Amnesty demands Israel war crimes probe in Lebanon

Shafaq News- Beirut

Amnesty International on Thursday called for an investigation into three Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon that killed 24 civilians, including 12 children, citing possible war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.

The strikes hit residential buildings in the southern cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh, as well as the town of Irkay near Saida, between March 6 and March 13.

Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, “Within just one week, the Israeli military wiped out entire families in Lebanon, including 12 children,” noting that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” Israeli forces violated international humanitarian law in each of the three cases.

The report was based on interviews with 15 people, including survivors, relatives of victims, medical workers, journalists who visited the strike sites, and local officials.

Amnesty also called on governments to impose an immediate arms embargo on Israel and use legal mechanisms, including universal jurisdiction and extraterritorial jurisdiction, to investigate and prosecute those responsible for alleged violations.

In response to questions from the organization about nine strikes in Lebanon, including the three under investigation, Israeli authorities indicated that some of the operations targeted “military objectives belonging to Hezbollah,” while other cases had been referred for review.

Amnesty, meanwhile, stressed that Israeli authorities did not provide “any specific information regarding the three attacks, particularly concerning the alleged targets,” arguing that Tel Aviv accused Hezbollah of “systematically exploiting civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the conflict has killed 4,319 people and wounded 12,203 others since the war began on March 2.

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