[JURIST] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [advocacy website] said Monday in the immediate wake of Israel's airstrike [JURIST report] on the south Lebanon village of Qana that it was "alarmed" at what it described as the "recurring lack of respect for international humanitarian law by the warring parties." Condemning the Israeli attack on a civilian target, the Geneva-based ICRC said:

Issuing advance warning to the civilian population of impending attacks in no way relieves a warring party of its obligations under the rules and principles of international humanitarian law. In particular, the principles of distinction and proportionality must be respected at all times.

On Sunday, Arab leaders denounced the attack [JURIST report] on Qana as a criminal violation of international law and New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] labeled such "indiscriminate" attacks on civilian targets war crimes [press release]. AFP has more.