Israeli killings of civilians and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians have continued unabated, despite the declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on April 17.
On June 7 and June 9, Israel ordered all residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and its surrounding towns and refugee camps to leave their homes. This came a week after Israeli forces ordered more than 34,000 families out of Lebanon’s South and Nabatieh Governorates, and 50,000 families out of Beirut’s southern suburbs. The Israeli military declared on May 27 nearly 14 percent of Lebanon’s territory, the entire area south of the Zahrani river, as a “combat zone”, ordering residents to leave the area. Around one million people remain displaced in Lebanon today. These deliberate acts of displacement may amount to war crimes of forced displacement.
Since the escalation of the hostilities on March 2, Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,711 people in Lebanon, including 132 healthworkers and 247 children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. At least 1,417 people, more than a third of the total death toll since March 2, were killed in Israeli attacks since April 17. This includes 32 health workers, nearly one in four of all those killed since March 2, and at least 70 children, more than 1 in 4 of all those killed since March 2. On average, Israeli forces killed more than one child every day since April 17.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have committed numerous violations of the laws of war in Lebanon with total impunity, including apparently deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on journalists, civilians, medics, financial institutions, reconstruction-related facilities, and peacekeepers, in addition to the widespread and unlawful use of white phosphorus in populated areas, among other violations.
To save civilians, urgent action is needed. Israel’s allies, should immediately halt arms sales, arms transit, and military assistance to Israel, suspend their trade deals—including the EU-Israel Association Agreement—and adopt targeted sanctions against Israeli officials credibly implicated in ongoing abuses.
Pathways for accountability should be opened as well. Lebanon’s government should urgently ratify the Rome Statute and file a declaration providing the International Criminal Court with the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute all crimes committed in Lebanon since at least October 2023. To enable domestic judicial investigations, Lebanon’s parliament should enact a law criminalizing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, in line with international standards.
Unless Israel’s impunity is brought to an end, more unlawful bloodshed will continue.
