They made the attack rather than negotiate which resulted in the death of so many people. The Government of Lebanon had no chance to negotiate for the lives of the people who were killed 2 days before Maalot. nor for the lives of people who have been killed since then. That number has ranged into the hundreds. 40 civilians were killed yesterday alone in southern Lebanon. in the refugee camps. And there is something to be said for the imbalance of press coverage in the Middle East. Had 40 civilians been killed in Israel. each national network would have been indignant with lead news stories. and justifiably so.