Israeli attacks on Lebanon may amount to war crimes, UN rights office says

‘Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime,’ UN says after resurgence in Israeli air strikes and ground operations.Published On 17 Mar 2026Israeli attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon may amount to war crimes, the United Nations human rights office says as the Israeli military pummels its northern neighbour as part of the wider war engulfing the Middle East.At a news briefing on Tuesday in Geneva, a spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said hundreds of homes and other buildings, including healthcare facilities, have been destroyed in intensified Israeli strikes on the capital, Beirut, and other parts of the country.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israeli attacks hit Beirut, southern Lebanon, one million displacedlist 2 of 3Palestinian refugees face new displacement as Israel’s bombs hit Lebanonlist 3 of 3Mapping Israeli attacks and the displacement of one million in Lebanonend of listThameen al-Kheetan noted that displaced Lebanese civilians living in tents along the Beirut seafront were killed in Israeli strikes while other attacks since early March also have killed at least 16 health workers.“International humanitarian law demands distinction between military targets and civilians and civilian objects and insists on feasible precautions being taken to protect civilians. Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime,” al-Kheetan said.“In addition, international law provides for specific protections for healthcare workers as well as people at heightened risk, such as the elderly, women and displaced people.”At least 912 people, including 111 children, have been killed and 2,221 wounded in Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since March 2, according to the latest figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.Israel began carrying out intensified strikes in early March after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel after the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in United States-Israeli attacks on February 28, the first day of the war they launched on Iran.