There are three grim realities in the horrific death of 50 Lebanese civilians as a

result of Israeli air attacks Sunday in Qana.

First, it's a shocking reminder of the horrors of war and the desperate need for a ceasefire at the earliest possible moment.

Second, it provides powerful ammunition for those people around the globe including UN Secretary-General KofiAnnan and his friends to continue to paint Israel as the bad guys in this horrible conflict.

And third, the only people cheering are Hezbollah.

In the wake of the disaster, of course, and at the strong urging of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who now says "it's time to get a ceasefire" Israel did agree to a 48-hour break in the action (unless Hezbollah attacks) to allow Lebanese to escape the area.

We should remember, however, that the Qana tragedy, horrible as it is, did not come without both warning and reasons. To be sure, this is small consolation to those who lost loved ones particularly those mourning the deaths of 37 children but it is Hezbollah which carries the blame not Israel. And certainly not the U.S. and Canada for supporting Israel's efforts to defend itself against the bloody-minded terrorists. Three days before attacking Qana, Israeli military radio broadcast constant warnings into southern Lebanon to tell civilians that their villages would be "totally destroyed" if missiles continued to be fired from them. And the day before the attack, Israeli planes flooded the area with leaflets repeating the same warnings.

Why did Israel do this? Well, since July 12, about 150 Hezbollah missiles have been fired at Israel from Qana. That's because Hezbollah, on the one hand, deliberately uses civilians as shields, while at the same time deliberately targets civilians as victims of its' terrorist campaign.

Yes, many innocent civilians have died at the end of an Israeli bullet or missile during this current war. But keep two things in mind: in this kind of war, not all civilians are innocent; and despite the deaths of real innocents on both sides, by the way Israel makes considerable effort to keep those numbers down, while Hezbollah revels in the opposite direction.

So what does the UN's KofiAnnan have to say about all this? Well, fresh from immediately blaming Israel for hitting a UN outpost last week killing a Canadian peacekeeper and three others (as if Israel wants to go out of its' way to create more enemies) -Annan says Israel is causing "death and suffering on a wholly unacceptable level."

Israel is causing "death and suffering?" How about Hezbollah, the terrorist who started this war, who for years have been lobbing missiles at civilian targets inside Israel, who have no intention none of ever recognizing Israel's right to exist, let alone sitting down with the Israelis and working out a reasonable compromise.

But then, Annan has ruled over arguably the most corrupt administration in UN history, the same organization which is directly complicit in the Rwanda genocide and which in 1994 ordered Belgian peacekeepers to disarm as a show of good faith only to be slaughtered by machete-wielding African tribesman.

This is the same Annan-led international body which is always quick to condemn any real or perceived abuses by Israel, the U.S. or the West in general, while loading its' socalled human rights panel with some of the world's worst human rights abusers and ignoring continuing horrors in China, Africa, Cuba and elsewhere.

Israel did not cause this war. Hezbollah did.

And despite the horrific Qana tragedy and anticipating future tragedies no reasonable person, at least those not blinded by their hatred for either the U.S. or Israel, can not expect Israel simply to pull back and leave Hezbollah free, with the open assistance of the Lebanese, Syrians and Iranians, to continue its' campaign of terror against them.

A ceasefire at any cost will end up costing Israel more than anyone else. And until the UN and the international community at large understands that Hezbollah, not Israel, is the cause of this war, the sad truth is that the war will continue and civilians will continue to die on both sides.

Let us pray that a ceasefire can be negotiated, but let's not kid ourselves over the difficulty of achieving it when you're dealing with cold-blooded terrorists who care nothing for the lives of those they hate and little more for those who support them.

As for those Canadians especially the Liberal and NDP parties who condemn Prime Minister Stephen Harper for taking sides, well, in a fight between a friendly, democratic state and a terrorist organization, I would hope he'd take sides.