday over the killings of four U.N. observers in an airstrike and dismay over U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s accusation the bombing was “apparently deliberate.”

U.N. observers in southern Lebanon called the Israeli military 10 times in a six-hour period to ask it to halt its nearby bombing before their observation post was hit, according to details of a preliminary U.N. report on the incident released to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

During each phone call, an Israeli official promised to halt the bombing, according to a U.N. official who had seen the preliminary report. The U.N. observers said the area within half a mile of the post was hit with precision munitions, including 17 bombs and 12 artillery shells, four of which directly hit the post Tuesday, the report said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Annan in a phone call Wednesday that the U.N. post was hit inadvertently.

Olmert pledges ‘thorough investigation’
“The prime minister expressed Israel’s deep regret over the mistaken killing of four U.N. peacekeepers,” Olmert said in a statement released by his office. “The prime minister said he has instructed the military to carry out a thorough investigation and that the results will be shared with the U.N. secretary general.”

White House press secretary Tony Snow said called the killing of the observers a “horrible thing,” but said Israel has acted appropriately by saying it will investigate.

“They’ll be completely transparent in the way they conduct the investigation,” Snow said. “And I think that’s the appropriate way to proceed.”

China demanded that Israel apologize for the attack, which killed a Chinese U.N. observer along with observers from Austria, Canada and Finland.

“We are deeply shocked by this incident and strongly condemn it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on the ministry Web site.

His statement said Israel’s ambassador to Beijing was summoned Wednesday morning and asked to convey a request that Israel issue an apology to China and the victims’ families.

“These so-called precision attacks seem to be mainly targeting everyone else except the Hezbollah,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who added that the attack would increase pressure for a cease-fire.

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