Recent deadly Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law, the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) says.
The findings come from a UN report released on Friday, focusing on the first three weeks of the latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on March 2. Hezbollah fighters launched rockets at Israel in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting a large‑scale military offensive from Israel.
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More than 2,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched its bombardment and subsequent invasion of southern Lebanon. Israel has also seized a belt of territory at the border where its troops remain.
There is currently a fragile ceasefire in place, with US President Donald Trump announcing on Thursday that the truce would be extended for another three weeks.
Violations of international humanitarian law
The UN report focused on attacks targeting populated areas and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented several cases in which Israeli strikes hit, and in some instances destroyed, multi‑storey residential buildings, killing entire families in Lebanon, which may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law, OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said.
The report cited the example of an Israeli strike on March 8 that hit a multi‑storey residential building in the town of Sir el‑Gharbiyeh, in the Nabatieh governorate. The strike killed at least 13 civilians inside the building, including five women, five men, two boys and a girl.
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The UN also identified incidents were Israeli forces had given ineffective warnings, or no warnings at all, that strikes were going to take place in Lebanon.
The report also found that Hezbollah fired unguided rockets that lacked the precision needed to hit desired military targets, instead damaging buildings and other civilian infrastructure in Israel. The UN said this likely violated international humanitarian law.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or Hezbollah on the UN report.
Attacks on journalists
The OHCHR also said on Friday that attacks on journalists could amount to war crimes if they were deliberate.
An Israeli air strike on Wednesday killed journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zeinab Faraj in the village of at-Tiri in southern Lebanon. In response, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of crimes against humanity.
Rescue workers initially tried to reach the veteran Al Akhbar journalist, but came under Israeli fire and were forced to withdraw, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Khalil was the ninth journalist killed in Lebanon this year.
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