UN Warns Israeli Attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah Rocket Fire May Breach Humanitarian Law

A United Nations report released on Friday 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

The UN human rights office said its findings come from a report covering the first three weeks of the latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on March 2.

Al Jazeera

The UN report described patterns of attacks targeting populated areas and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel, and it said such strikes may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.

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 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 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.

The UN said there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or Hezbollah on the report.

The UN report was released 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 more than 2,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched its bombardment and subsequent invasion of southern Lebanon, and it said Israel seized a belt of territory at the border where its troops remain.

Al-Monitor

Reuters, via Al-Monitor, reported that since Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2, nearly 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon according to Lebanese authorities, amid widespread displacement and heavy damage to civilian infrastructure.

The UN report also addressed how displacement orders and warnings were handled, saying that in many of the Israeli attacks, no warnings, or no reasonably effective warnings, were given, preventing many civilians from evacuating safely.

The UN said Israel’s vaguely communicated blanket evacuation warnings and displacement orders—covering almost 14 per cent of Lebanon’s territory—have led to the displacement of over a million people, according to Lebanese authorities.

It added that fifty-five localities in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, remain under such orders today, and it said all displaced civilians who wish to return to their homes must be able to do so safely.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all incidents involving allegations of violations of international humanitarian law, and he urged all states to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms where there is a clear risk they could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations.

The UN report also focused on attacks on journalists and the obstacles rescue teams faced when trying to reach victims.

Al Jazeera said the OHCHR warned that attacks on journalists could amount to war crimes if they were deliberate, and it described an Israeli air strike on Wednesday that killed journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zeinab Faraj in the village of at-Tiri in southern Lebanon.

In the Reuters text carried by Al-Monitor, the UN said the Israeli strike on Wednesday killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured photographer Zeinab Faraj, who was accompanying her in southern Lebanon, and it said rescue teams, including the Lebanese Red Cross, faced obstruction by the Israeli military when trying to reach them.

Reuters quoted OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan describing what the UN said happened during the rescue effort: "This included the use of a sound grenade and live fire targeting an ambulance, delaying access to the site."

The UN briefing notes in the ohchr source similarly stated that rescue teams attempting to reach Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj reportedly faced obstruction by the Israeli military, including "the use of a sound grenade and live fire targeting an ambulance, delaying access to the site."

The UN said medical personnel, whether military or civilian, and other civilians, including journalists, are protected under international humanitarian law, and it said deliberately targeting them would amount to a war crime.

In parallel, the Reuters report included the Israeli military’s position, saying the Israeli Air Force troops struck a vehicle and a structure after two vehicles in southern Lebanon were identified as leaving a Hezbollah military site and crossing the Forward Defence Line, which posed an immediate threat.

The UN report’s account of attacks and warnings was framed alongside competing explanations from the parties involved, with the UN emphasizing patterns and legal principles while Israel and Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the report.

Al Jazeera said there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or Hezbollah on the UN report, and it described the UN’s documentation of Israeli strikes hitting multi-storey residential buildings and killing entire families.

Crypto Briefing

Reuters, via Al-Monitor, quoted the UN’s concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law principles, saying the report raised concerns about compliance with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack under international humanitarian law.

The UN also said it identified cases in which warnings were either not given, were ineffective, or prevented many civilians from evacuating safely, even though the office noted that notifications, including blanket evacuation warnings, had been issued by Israeli forces before some strikes in Lebanon.

In the Reuters text, the Israeli military’s response to the journalist incident said its air force bombed a vehicle and a building after spotting two vehicles leaving a Hezbollah military site and crossing the Forward Defence Line, and it said it received reports of two journalists injured but did not prevent rescue teams from reaching the area.

The Israeli military also said it does not deliberately target journalists or medical teams and that the incident is under review, which Reuters included as part of the Israeli account.

The UN briefing notes in ohchr further added that the UN’s analysis found operations by Israeli forces in Lebanon involved cases of direct attacks on civilians, including medical personnel, and it said such strikes may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Beyond the immediate battlefield incidents, the UN briefing notes described wider human rights impacts from the first three weeks of escalation, including effects on healthcare, education, food, housing, work, and freedom of movement.

“The years 2024 and 2025 were the deadliest for reporters worldwide since records began”

EL PAÍS English

The ohchr briefing notes said the report documents the significant, ongoing impact on a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, education, food, housing, work, a safe environment, freedom of movement, and freedom of religion or belief.

EL PAÍS English

It said civilian objects, including health facilities, schools and religious sites have been entirely destroyed or severely damaged, and it said Israeli attacks have burned or contaminated farmland and disrupted or destroyed livelihoods, undermining the rights to food, work and to a healthy environment.

The UN briefing notes also said there have been reports that Israeli forces have used ammunition containing white phosphorus which has particularly incendiary effects, and it said it was concerned about rising communal tensions and discriminatory practices preventing displaced people from accessing housing and other essential services.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all incidents involving allegations of violations of international humanitarian law, and it said findings must be disclosed and those responsible held to account.

The UN Human Rights Chief also urged all states to cease the sale, transfer and diversion to any party of arms, munitions and other military equipment where there is a clear risk that they could be used to commit or facilitate the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

Finally, the UN called on all parties to ensure the ceasefire becomes a permanent cessation of hostilities and basis for a lasting peace.