UN report flags potential international law breaches in Israel-Lebanon escalation
A new assessment covering the first three weeks of hostilities since March 2 highlights specific incidents in Sir el-Gharbiyeh and at-Tiri, while a fragile ceasefire extended by the US administration remains in place.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has released a report indicating that recent hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law. The findings, which cover the initial three-week escalation period commencing on 2 March, examine attacks by both parties on populated areas and residential infrastructure.
Specific documentation includes an Israeli strike on 8 March that hit a multi-storey residential building in Sir el-Gharbiyeh, within the Nabatieh governorate. The report states this incident killed at least 13 civilians, comprising five women, five men, two boys, and a girl. The UN noted that in several instances, Israeli forces provided ineffective warnings or no warnings at all prior to conducting strikes in Lebanon.
Conversely, the assessment identifies that Hezbollah launched unguided rockets into Israel which lacked the precision required to hit military targets. Instead, these projectiles damaged buildings and other civilian infrastructure, a practice the UN states likely violates international humanitarian law. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or Hezbollah regarding the report's conclusions.
The OHCHR also flagged the killing of veteran Al Akhbar journalist Amal Khalil and the wounding of her colleague Zeinab Faraj in the village of at-Tiri as a potential war crime if the attack was determined to be deliberate. Rescue workers attempting to reach the injured journalist were forced to withdraw under Israeli fire, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has accused Israel of crimes against humanity in response to the journalist killings. Khalil was the ninth journalist killed in Lebanon this year, underscoring the severity of the targeting of media personnel in the region.
These developments occur against a backdrop of a fragile ceasefire, recently extended by US President Donald Trump for three weeks. The truce follows more than 2,400 deaths in Lebanon since Israel launched its bombardment and subsequent invasion of southern Lebanon, where troops remain stationed in a seized border belt.
