Doesn’t sound like a mistake to me:
The UN general secretary, Kofi Annan, today accused the Israeli military of carrying out a sustained bombing of the UN base on the Lebanon-Israel border that culminated in the killing of four unarmed monitors.
Mr Annan said he had suggested to the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, that they carry out a joint investigation into the events that led to the shelling of the “well-established and well marked” Unifil (UN interim force in Lebanon) post in the town of Khiyam.
“I spoke to Mr Olmert and he definitely believes it was a mistake and has expressed his deep sorrow, ” Mr Annan told a press conference in Rome.
“But the shelling started in the morning and went on until after 7pm. You cannot imagine the anguish of the unarmed men and women peacekeepers who were there.”
When I first read about this, I immediately thought of the USS Liberty, which the Israelis attacked in 1967. I’m surprised no one else has made that sort of connection. The Israelis have always had a (perhaps justifiable) paranoid attitude toward even friendly forces who might have an effect on their military actions.