Major "Wolf" Paeta Hess-von-Kruedener was the only Canadian serving as an unarmed United Nations Military Observer in Lebanon, and was stationed at a UN hilltop base 10 kilometers (.6 miles) from where the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders meet. His mission was to report ceasefire violations. On Feb 1, 06, Major Hess-von-Kruedener had reported the death of a young shepherd boy killed by an Israeli patrol near an abandoned goat farm called "Bastarra". On July 25, his UN base came under fire from Israeli artillery and was struck by a precision guided bomb. Four UN observers died.
Major Hess-von-Kruedener is survived by his wife, Cynthia Hess-vonKruedener, who told a news conference that, according to her information, Israeli targeting of the UN base was intentional. "The building was clearly marked, their vehicles were clearly marked, they were clearly marked as UN Observers." She indicated that the Israelis had targeted her huband's area several times. According to CTV, UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan also believes that UN observers were deliberately targeted by the Israeli defense force. (The photo at the top left, shows Israeli school children writing messages on artillery shells, to be delivered to their Lebanese neighbors.)
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