OHCHR Warns Israeli Attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah Rocket Fire May Violate International Law

The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) warned that recent deadly Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law.

“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”

Al Jazeera

In a UN report released on Friday, the OHCHR focused on the first three weeks of the latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on March 2.

Al Jazeera

The OHCHR said its findings include patterns of strikes on populated areas and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel that could constitute “serious violations of international humanitarian law,” as described by the UN’s human rights office.

OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said the office documented 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.”

The report cited 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 the building, including five women, five men, two boys and a girl.

The UN also said it found Hezbollah fired unguided rockets that lacked the precision needed to hit desired military targets, instead damaging buildings and other civilian infrastructure in Israel, which the UN said likely violated international humanitarian law.

“Our analysis of the large-scale attacks, shelling and ground incursions found that operations by Israeli forces in Lebanon involved cases of direct attacks on civilians, including medical personnel,” the UN said, according to The National’s account of the report.

The UN report arrived as the conflict continued under a fragile ceasefire, with US President Donald Trump announcing on Thursday that the truce would be extended for another three weeks.

Al Jazeera said there is currently a fragile ceasefire in place, and it tied the extension to Trump’s announcement, while Al-Monitor and Reuters-style reporting described the same three-week extension.

Al-Monitor

Al-Monitor’s account said the report covers the first three weeks of the latest escalation, which began after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2, prompting Israel to respond with a large-scale military offensive.

In that same period, Al-Monitor reported that nearly 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities, and it described widespread displacement and heavy damage to civilian infrastructure.

The UN’s OHCHR briefing similarly said the report documents the killings and displacement in Lebanon during the first three weeks of the latest escalation of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.

UN News said the commission’s analysis found that operations carried out by the Israeli army in Lebanon involved direct attacks on civilians, including medical personnel, and it added that similar incidents continued after the ceasefire was announced.

The OHCHR briefing also stated that Hezbollah fired rockets that were reportedly indiscriminate against civilian areas in Israel, destroying buildings and civilian infrastructure, and that these attacks “may also constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

A central part of the OHCHR report concerned evacuation warnings and displacement, with the UN saying that warnings were absent or ineffective in some cases and that displacement orders covered a significant portion of Lebanon.

Al Jazeera reported that the UN identified incidents where Israeli forces had given ineffective warnings, or no warnings at all, that strikes were going to take place in Lebanon.

The OHCHR spokesperson said in the UN’s account that “Prior to many of the strikes, Israel did not issue any warnings, or did not provide reasonably effective warnings, preventing many civilians from evacuating safely.”

The National’s version of the report said the report also described Israeli evacuation orders covering nearly 14 per cent of Lebanon’s territory as potentially amounting to forced displacement, which is prohibited under international law.

UN News added that the evacuation and displacement warnings, which were ambiguous and unclear, covered about 14% of Lebanon’s territory and led to the displacement of more than one million people, according to Lebanese authorities.

The OHCHR briefing further said that “Fifty-five villages in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel remain under these orders to date.”

The UN also highlighted attacks on journalists and healthcare workers, saying attacks on journalists could amount to war crimes if deliberate.

The UN report’s warnings were delivered through OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan and framed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, while the reporting also recorded the lack of immediate responses from Israel and Hezbollah.

Al Jazeera said there was “no immediate comment from the Israeli military or Hezbollah on the UN report,” and it described the UN’s findings about strikes and rockets.

Crypto Briefing

Al-Monitor similarly said “The Israeli military and Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment about the report.”

In the UN’s own briefing, Al-Khithan said the commission’s analysis found Israeli forces involved direct attacks on civilians, including medical personnel, and it warned that these attacks “constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

The National quoted Volker Turk urging states to “cease the sale, transfer and diversion to any party of arms, munitions and other military equipment” where there is a “clear risk” they could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.

UN News added that Türk called for immediate, thorough, independent, and impartial investigations into all incidents involving alleged violations, and it said findings must be disclosed and those responsible held to account.

The UN News account also described UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcoming the extension of the ceasefire for three weeks to allow for dialogue between Lebanon and Israel, and it said he praised the United States for facilitating this extension.

The UN’s report and accompanying statements set out a forward-looking agenda centered on investigations, accountability, and the legal implications of continued hostilities.

OHCHR’s briefing said Volker Türk “calls for immediate, thorough, independent, and impartial investigations into all incidents involving alleged violations of international humanitarian law,” and it added that “The results should be disclosed and those responsible held to account.”

EL PAÍS English

UN News echoed that call, stating that Türk is calling for investigations and that findings must be disclosed and those responsible held to account.

The OHCHR briefing also urged all states to stop the sale, transfer, and other provision of weapons and ammunition and other military equipment to any party where there is a “clear risk” they could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, or to facilitate such violations.

UN News similarly reported that Türk urged all states to stop selling, transferring, or diverting weapons and other military equipment to any party where there is a clear risk they could be used to commit grave violations.

The UN’s account also tied the ceasefire to legal compliance, saying Türk called on all parties to ensure that the ceasefire becomes a permanent cessation of hostilities and a foundation for lasting peace.

In parallel, UN News described Guterres urging Hezbollah and other non-state actors to comply with the Lebanese government’s decisions to exercise its authority across its territory and to strengthen the state’s exclusive control over weapons.