Haaretz: Was there a proper decision process? (Aluf Benn, July 26, 2006)

The decision to launch a broad military operation in Lebanon, in response to the abduction of soldiers near Zar'it on the morning of July 12, was made with lightning speed. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided almost immediately on a strong military response, and in the evening he presented for cabinet approval a plan for an air assault on Hezbollah's rocket launchers and symbols of the Lebanese government, topped by Beirut International Airport. Ministers were told that Haifa might be hit by retaliatory fire, and that the operation would not be brief. The government approved it unanimously.

No, there was no deliberate targeting of civilians.

Nothing is 'mere'. — Richard P. Feynman