Human rights group Amnesty International warned on Wednesday that the Israeli army’s mass displacement orders in Lebanon amount to war crimes under international law.
“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 outlining findings from its investigation into Israeli military orders.
It said the Israeli army has “radically” expanded its use of such orders, displacing hundreds of thousands of people across Lebanon.
Amnesty International said areas from which residents are barred from returning now cover around 600 square kilometers in southern Lebanon, equivalent to about 6 percent of the country’s territory. The organization added that more than one million people remain displaced.
“Instead of forcibly uprooting communities and designating entire swathes of Lebanese land as no-go zones for civilians, Israeli forces must immediately withdraw from Lebanese territory,” said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
According to the statement, the Israeli military declared about 4.6% of Lebanon a no-go zone on Nov. 28, 2024, a day after a previous ceasefire took effect.
It added that in 2026, just three days after an April 17 ceasefire announcement, the restricted area was expanded to around 6% of the country, designated a “Forward Defense” zone, with residents ordered not to return to multiple villages that were previously home to tens of thousands of civilians.
According to Amnesty, Israeli forces have killed 81 civilians and injured 120 others as they attempted to return to their villages amid continuing restrictions and the expansion of prohibited zones.
The organization also said that more than 3,700 people have been martyred in Lebanon since March 2 as a result of ongoing Israeli attacks and the effects of displacement and restrictions on civilian movement. The figures match with that of Lebanese Health Ministry.
Source: Amnesty International (edited by Al-Manar)