By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, April 24 (Reuters) – The U.N. human rights office said on Friday it has documented patterns of attacks on civilians in populated areas and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel that may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The report covers the first three weeks of the latest escalation, which began after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2, prompting Israel to respond with a large‑scale military offensive.
Since then, nearly 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities, amid widespread displacement and heavy damage to civilian infrastructure. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a three-week extension to a ceasefire.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment about the report.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS STRUCK, OHCHR SAYS
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documented several cases in which Israeli strikes hit, and in some instances destroyed, multi‑storey residential buildings, killing entire families in Lebanon, which may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law, OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said.
The report cited the example of an Israeli strike on March 8 that hit a multi‑storey residential building in the town of Sir el‑Gharbiyeh, in the Nabatiyeh governorate. The strike killed at least 13 civilians inside the building, including five women, five men, two boys and a girl.
The office said incidents such as this raised concerns about compliance with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack under international humanitarian law.
The report also said the OHCHR had found Hezbollah was firing unguided rockets that lacked the precision required to strike specific military targets, and damaged buildings and other civilian infrastructure in Israel, which likely violated international humanitarian law.
While the office noted that notifications, including blanket evacuation warnings, had been issued by Israeli forces before some strikes in Lebanon, it identified cases in which warnings were either not given, were ineffective, or prevented many civilians from evacuating safely.
WARNING AFTER JOURNALIST KILLED
Meanwhile, the OHCHR also said on Friday that attacks on journalists could amount to war crimes if they were deliberate.
An Israeli strike on Wednesday killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured photographer Zeinab Faraj, who was accompanying her in southern Lebanon.
Rescue teams, including the Lebanese Red Cross, faced obstruction by the Israeli military when trying to reach them, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
“This included the use of a sound grenade and live fire targeting an ambulance, delaying access to the site,” Al-Kheetan added.
The Israeli military said the Israeli Air Force troops struck a vehicle and a structure after two vehicles in southern Lebanon were identified as leaving a Hezbollah military site, and crossed the Forward Defence Line, which posed an immediate threat.
It received reports that two journalists were injured, the army said, but it did not prevent rescue teams from reaching the area. The army does not deliberately target journalists or medical teams and the incident is under review, it added.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva; Additional reporting by Maya Gbeily in Beirut; Editing by Alison Williams)
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