Amnesty International warns that the Israeli army’s mass forced displacement orders in Lebanon amount to “war crimes” under international law, AlJazeera reports.
“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 report has said, citing the UK-based rights group.
It made the remarks 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.
“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 group’s statement, the Israeli military declared about 4.6 per cent of Lebanon a no-go zone on November 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 about 6 percent of the country, designated a “Forward Defence” zone, with residents ordered not to return to multiple villages that were previously home to tens of thousands of civilians.
