On 25 July 2006 four unarmed
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) peacekeepers from Austria, China, Finland and Canada were killed in an Israeli air strike at a UN observation post in southern Lebanon. According to the UN, the four had taken shelter in a bunker under the post, which was a three story building inside a patrol base in
Khiyam.
[4] The area had been struck by artillery and aerial bombardment over a period of 6 hours. According to the IDF, Hezbollah artillery had been firing at Israeli positions from the area. According to a UN official who had seen the preliminary report, the post called an Israeli liaison officer ten times to call off the bombardment and an Israeli official promised to halt the bombing each time.
[5]