LONDON: The UK-based human rights organisation Amnesty International has accused the Israeli army of committing “war crimes” under international law, alleging that mass forced displacement orders issued in Lebanon amount to “unlawful transfer” of civilians.
“In parts of southern Lebanon, the Israeli military’s forced displacement of civilians and prevention of their return amounts to unlawful transfer – which is a war crime,” the group said in a statement.
Amnesty said the Israeli military has “radically expanded” its use of such orders, displacing hundreds of thousands of people across Lebanon.
Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said Israeli forces should immediately withdraw from Lebanese territory instead of “forcibly uprooting communities” and declaring large areas of Lebanon as “no-go zones” for civilians.
The group said the Israeli military designated around 4.6 percent of Lebanon as a no-go zone on November 28, 2024, a day after a previous ceasefire came into effect.
It added that in 2026, three days after an April 17 ceasefire announcement, the restricted area was expanded to around 6 percent of the country and labelled a “Forward Defence” zone, with residents ordered not to return to several villages that had previously been home to tens of thousands of civilians.
Lebanese officials have claimed that Israel, which has been carrying out a major offensive in Lebanon since March 2, has killed more than 3,800 people, injured 11,850 others, and displaced over one million people.