Beirut, July 9 (SANA) Amnesty International has called for an investigation into three Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon in March that killed dozens of civilians, saying they may amount to “war crimes.”
Agence France-Presse quoted the rights group as saying in a report published Thursday that the three Israeli strikes killed 24 civilians, including 12 children, and wiped out entire families.
Amnesty said it interviewed 15 people as part of its investigation, including survivors, relatives of victims, paramedics, journalists who visited the strike sites and local officials.
Based on the evidence it collected, the group said it had “reasonable grounds” to conclude that Israeli forces violated international humanitarian law in each of the airstrikes, including by failing to distinguish between civilians and military targets, carrying out attacks that targeted civilians, or failing to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm.
“In just one week, the Israeli military wiped out entire families in Lebanon, including 12 children, showing a blatant disregard for civilian lives,” said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Beckerle called on states to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel and use universal and extraterritorial jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the violations.
The three Israeli strikes targeted homes in Tyre, Nabatieh and the town of Arqay near Sidon between March 6 and 13.
The death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon since March 2 has risen to 4,321, according to figures published Wednesday by the Lebanese Health Ministry.
N.J/ABD
