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.

Facts:

Southern Lebanon, October 2024

• On October 16, the Israeli army blew up the village of Mhaibib after rigging it with explosives. The destruction of the village encompassed the old cemetery adjacent to the historic Shrine of Prophet Benjamin, as well as the new cemetery, of which no trace remains.
• On October 19, the National News Agency reported that Israeli forces had bulldozed the cemetery in the border town of Blida.
• On October 28, a journalist said in a televised statement, and locals told the Legal Agenda, that the Israeli army had destroyed the new cemetery in Ainata. The cemetery was established after the July 2006 war.
• On October 29, the media conveyed reports of the destruction of cemeteries in three more towns: Odaisseh, where the mayor said that the Israeli army had bulldozed cemeteries; Aita El Shaab, where the head of the municipality said that the Israeli army had bulldozed the tombstones and disturbed the soil of the graves; and Kafarkila, where the head of the municipality said that Israel’s total, systematic destruction of that town had encompassed its cemeteries.

Context

These attacks are part of Israel’s policy in Lebanon, especially the southern border villages, of destroying civilian objects, including cultural, religious, heritage, and historic sites. By targeting these objects, Israel seeks to eliminate evidence of life and break the physical and moral ties between these towns and their inhabitants, thereby erasing the latter’s past and discouraging them from returning.

The Laws of War

• Cemeteries, like places of worship, are considered essential to the expression of the right to freedom of conscience and religion enshrined in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They also bear great spiritual, cultural, historical, and commemorative value and significance for religious and ethnic groups.
• According to a decision issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on a case concerning the “destruction of sacred sites”, cemeteries, like churches and mosques, are religious and cultural symbols.
• As such, cemeteries enjoy special protection under the provisions of international humanitarian law that require that these sites be respected, protected, and not subjected to misappropriation, vandalism, or reprisals (Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict).
• Acts of hostility directed against historic monuments or places of worship that constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples are prohibited (Article 53 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and Rule 38 of the International Committee of the Red Cross database of customary international humanitarian law).
• Attacks must not be intentionally directed against these sites unless they are being used for military purposes (Article 8 of the Rome Statute).
• The dead must be treated in a respectful manner, and their graves must be respected and properly maintained (Rule 115 of the International Committee of the Red Cross database of customary international humanitarian law).
• Cemeteries and burial sites are considered civilian objects damage to which must not, under any circumstance, be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. All feasible precautions must be taken to avoid such damage. (Article 52 and Article 57 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.)

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
• War Crimes Alert No. 11: Attacks on IDPs Accommodations Intended to Spread Terror, September–October 2024

This article is an edited translation from Arabic.