In a serious escalation of human
rights violations and breaches of international law, Israeli occupation forces
continue to target civilians in Lebanon, carrying out indiscriminate airstrikes
on heavily populated areas, including Palestinian refugee camps. These assaults
have so far caused dozens of deaths and injuries among Palestinian refugees.
On Sunday, September 29, 2024, an
Israeli airstrike hit a residential building sheltering civilians and displaced
families in Ain El-Delb, east of Sidon, killing 45 people and injuring 70
others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. This attack was part of a
broader series of strikes targeting civilian areas in Beirut's southern
suburbs, as well as southern and eastern Lebanon, including Palestinian refugee
camps.
Early on Monday, September 30,2024, an
Israeli strike targeted a house in the Palestinian refugee camp Al-Buss in the
southern city of Tyre. The strike has killed Fateh Sharif, the head of the
UNRWA Teachers' Union and principal of the UNRWA-run Deir Yassin Secondary
School, along with his family. The Israeli military later stated that Sharif
was involved with a Palestinian faction.
On October 1, 2024, another Israeli
airstrike targeted a house in the densely populated Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp,
Sidon. This attack resulted in the killing of six Palestinian refugees,
including Hassan, the son of General Munir Maqdah, and his wife Nazmiya
Hamouda, while their children survived.
Targeting civilians, including
Palestinian refugees, is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian
law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilians during
armed conflict. These indiscriminate attacks on crowded residential areas
violate the fundamental principle of distinction between civilians and civilian
objects, and military targets, categorizing such actions as war crimes under
international law.
Moreover, assaults on United Nations
personnel, including staff from UNRWA, represent a serious infringement of the
1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which
protects international employees from attacks in conflict zones. Any
justification offered by Israel for these actions lacks validity under
international law.
Moreover, the forced displacement of
residents in the southern region, including those in Tyre camps, as a result of
indiscriminate attacks and ongoing evacuation warnings to relocate northward,
represents a violation of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of
1977. This protocol explicitly prohibits the mass displacement of civilian
populations.
The relentless
Israeli attacks on civilians, including Palestinian refugees, signify an
ongoing pattern of crimes seen in Gaza and West Bank. Palestinian refugee camps
are residential neighborhoods, not military targets. We urge the international
community to take immediate and decisive action to safeguard civilian lives, as
this situation poses a grave threat to security and stability in the region.
October,
1,2024