The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) released a report on Friday stating that recent deadly Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The report covers 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 US-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting a large-scale military offensive from Israel.
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.
A fragile ceasefire is currently in place, with US President Donald Trump announcing on Thursday that the truce would be extended for another three weeks.
The UN report focused on attacks targeting populated areas and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel. OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said the office documented several cases where 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.
The report cited an 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, killing at least 13 civilians inside, including five women, five men, two boys and a girl.
The UN also identified incidents where Israeli forces gave ineffective warnings, or no warnings at all, before strikes in Lebanon. The report also found that Hezbollah fired unguided rockets that lacked precision to hit military targets, instead damaging buildings and civilian infrastructure in Israel, likely violating international humanitarian law.
Neither the Israeli military nor Hezbollah immediately commented on the report. The OHCHR also said that attacks on journalists could amount to war crimes if deliberate.
On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike killed journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zeinab Faraj in the village of at-Tiri in southern Lebanon. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of crimes against humanity in response.
Source: www.aljazeera.com