Israel's destruction in Lebanon could amount to war crimes: Amnesty

"The human rights organisation said on Tuesday it found Israel manually laid explosives and bulldozers to devastate civilian structures, including homes, mosques, cemeteries, roads, parks and soccer pitches, across 24 municipalities. list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4list 2 of 4list 3 of 4list 4 of 4end of list Erika Guevara Rosas, a senior director at Amnesty, said in the statement that the destruction had rendered entire areas uninhabitable and ruined countless lives."

"In November 2024, a ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of open war during which Israel sent in ground troops and conducted a major bombing campaign. Israel has been violating the ceasefire since, on a near-daily basis. Amnesty said its analysis from October 1 of last year at about the start of Israel's ground offensive until late January of this year showed more than 10,000 structures were heavily damaged or destroyed during that time."

"It added that much of the destruction took place after November 27, when the ceasefire took effect. In some videos, soldiers filmed themselves celebrating the destruction by singing and cheering, it said, adding that much of the destruction was done in apparent absence of imperative military necessity and in violation of international humanitarian law. Amnesty said it sent Israeli authorities questions in late June about the destruction but had not received a response."

More than 10,000 civilian structures in southern Lebanon were heavily damaged or destroyed between October 1 and late January, with much of the destruction occurring after the November 27 ceasefire. Manual explosives and bulldozers were used to devastate homes, mosques, cemeteries, roads, parks and soccer pitches across 24 municipalities. Some videos show soldiers celebrating the destruction by singing and cheering. Much of the damage appears to have occurred without imperative military necessity, raising concerns about violations of international humanitarian law. Israeli authorities received questions about the destruction but did not respond, leaving many residents with nothing to return to and in need of reparations.

Read at www.aljazeera.com