Allegations of war crimes in the 2006 Lebanon War in itself is not conclusive evidence of intent to use civilians as "human shields", any more than the presence of Israeli soldiers in a kibbutz is in itself evidence of the same war crime." There have been other reports of Hezbollah using civilians as human shields. On 12 July, the very same day that Hezbollah sparked the war by kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers, the Israeli government publicized photographic and video evidence of Hezbollah's human shield tactics. The Sunday Herald Sun printed pictures that were smuggled out of Lebanon. One showing militants in a Lebanese town riding a truck equipped
Iraqi diaspora in Western Asia Iraqi diaspora in Western Asia The Iraqi diaspora in Western Asia is mostly located in Syria, Jordan, Iran and Lebanon, in addition to the well established numbers in the Persian Gulf states and Israel. As a result of the Iraq War, the Iraqi refugee crisis is the largest in Western Asia in 60 years, since 1948 when the State of Israel was established. Most of the recent Iraqi immigrants fleeing to Iran and Lebanon are believed to be Shia. Religion often determines which countries the Iraqi people will apply asylum for, decades ago most of the Iraqi Jews fled to