UN sees potential Israeli 'war crimes' in Lebanon
The UN Human Rights Office stated March 17 that Israeli strikes on homes and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon may constitute war crimes. The statement came as Israel intensifies its military campaign on the territory of its northern neighbor amid the broader conflict spreading across the Middle East.
Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed hundreds, including children, and destroyed homes and healthcare facilities, while Hezbollah rockets have injured civilians in Israel. Mass displacement has forced families into overcrowded areas, with access to healthcare, food and education severely disrupted.
Israeli warnings and forced displacement orders, coupled with open threats of Gaza-level destruction, have deepened fears and worsened humanitarian conditions, Al-Kheetan said. He added:
In many instances, Israeli airstrikes have destroyed entire residential buildings in dense urban environments, with multiple members of the same family, including women and children, often killed together. Such attacks raise serious concerns under international humanitarian law. People displaced by the fighting and living in tents along Beirut's seafront have also been hit. And in recent days, at least 16 medical staff have been killed.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health confirmed that since March 2, Lebanon has recorded 912 deaths, including 111 children, and 2,221 injured in attacks.
Article 48 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol 1 mandates that parties to a conflict must distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between "civilian objects and military objectives." Parties must direct their operations only toward military objectives. Israel's apparent targeting of civilians and civilian objects in Lebanon potentially constitute war crimes, Al-Kheetan found.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called for an immediate halt to the fighting and accountability for all violations. He also urged the international community to increase support for Lebanon's humanitarian response.
From JURIST, March 17. Used with permission.
Israel claims 'defensive buffer' in Lebanon
Israel said this week that it will establish a "defensive buffer" in south Lebanon, sending in more troops as it continues its campaign of bombing against Hezbollah that has killed more than 1,116 people and forced more than 1.2 million people to flee their homes. After a month of violence and Israel's recent destruction of five bridges on the southern Litani River (cutting off an estimated 150,000 people and limiting aid), Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said displaced Lebanese residents won't be allowed back into the so-called buffer zone until residents of north Israel are safe, while Hezbollah has vowed to keep fighting "without limits." (TNH)
UNHCR warns Lebanon at risk of humanitarian catastrophe
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released a warning March 27 that Israeli strikes and widespread evacuation orders in Lebanon are causing a deepening humanitarian crisis. Since March 2, more than 1 million people, one in five residents, have been forced to flee their homes. (Jurist)
Anti-war protests in Israel
The protest movement in Israel, which was mounting before last year's Gaza ceasefire, has re-emerged to oppose the military strikes on Iran and Lebanon. Some 20 were arrested March 28 at demontrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba. (Haaretz, ToI)
Anti-war protests mount in Israel
Several thousand protesters gathered at Habima Square in Tel Aviv on April 11 to protest against the war and Netanyahu government, marking the sixth consecutive week of demonstrations since the start of the joint Israeli-US military operation against Iran. Demonstrations also took place in other cities across the country, including Jerusalem and Haifa. The mobilization came one day after Israel's Supreme Court blocked a government effort to shut down the protests, although it allowed police to impose limits on attendance. These limits were apparently not enforced. (Haaretz, ToI)
In a separate demonstration April 12, ultra-orthodox protesters opposed to military conscription blocked Jerusalem's Jaffa Road, leading to several arrests. (JP)
Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day event held in secret
The 21st alternative Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony took place in Jaffa April 20 alongside Israel’s official state ceremonies, though it was forced to keep its location secret due to far-right threats to disrupt the event.
Conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic, the ceremony featured Israelis and Palestinians who lost loved ones in the wider conflict, including the October 7 attacks, the war in Gaza, and settler violence in the West Bank.
The exact location of the Tel Aviv ceremony was not publicly disclosed in advance to attendees due to security concerns, particularly after a right-wing mob last year attacked a synagogue in Ra’anana that was hosting a screening of the event.
The Standing Together organization, which organized screenings of the event, said in a statement that it had received threats to disrupt the event from "extremist groups" and "appealed to the police to ensure the safety of participants."
Palestinians participated in a parallel ceremony in the West Bank city of Jericho, unable to reach Tel Aviv due to the denial of entry permits by Israeli authorities.
Speakers included Liora Eilon, a survivor of the October 7 massacre at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, whose son Tal commanded the kibbutz’s emergency response team. "I am here today because this is the place of hope. This is a place that gives me the strength to believe that one day we will talk, and it will end," she said.
In a pre-recorded video, Kholoud Hushiah of Jenin spoke about the loss of her son, Mohammed, who was killed by IDF fire in 2023, which prompted her to join the Parents’ Circle.
"Despite all this pain, I stand here today to say: We chose the path of peace, despite all the losses, because we believe that blood only begets more blood, and that death and bereavement will never allow us, or our children, to live in peace," said Hushiah. (ToI)
Mass protests in Tel Aviv
Mass anti-government protests were held April 25 in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, with demonstrators demanding its resignation and the formation of an official commission of inquiry into the events of Oct. 7, 2023. (AA)