Israel’s destruction in Lebanon could amount to war crimes: Amnesty

Amnesty said much than 10,000 civilian structures were destroyed by Israel – galore of them aft the ceasefire.

Amnesty International is starring calls for a probe into Israel’s widescale demolition of civilian spot successful confederate Lebanon, saying those actions indispensable beryllium investigated arsenic warfare crimes.

The quality rights organisation said connected Tuesday it recovered Israel manually laid explosives and bulldozers to “devastate civilian structures, including homes, mosques, cemeteries, roads, parks and shot pitches, crossed 24 municipalities”.

Erika Guevara Rosas, a elder manager astatine Amnesty, said successful the connection that the demolition had “rendered full areas uninhabitable and ruined countless lives”.

In November 2024, a ceasefire ended much than a twelvemonth of hostilities betwixt Israel and Hezbollah, including 2 months of open war during which Israel sent successful crushed troops and conducted a large bombing campaign. Israel has been violating the ceasefire since, on a near-daily basis.

Amnesty said its investigation from October 1 of past twelvemonth – astatine astir the commencement of Israel’s crushed violative – until precocious January of this twelvemonth showed “more than 10,000 structures were heavy damaged oregon destroyed during that time”. It added that “much of the demolition took spot aft November 27”, erstwhile the ceasefire took effect.

“In immoderate videos, soldiers filmed themselves celebrating the demolition by singing and cheering,” it said, adding that much of the demolition was done “in evident lack of imperative subject necessity and successful violation” of planetary humanitarian law.

Amnesty said it sent Israeli authorities questions successful precocious June astir the demolition but had not received a response.

“Given the standard of demolition carried retired by the Israeli military, galore residents of confederate Lebanon person thing to instrumentality to,” said Rosas. “The Israeli authorities indispensable supply prompt, afloat and capable reparations to each victims of violations of planetary humanitarian instrumentality and warfare crimes, some individuals and full communities.”

Amnesty besides urged states to extremity weapons transfers and different subject enactment to Israel.

War crimes, damages, disarmament

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has besides antecedently accused Israel of warfare crimes successful its latest warfare with Hezbollah.

In October 2024, HRW stated that Israeli attacks connected Lebanese medics were evident warfare crimes. In April 2025, it said Israel conducted indiscriminate attacks connected civilians betwixt September and November 2024.

Israel claims to people Hezbollah sites and operatives, but attacks from October 2023 to the time earlier the ceasefire killed astir 4,000 radical successful Lebanon, many of them civilians.

In March, the World Bank enactment the war’s full economical outgo connected Lebanon astatine $14bn, including $6.8bn successful harm to carnal structures.

Under the November agreement, Hezbollah was to propulsion its fighters backmost from adjacent the border, with the Lebanese service deploying to the southbound and dismantling the equipped group’s infrastructure there, a process the caller authorities has begun.

Earlier this month, Lebanon approved a United States-backed program to disarm Hezbollah by the extremity of the year, successful speech for an extremity to Israeli service attacks connected its territory. Israel was to afloat retreat its troops from Lebanon, but it has so acold refused. Hezbollah has refused to disarm.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies