The Legal Agenda is presenting a series of reports of war crimes committed by Israel in the context of its aggression against Lebanon. These reports are an attempt to document these crimes and pave the way for an independent and transparent investigation into them. They are based on preliminary information available at the time of their publication, and we hope that they can contribute to the necessary national efforts to document war crimes.

This report was updated on 13 November 2024.

Facts

• The Legal Agenda has documented 14 strikes by the Israeli occupation army on residential buildings sheltering internally displaced people in Lebanon.
• These strikes hit entire families and killed or wounded approximately 570 people, most of them civilians who had been forced to flee from areas being heavily targeted by the Israeli army, or for which it had issued evacuation orders, to areas considered safe.
• These attacks destroyed or damaged several residential buildings, property, and vehicles. They also sowed terror among the inhabitants of the targeted areas, who fear that they will be repeated.
• These attacks occurred in eight different districts for which no specific evacuation orders had been issued: Jbeil (Maaysra and Aalmat), Chouf (Baadaran, Wardaniyeh, Barja, and Joun), Sidon (Ain El Delb), Beirut (Basta and Nuwairi), Zgharta (Aitou), Akkar (Ain Yaaqoub), Baabda (Baalchmay), and Aley (Aramoun).
• No Israeli statement about these attacks has been issued, and no advanced warning was issued for the buildings or areas in which they occurred.
• No legitimate military target that could have been targeted in these attacks has been observed. Information circulated indicating that some of them targeted Hezbollah members, but these members either have not been proven present in the buildings targeted or do not appear to perform military roles in Hezbollah.
• The attacks led to further displacements from the targeted areas and to calls to evict the displaced from some of them.

Context

• These attacks are part of Israel’s strategy of indiscriminately targeting civilians and destroying homes and residential buildings on top of their residents in Gaza and Lebanon.
• These attacks also come in the context of Israel’s targeting of areas to which civilians have fled believing them to be safe. They are part of Israel’s policy of inflicting collective punishment on civilians and attempting to isolate one group of Lebanese – namely displaced Shia – from the other groups by sowing fear of this group in the host communities and undermining social solidarity with it. In reality, these acts aim to increase the pressure on Hezbollah’s social environment.

Chain of Events

Maaysra, Jbeil District, September 25

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building in the town of Maaysra, Jbeil District. This was its first attack on this area during the current aggression against Lebanon.
• The attack killed 16 and wounded 15, including members of the Hussein, Qassem, and Koteich families who had fled the border town of Houla, Southern Lebanon.
• At the time, Jbeil District was hosting more than 7,000 displaced people.

Baadaran, Chouf District, September 27

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building inhabited by displaced people in the town of Baadaran, Chouf District. This was its first attack on this area during the current aggression against Lebanon.
• The attack killed five, including three locals and two persons displaced from the town of Deir Qanoun En Nahr (Sour district), and wounded 17.
• The attack also completely destroyed three homes and nine cars and damaged more than 30 neighboring homes, the town’s school, and 10 cars.
• Press reports mentioned that the strike targeted a financial official in Hezbollah.
• The Israeli army had issued an evacuation order for Deir Qanoun En Nahr, from which some of the victims had fled, on October 1.
• At the time, Chouf District was hosting more than 18,700 displaced people.

Ain El Delb, Sidon District, September 29

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a six-story building inhabited by approximately 125 people in Ain El Delb, Sidon District.
• The attack killed 75 and wounded 52, including residents of the building and Lebanese and Palestinians displaced from various southern towns.
• Press reports mentioned that the strike targeted the head of Hezbollah’s Security Committee in Sidon, but witnesses stated that they had not seen any armed activity in the building.
• At the time, Sidon District was hosting approximately 30,600 displaced people.

Wardaniyeh, Chouf District, October 9

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a center for displaced people belonging to Dar Al Salam for Travel & Tourism Association in the town of Wardaniyeh, Chouf District. This attack was the first on the town during the current aggression.
• The strike killed five and wounded 12.
• This was the first attack on a center designated for displaced people. The association’s building was sheltering more than 15 families displaced from Southern Lebanon, including more than seven families from the border town of Aitaroun.
• The Israeli army had issued an evacuation order for Aitaroun on October 1.
• At the time, Chouf District was hosting more than 115,000 displaced people.

Maaysra, Jbeil District, October 12

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building in the town of Maaysra, Jbeil District.
• The attack killed 16 and wounded 21, including the homeowners, who belong to the Amrou family, and their relatives from the Jaafar family who had fled from the southern town of Yater (Bint Jbeil district) to their grandfather’s home in Maaysra.
• The Israeli army had issued an evacuation order for Yater the same day.
• This was the second time that a residential building sheltering displaced people was targeted in that town. At the time, Jbeil District was hosting approximately 30,000 displaced people.

Nuwairi and Basta, Beirut, October 10

• The Israeli army launched an attack on residential buildings in densely populated neighborhoods in the capital city Beirut via two consecutive strikes.
• The first strike, which hit the Basta area, completely destroyed two buildings and damaged six neighboring buildings.
• The second strike, which hit the Nuwairi area, targeted an eight-story building and caused extensive damage to it, as well as damage to four neighboring buildings.
• The two strikes killed 22 and wounded 117, including members of the Najdi family that had fled from the southern town of Srifa (Sour district), the Saqlawi family  that had fled from the town of Deir Qanoun En Nahr (Sour district), and members from the Ammar and Kabalan families that had fled from the border town of Meiss El Jabal, Southern Lebanon.
• The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders for Deir Qanoun En Nahr on October 1, for Srifa on October 2, and for Meiss El Jabal on October 6.
• Press reports mentioned that the strikes targeted the head of Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit Wafiq Safa.
• This attack was the first to destroy entire residential buildings in the capital. It was preceded by attacks on two apartments, the first being the Islamic Health Organization’s center in Bachoura and the second containing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leaders in Kola.
• At the time, Beirut was hosting more than 133,000 displaced people.

Aitou, Zgharta District, October 14

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a three-story building inhabited by 28 members of the Hijazi family who had fled from the border town of Aitaroun in Southern Lebanon to the town of Aitou in Northern Lebanon.
• The attack killed 23, including two children and 13 women, and wounded eight.
• The owner of the building denied the presence of any military activity therein. He heard from relatives of the victims that the strike came minutes after a visitor entered the building. The visitor is believed to be from Hezbollah and was touring the area to identify and provide aid to the displaced. Some witnesses reported seeing banknotes flying around the site of the attack.
• The Israeli army had issued an evacuation order for Aitaroun on October 1.
• This attack was the first to occur in Zgharta District, which was hosting approximately 14,700 displaced people at the time.

Barja, Chouf District, November 5

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building sheltering displaced people in the town of Barja, Chouf District.
• The attack resulted in a preliminary toll of 20 killed and 14 wounded. The casualties included displaced people from the Basma family and from the towns of Ain Baal, Tayr Debba, and Borj Rahhal (Tyre District).
• The Israeli army had issued an evacuation order for Ain Baal, Tayr Debba, and Borj Rahhal on October 2.
• At the time, Chouf District was hosting more than 155,400 displaced people.

Aalmat, Jbeil District, November 10

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a home sheltering people from the Karsifi, Zuraik, and Abdulhussein families who had fled from the town of Houch El Rafqah, Baalbek District, to the town of Aalmat, Jbeil District.
• The attack killed 27 – including 10 women, 11 children, a member of the Internal Security Forces, and a member of the Lebanese Army – and wounded three. The victims were all from one family, including Zeinab Karsifi, her five children, their spouses, and her grandchildren.
• The Israeli army had issued an evacuation order for all of Beqaa on September 23.
• At the time, Aalmat was hosting 10,000 people displaced from Southern Lebanon and Beqaa, in addition to approximately 3,000 people from the town who usually reside in Dahieh, Beirut. Jbeil District was hosting approximately 41,000 displaced people.

Ain Yaaqoub, Akkar, November 11

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building in the town of Ain Yaaqoub. This was the first time that civilians were targeted in Akkar District, Northern Lebanon.
• The attack killed 17 and wounded 15, including Lebanese from the Sharara and Harb families who had fled from Arabsalim, Nabatieh District, and Syrian refugees from the Sulaiman family.
• The attack completely destroyed the building and damaged the neighboring buildings and several cars.
• At the time, Akkar District was hosting more than 61,700 displaced people.

Joun, Chouf District, November 12

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building sheltering displaced people in the town of Joun.
• The attack resulted in a preliminary toll of 20 killed, including eight children and eight women, and 12 wounded, with other remains still unidentified.
• The attack damaged the Litani River Authority’s hydroelectric power grid and temporarily shut down the Joun plant, cutting electricity off from the area.

Baalchmay, Baabda District, November 12

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building sheltering displaced people in the town of Baalchmay.
• The attack resulted in a preliminary toll of eight killed, including two children and two women, and five wounded, with other remains still unidentified.

Aramoun, Aley District, November 13

• The Israeli army launched an attack on a residential building sheltering displaced people in the town of Aramoun.
• The attack resulted in a preliminary toll of eight killed, including three children and three women, and 17 wounded, with other remains still unidentified.

The Laws of War

• Directing attacks against the civilian population or attacking, by whatever means, dwellings that are not military objectives is prohibited. Likewise, acts of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited (Article 8 of the Rome Statute and Article 51 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions).
• Civilians who perform political, financial, or humanitarian functions in an armed organization such as Hezbollah do not constitute a legitimate target of hostilities and do not lose their civilian status just by belonging to the organization.
• If there is a legitimate military target, the principle of proportionality must be respected. Hence, launching an attack that may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, or damage to civilian objects that would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated is prohibited (Rule 14 of the International Committee of the Red Cross database of customary international humanitarian law).
• Pursuant to the principle of precaution, all feasible precautions must be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and damage to civilian objects as a result of attacks (Rule 15 of the ICRC database of customary international humanitarian law).

Previous Reports of Israeli War Crimes in Lebanon

• War Crime Alert No. 1: The Targeting of an Islamic Health Organization Center and Its Staff, Bachoura, Beirut, 2 October 2024
• War Crime Alert No. 2: The Targeting of Salah Ghandour Hospital, Bint Jbeil, Nabatieh, 4 October 2024
• War Crime Alert No. 3: Rescue Operations Blocked in Mreijeh, Dahieh, Beirut, 4 October 2024 Onwards
• War Crime Alert No. 4: The Targeting of the Bint Jbeil Fire Station and Brigade, Baraachit, 6 October 2024
• War Crime Alert No. 5: The Targeting of UN Peacekeepers, Southern Lebanon, 4-20 October 2024
• War Crime Alert No. 6: Attacks on al-Qard al-Hasan Association, Lebanon, 20 October 2024
• War Crime Alert No. 7: Massacre in the Vicinity of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Beirut, 21 October 2024
• War Crimes Alert No. 8: Threatening Sahel Hospital, Haret Hreik, Dahieh, Beirut, 21 October 2024
• War Crimes Alert No. 9: Attack on Journalists in Hasbaya, 25 October 2024
• War Crimes Alert No. 10: Destruction of the Historic Village of Mhaibib, Southern Lebanon, 16 October 2024

This article is an edited translation from Arabic.

This article is an edited translation from Arabic.