U.S. ambassador moved by Qana massacre site
Lebanon, Politics, 12/9/1997

U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones on Monday said he was "moved" by the sight of Qana, the little village in southern Lebanon where at least 100 Lebanese civilians were slaughtered by Israeli shelling of a U.N. base in April 1996.

Jones last week visited the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, the first such visit by an American diplomat since the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

He traveled to the Naqoura base aboard a U.N. helicopter and on the way back to Beirut asked the Italian pilot to fly low over Qana.

"One of the pilots explained to me that he was one of the first to fly down (to Qana) after the bombardment. His descriptions were very moving," Jones told reporters Monday after visiting Deputy House Speaker Elie Firzli.

"I wanted to personally see the site and the memorial there to understand better how such a tragedy could have occured," Jones added.

"There's a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I think a visit is worth a thousand pictures," he said.

An Israeli artillery barrage killed more than 100 Lebanese civilians taking shelter at a Fijian U.N. base during Israeli's 16-day bombing blitz in Lebanon in April 1996.

A U.S.-brokered understanding halted the blitz, in which at least 165 civilians were killed.

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